Physiotherapy and medicines management: A pilot study

Abstract

Aim Only 2.7% of UK registered physiotherapists are qualified to prescribe. This pilot study explored attitudes to medicine use, barriers to prescribing in practice for physiotherapists and training needs. Methods An online questionnaire was distributed via professional networks. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify data with t-tests and Mann-Whitney-U tests were used to explore correlations in data. Qualitative (free text) data were analysed for common themes using thematic analysis. Findings A total of 51 physiotherapists (37% n= 19) prescribers completed the questionnaire. Attitudes towards medicines were similar. Respondents understood the benefits of prescribing but identified personal, professional and organisational barriers. Lack of pharmacology knowledge was reported by 56.7% (n=25) and identified as a training need among physiotherapists who had qualified in the UK (n=44), 40% (n= 20) of respondents identified a lack of support for physiotherapist prescribing in the workplace. Conclusions Exploring physiotherapists' attitudes towards medicines and barriers to implementation of prescribing offers the potential for supportive interventions and future research.