Evidence-Informed Practice Standard of Practice PDF
Standard
The physiotherapist engages in evidence-informed practice in physiotherapy service delivery.
Expected outcome
Clients can expect that the physiotherapy services they receive are informed by the best available and credible evidence, the personal knowledge, training, and experience of the physiotherapist, and the client’s perspective.
Performance expectations
The physiotherapist:
- Before incorporating new or emerging therapies into the physiotherapy services they provide, is aware of:
- Related legislative and regulatory considerations
- The evolution of the physiotherapy profession
- The training, knowledge, skills, and judgment necessary to enable the new or emerging practice
- Critically appraises evidence relevant to the practice setting, population served, and available assessment and treatment options before integrating evidence into practice.
- Incorporates critically appraised physiotherapy-related evidence into assessment and treatment plans.
- Clearly communicates with clients and others when the services proposed are emerging or complementary therapies.
- Advises the client of the current evidence, and implications of receiving emerging or complementary therapies, including potential funding implications, and the physiotherapist’s training in the performance of the services proposed, obtaining client informed consent for emerging or complementary therapies.
- Integrates critical thinking and professional judgment into client-centred care, evaluating their practice in terms of client outcomes, and modifying approaches based on this self-reflective process.
- Shares information related to evidence and best practices and does not promote information, treatment options, or products that are not grounded in scientific, peer reviewed, and physiologically plausible evidence.
- Offers or confirms that the client has received evidence- based, best practice physiotherapy approaches before offering emerging treatments that are outside of established evidence-based physiotherapy.
