title: Healthcare Quality Indicators for Physiotherapy Management in Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Delphi Study.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to develop healthcare quality indicators (HCQIs) for the physiotherapy (PT) management of patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis (HKOA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Netherlands.
  
  
  
  Two multidisciplinary expert panels, including patients, were instituted. A draft HCQI set was derived from recommendations included in two existing Dutch PT guidelines for HKOA and RA. The panels suggested additional topics, after which a Delphi procedure was performed. All propositions were scored for their potential to represent good-quality PT care (score range 0-9). Based on predefined rules, the Delphi panel HCQIs were discussed and selected. Lastly, every indicator was rephrased, resulting in its output consisting of a numerator and denominator, to facilitate comparisons within and among practices.
  
  
  
  After two Delphi rounds, two final sets of 17 HCQI - one for HKOA and one for RA - were composed, both containing 16 process indicators (regarding initial assessment, treatment and evaluation) and one outcome indicator.
  
  
  
  Two sets of HCQIs for PT management in HKOA and RA were developed for measuring the quality of PT care in daily clinical practice. Each indicator was formulated in a measurable way. Future research should focus on the feasibility of both indicator sets for daily clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, and the Amsterdam Rehabilitation Research Centre | Reade, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Peter
authors.affiliation: Section of Physical Therapy, University of Applied Sciences, FH Campus Wien, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hurkmans
authors.affiliation: Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute of Health Sciences, IQ Healthcare, Nijmegen, and Centre for Evidence Based Physical therapy, CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: van der Wees
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence Based Physical therapy, CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: E J M
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hendriks
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Decision Making, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Bodegom-Vos
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: T P M
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Vliet Vlieland
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000628:therapy*; D003697:Delphi Technique; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000628:therapy*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000592:standards*; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty / Q000592:standards*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care
keywords: Quality indicators; osteoarthritis; physiotherapy; rheumatoid arthritis