Content of Physician Referrals to Physical Therapists at Clinical ducat ion Sites in Indiana

sional issues, Treatment orders. Background and Purpose. The content of physician referrals to physical thera-pists was studied as an indicator of the level of decision making required of physi-cal therapists. Subjects and Metbods. Seventeen managers of clinical education sites in Indiana provided diagnosis and treatment information o n a total of The capacity to solve problems has been described as one of the defining characteristics of a profession, ' Prob-lem solving is exhibited by physical therapists when they make indepen-dent diagnosis and treatment deci-sions. The level of decision making required by physical therapists can b e demonstrated in several ways. De-creasing proportions of physical ther-apists work in settings in which physi-cians are readily available to assist with decision making. In 1978, 47.1