2019
Utilization of Outpatient Physical Therapy and the Impact on Opioid Use and Healthcare Utilization for Older Adults with Osteoarthritis
Cathy Schmidt, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Shweta Gore, PhD, DPT, GCS, CLT (Co-PI)
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Collaborator
Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, PhD, OTR -Virginia Commonwealth University
General Description
The long-term goal of this research is to improve quality and access to non-opioid based rehabilitation for older adults with OA. The overall objective of this study is to explore the impact of a lost-cost, low medical risk intervention such as PT on healthcare outcomes in older adults with OA. Based on previous research in select cohorts of individuals with spinal conditions, our central hypothesis is that the utilization of PT will be associated with a decreased odds of opioid use and unplanned healthcare utilization. We will use the electronic health record (EHR) from Partners Healthcare to address the following specific aims.
Specific Aims:
- Determine patient, provider and practice-level factors associated with receipt of outpatient PT at 30, 60 and 90 days for community-dwelling older adults with incident diagnosis of OA.
- Evaluate the association of PT utilization (at 30, 60 and 90 days) on opioid use, planned healthcare utilization (diagnosing provider follow-up visits and elective hospitalizations) and unplanned healthcare utilization (emergent care and non-elective hospitalizations) for a period of 3 and 6 months following PT utilization.