Classification of Physical Therapy Departments’ risk management in Acute Care Hospitals

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to objectively classify the results of a national survey of the risk management (RM) environment of physical therapy (PT) departments in acute-phase hospitals, in addition to understanding the current situation of RM. [Subject] The subjects were 247 institutions among 8,818 hospitals registered in the Health, Welfare, Medical Information Network in August, 2009 that were automatically extracted after searching under the subject of medical treatment and examination/treatment conditions. [Method] Hospital overview, composition of the PT department, manual for corresponding with condition changes, equipment condition of RM apparatus, written request for PT, reports, approval of hospital function evaluation, and the presence of nurses in the PT department were investigated by mail and classified using cluster analysis. [Results] Valid responses were obtained from 148 institutes, which were broadly divided into 7 clusters. In the policy of each department, a significant difference was observed in the mean value of bed numbers along with the degree of policies. Regarding the equipping of RM apparatus, a significant difference was observed in the number of workers depending on the type of apparatus available. [Conclusion] Some characteristics of each cluster varied according to the establishment criteria of the PT facilities and approval of hospitals with specific functions. An organization managing both the soft- ware and hardware is necessary for management of the PT department.