Purpose: Establish a profile of the amount of time spent by physical therapists performing various activities during a patient treatment session in an outpatient rehabilitation facility. Guiding Questions: How much time do physical therapists spend in direct contact with their patient? Which activities performed by therapists take up a significant amount of the therapist's time during a session? How much time does a therapist spend performing these activities? Is there a difference between therapists in the amount of time spent performing these activities? Method: Two physical therapists from one outpatient facility chosen at random for observation. Data analysis: The t-test, mean time, standard deviation, and percentage of time were calculated. Results: Therapists spent 20% of the time in direct patient contact. Significant activities performed by the therapists were interaction with the observed patient, and interaction with other patients during the session. 47% of activities performed were not directly related to the observed patient. Significant differences were found in the amount of time spent by therapists performing the activities observed. Conclusion: Many variables influence the amounts of time physical therapists spend with their patients. Results of a study such as this can be utilized by administrators as a management tool for detecting and correcting possible time utilization problems of their physical therapists.
| Date of Award | Jan 1 1998 |
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| Original language | English |
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