Physio First DfI Project Extension (Aug 2020)

A lack of quality standards and benchmarking in the physiotherapy private sector has led to variation in patient experience. Increasingly, physiotherapy services are held accountable for the quality and equity of care provision. In order to demonstrate and account for the delivery and quality of their clinical services, in addition to their clinical examination notes, practitioners need to be collecting data in a robust and consistent way (i.e. patient demographics, clinical presentation, service delivery and outcomes of care). 

We have worked collaboratively with Physio First (the trade organisation of chartered physiotherapists working in private practice) to develop a standardised data collection system to facilitate data capture providing private practitioners across the UK with an opportunity to show how their services are efficient, timely and equitable. 

Since the launch of the Data for Impact (DfI) system we have seen a substantial increase in the number of Physio First members registered to use the system (rising from 158 members in 2014 to more than 1000 members in 2020). The DfI database, which now has in excess of 75,000 patient datasets, provides an evidence base for physiotherapy demand, delivery and patient outcomes at the national scale.

The DfI system and data analysis has underpinned the launch of the first Quality Assurance (QA) awards for private practitioners (QAP) and clinics (QAC) for Physio First members in the UK. In April 2019, BUPA endorsed the QAC recognising it as part of their commissioning process.