Non-physician-led exercise stress testing is a safe and effective practice.
Exercise stress testing is a non-invasive procedure that provides diagnostic and prognostic information for the evaluation of several pathologies, including arrhythmia provocation, assessment of exercise capacity, and coronary heart disease. Historically, exercise tests were directly supervised by physicians; however, cost-containment issues and time constraints on physicians have encouraged the use of health professionals with specific training and experience to supervise selected exercise stress tests. Evidence suggests that non-physician-led exercise stress testing is a safe and effective practice with similar morbidity and mortality rates as those performed or supervised by a physician.
From the *Department of Cardiology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; †School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; and ‡Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Kate L
KL
Sanford
Katie M
KM
Williams
Joel A
JA
Archbald
William A
WA
Parsonage
Adam C
AC
Scott
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003363:Cost Control; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role