BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary, guideline-based Stepped-Care-Strategy (SCS), has recently been developed to improve the management of hip and @entity626 ( @entity571 ). To date, it is unknown to what extent current @entity571 care is consistent with the SCS, both with respect to the content of care as well as the sequence of care. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity regarding the role of different health care providers in the performance of @entity571 care according to the SCS. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to describe the content of primary care in @entity1 with hip/knee @entity571 , including the compliance to the SCS and taking into account the introduction of @entity1 self-referral to physical therapy. METHODS: Data were used from NIVEL Primary Care Database. In total, 12.118 @entity1 with hip/knee @entity571 who visited their GP or physical therapist were selected. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the content of care in GP-referred and self-referred @entity1 to physical therapy. RESULTS: Content of care performed by GPs mostly concerned consultations, followed by NSAID prescriptions and referrals to secondary care. Both prescriptions of @entity1443 and referrals to physical therapy respectively dietary therapy were rarely mentioned. Nevertheless, still 65% of the @entity1 in physical therapy practice were referred by their GP. Compared to GP-referred @entity1 , self-referred @entity1 more often presented recurrent complaints and were treated less often by activity-related exercise therapy. Education was rarely registered as singular intervention, neither in GP-referred nor in self-referred @entity1 . CONCLUSION: In accordance with the SCS, less advanced interventions are more often applied than more advanced interventions. To optimize the adherence to the SCS, GPs could reconsider the frequent use of NSAIDs instead of analgesics and the low referral rate to allied health care. Self-referral to physical therapy partially distorts both the low referral rate in general practice and the low application rate of education as singular intervention in physical therapy practice. Further research is recommended to evaluate the effects of task-shifting in @entity571 care, taking into account the content of the SCS.

Treatment of hip/ XXXX in Dutch general practice and physical therapy practice: an observational study.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity626 :: ('MESH:D020370', 'Disease') :: ['knee osteoarthritis'] @entity1443 :: ('MESH:D000082', 'Chemical') :: ['acetaminophen'] @entity571 :: ('MESH:D010003', 'Disease') :: ['Dutch OA', 'OA']
@entity626 :: (MESH:D020370,Disease) :: ['knee osteoarthritis']
