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Standards for wheelchair prescription
Author(s) -
Di Marco Allie,
Russell Mary,
Masters Margot
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1630.2003.00316.x
Subject(s) - wheelchair , medical prescription , rehabilitation , spinal cord injury , accountability , process (computing) , service (business) , intervention (counseling) , medicine , service delivery framework , best practice , physical medicine and rehabilitation , process management , physical therapy , nursing , business , computer science , spinal cord , political science , psychiatry , world wide web , marketing , law , operating system
Wheelchair prescription for individuals with a spinal cord injury is a highly complex and challenging clinical intervention. Evidence exists that successful outcomes are not always achieved for the wheelchair user and that therapists are experiencing increasing pressure to be accountable for and to justify their wheelchair prescription practice. This paper describes the process of establishing an evaluation of wheelchair prescription practices by occupational therapists in a spinal injury rehabilitation unit in South Australia. The evaluation process centred on the development of standards of practice to monitor performance and led to improvements in: (i) service delivery practices; (ii) wheelchair user participation; and (iii) accountability and justification of service delivery. Steps taken to develop the standards of practice to monitor performance and the benefits and limitations of the evaluation are described.