Clinical Care Checklists

As an osteopath, you are likely to treat a wide range of patients including those who are embarking on their pregnancy journey, those who are currently pregnant or who are in the post-natal period. As such it is essential to be aware of the complexities, concerns and potential difficulties that come with treating these unique patients for the best health outcomes.

To assist in this the Women’s Health clinical interest group have produced six clinical care checklists as practical resources that outline some of the major red and yellow flags and concerns that need to be central considerations when treating patients who are planning pregnancy, are pregnant or in the postnatal period.

Each checklist covers a range of biopsychosocial considerations, details on thorough history taking and referral pathways to assist osteopaths who have had limited experience with this sub-population. They highlight that these patients should not be treated in isolation to their pregnancy experience and that a practitioner should understand their own limitations and personal scope of practice when treating these patients.

The checklists have been designed to be used as practical educational and training tool, not only demonstrating major areas of concern but also highlighting areas where additional training and education could be undertaken or when external referral should be taken.

In this article we will be featuring the first four that cover the family planning and pre-pregnancy stage and a separate list for each respective trimesters of pregnancy. The post-natal period and general pelvic health will be covered in our next issue.

Each checklist and additional resources will be available for viewing and download on the Osteopathy Australia website under the article - Identifying Red and Yellow flags in pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, the post-natal period and general pelvic health – Clinical Care Checklists as well as a CPD webinar from the checklist creators providing more in-depth descriptions and clinical case studies from their experience.