Physiotherapy Referral Pathways and Outcomes in Primary Healthcare

Background:This collection focuses on how primary care physicians refer patients with musculoskeletal conditions, chronic diseases, and functional decline to physiotherapy services, evaluating how these referral pathways affect access, clinical outcomes, and health service efficiencyPhysiotherapy is increasingly recognized as an essential component of integrated, person-centred primary care, particularly for the prevention and management of musculoskeletal conditions, chronic diseases, multimorbidity, disability, and age-related functional decline. However, access to physiotherapy within primary care pathways remains heterogeneous, influenced by healthcare organization, referral models, workforce availability, socioeconomic factors, geographic location, and patient characteristics. Emerging models, including direct access, first-contact physiotherapy, multidisciplinary care, and digitally supported interventions, have the potential to improve timely access, care coordination, and patient outcomes. Nevertheless, evidence regarding their implementation, effectiveness, equity, and sustainability across different healthcare systems remains fragmented. Understanding how physiotherapy is integrated into primary care pathways, who can access these services, and how different models influence clinical, functional, patient-reported, and healthcare utilization outcomes is therefore essential to inform policy and clinical practice.Goal:The integration of physiotherapy into primary care is evolving rapidly, yet substantial gaps remain in how referral pathways from primary care physicians to physical therapists are organized, implemented, and evaluated. Inequitable access, delayed referral, variations in workforce availability, fragmented care pathways, and limited integration with other primary care professionals may restrict the potential contribution of physiotherapy to population health and healthcare sustainability. At the same time, evidence on the effectiveness and real-world impact of different models of physiotherapy access and delivery remains heterogeneous.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how physiotherapy can be effectively and equitably integrated into primary care pathways and how different models of access influence patient and health system outcomes. We welcome research examining innovative access and referral models, first-contact and direct-access physiotherapy, multidisciplinary and integrated care, digital and hybrid pathways, implementation strategies, health inequalities, and clinical, functional, patient-reported, and healthcare utilization outcomes. By bringing together evidence from diverse populations and healthcare settings, this Research Topic seeks to identify effective and sustainable approaches to optimize physiotherapy access and outcomes within primary care.Scope and Information for authors:This Research Topic welcomes original research and evidence-based contributions examining the role of physiotherapy within primary care pathways, with a particular focus on access, models of care, implementation, and patient and health system outcomes. Topics of interest include first-contact and direct-access physiotherapy; physician-to-physiotherapist referral and triage pathways; integration of physiotherapy within multidisciplinary primary care teams; digital and hybrid models of care; pathways for musculoskeletal and chronic conditions; prevention and health promotion; care for older adults and people with multimorbidity; health inequalities and equitable access; workforce and service organization; and economic and healthcare utilization outcomes. We particularly encourage studies evaluating real-world implementation, effectiveness, patient experience, and sustainability across different healthcare systems and populations. We welcome Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Scoping Reviews, Meta-analyses, Brief Research Reports, Methods, and Perspectives that contribute novel evidence or critical insights into physiotherapy access and outcomes in primary care. Topic editors: Rocío Llamas-Ramos, Inés Llamas-Ramos, Ivet Koleva Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85388/physiotherapy-referral-pathways-and-outcomes-in-primary-healthcare