Surgeon – Therapist Communication: Do All Members See Eye-to-Eye?

Abstract Background. Poor interprofessional collaboration has been shown to negatively affect patient care within many fields of medicine. Growing evidence is suggesting that improved interprofessional collaboration can positively affect patient care. Postoperative rehabilitation of many orthopedic conditions necessitates the combined efforts of surgeons, and therapists. There is a paucity of literature examining collaboration among orthopedic surgeons and therapists regarding postoperative rehabilitation. Objectives. The following study examines the perceived quality of communications between orthopedic surgeons and therapists employing an online survey. We hypothesized that collaborative practice patterns result in improved perceptions of communication. Methods. Ethics board approval was obtained. Subjects consisted of orthopedic surgeons, licensed physiotherapists and certified athletic therapists. The online survey was distributed through the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA), the Canadian Physio...