Abstract
Implementation of these roles was found to reduce waiting times for appointments, reduce length of stay, improve access to care, reduce other clinicians' workload in primary care and emergency departments, streamline orthopaedic surgeons' caseload, and improve patient satisfaction. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 47(3), 150-159. https://doi.org/10.15619/NZJP/47.3.03 Key Words: Delivery of Health Care, Health Workforce, Physical Therapy Specialty, Professional Role INTRODUCTION Ageing populations, increasing prevalence of long-term and co-morbid conditions, ongoing health inequity, growing healthcare costs, and workforce demands are driving international change in healthcare design and delivery. Studies were included if they reported research findings (primary studies and systematic reviews) investigating the impact of advanced physiotherapy on healthcare efficacy, efficiency, service design, patient outcomes or perceptions (public or health professionals) of APPs, and were published in English between January 2010 and September 2017. Statistically significant improvements were seen in all target variables (clinical: pain intensity Visual Analogue Scale, General Health Questionnaire psychological distress, EQ-5D quality of life, Short Form Health Survey [SF12] mental and physical health subscales; psychosocial: pain catastrophising, work and physical activity fear and avoidance; work-related: sickness absence, work performance) from baseline to end of treatment, and to the three-month follow-up.