Primary Care for the Physical Therapist

Specifically designed to address the expanding role of physical therapists in primary care, Primary Care for the Physical Therapist: Examination and Triage, 3rd Edition covers all the information and skills you need to be successful in the field. Updated content throughout the text helps you stay up to date on the best practices involving patient examination, medical screening, patient management, and communication. This new third edition also features a new chapter on electrodiagnostic testing, a new chapter on patients with a history of trauma, and updated information on how to screen and examine the healthy population. It’s a must-have resource for any physical therapist wanting to obtain the technical expertise and clinical decision-making abilities to meet the challenges of a changing profession.

New to this edition

    NEW! Updated content throughout the text reflects the current state of primary care and physical therapy practice.
    NEW! New chapter on electrodiagnostic testing helps familiarize physical therapists with indications for electrodiagnostic testing and implications of test results to their clinical decision-making.
    NEW! New chapter on patients with a history of trauma emphasizes the red flags that physical therapists need to recognize for timely patient referral for appropriate tests.
    NEW! Updated information on how to screen and examine the healthy population enhances understanding of the foundations of practice and the role that physical therapists can fill in primary care models.

Table of Contents:

SECTION I: FOUNDATIONS
1. Primary Care: Physical Therapy Models
2. Evidence-Based Examination of Diagnostic Information and Patient Outcomes
3. Health and Wellness Perspective in Primary Care
4. The Patient Interview: The Science Behind the Art

SECTION II: EXAMINATION/EVALUATION
Prologue
5. Symptom Investigation Part I-Chief Complaint by Body Region
6. Symptom Investigation: Part II-Chief Complaint by Symptom
7. Symptom Investigation: Part III History of Trauma
8. Patient Health History Including Identifying Health Risk Factors
9. Review of Systems
10. The Patient Interview: The Physical Examination Begins!
11. Systems Review for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Systems and Vital Signs
12. Upper Quarter Screening Examination
13. Lower Quarter Screening Examination
14. Diagnostic Imaging
15. Laboratory Tests and Values
16. Electrodiagnostic Testing

SECTION III: SPECIAL POPULATIONS
17. The Adolescent Population
18. The Obstetric Client
19. The Geriatric Population
20. Top 10 Medical Conditions to Screen For: The Do-Not-Want-to Miss List