ABSTRACT
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease that needs nonpharmacological therapy or a rehabilitation program for management. This study aims to know which specialist actually refers knee osteoarthritis patients to physiatrists in Al Ihsan Hospital. From January to June 2019, data were collected from all OA cases. This study uses a quantitative research method with observational study design from patients’ medical records. The results show that 81% of patients with knee osteoarthritis were referred to a physiatrist from a eurologist in Al Ihsan hospital. This study concludes that there is still a lack of understanding of the referring system for knee osteoarthritis patients by the primary health care physician. Further information and standards are required to help primary health care physicians refer to the right specialist for OA cases.
