Course Description:

The Primary Spine Care Model is a response to the current disjointed, top-heavy spine care environment which has, in the past few decades, resulted in steadily increasing cost to the healthcare system along with steadily increasing disability for patients. The Primary Spine Care Model shifts the focus from specialists and specialty services, such as MRI, injections and surgery to primary spine care. With this model, patients receive care that is most applicable to in the vast majority of cases and the minority of patients who require specialty services are identified, and coordination for those services are facilitated. Physical therapists play key roles in primary spine care as experts in non-invasive management of spine patients. In this course we introduce the new Primary Spine Care Model as well as a new role within primary spine care, the Primary Spine Practitioner. We also introduce a useful approach for utilizing sound, evidence-based clinical reasoning that allows physical therapists to apply the biopsychosocial model of care in a busy primary spine care environment.