Athletic trainers, commonly mistaken for “trainers” or “personal trainers”, are certified and licensed healthcare providers with an extensive educational background in the evaluation and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. Athletic trainers (AT’s) have been reported in sport medicine and orthopedic physicians’ offices since the mid -1970’s. However, more recently there has been a greater focus on the benefits of the AT in a physician office. Comprehensive Orthopaedics has been utilizing the athletic trainer model since 2006. Since that time the model has continued to grow to increase physician efficiency, patient care, and clinic flow. A majority of our physicians (9 total) have a lead AT that helps maintain and manage their practice.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN A PHYSICIAN OFFICE:
Our athletic trainer provide comprehensive support to each of our physicians to aid in meeting all clinical needs for their different practices. The AT has many roles in the physician office which include:
- Patient triage
- Initial patient assessment
- Presentation of findings to physician
- Scheduling addition tests and procedures
- Patient education in pre- and postoperative instructions
- Wound care and dressing care
- Brace fitting, casting, and splinting
- Home exercise instruction
- Gait and crutch training
- Suture removal
- Completing insurance paperwork
- Answering patient phone calls and questions
Our Athletic Trainers help our physicians to:
- Increase patient and clinic flow
- Aid in physician productivity, allowing more patients to be seen per day
- Improve communication with referral sources such as physical therapy or other healthcare providers
- Act as an extension of the physician to enhance medical services
- Narrow staff to a single ancillary provider that encompass many skills to improve patient care and satisfaction
