As a specialist in complex whiplash care, you will be involved in the management of patients assessed as medium to high risk of poor recovery.
Your role involves the assimilation of information from a number of sources in order to determine the best management plan for your patient. These sources may include:
- information provided to you by a patient’s referring primary health professional
- physical and psychological factors you have identified through your own additional assessments.
You should collaborate with the patient’s primary health professional to determine the best management plan based on one of three care pathways:
- Care pathway 1 (Shared care): Continue current care with the primary health professional, monitored by a specialist
- Care pathway 2 (Specialist care): Care initially led by a specialist, before referral back to the primary health professional. The specialist will liaise with the primary health professional to determine the specifics of this care.
- Care pathway 3 (Refer for alternate care): Further referral by the specialist to alternate care. The specialist will liaise with the primary health professional to determine the best options for your patient.
To assist in your decision making process, you may like to review the three care pathways and work through some patient case studies by clicking the links above.
Once you have collaborated with the patient’s primary health professional to make your decision, record it and your clinical reasoning on the My Patients page.