The Respiratory Therapy Practice-Based Outcomes Initiative (RT-PBOI): Developing a framework to explore the value added by respiratory therapists to health care in Alberta

BACKGROUND: There exists a political imperative to have access to data that meets the needs of health care administrators, governments, and funding bodies to support evidence-informed decision making. It is incumbent upon respiratory therapists to examine how they can deliver the highest-quality patient care, but also that they add value to health systems that ensure the benefits of health innovations are shared equitably among all members of our communities. PURPOSE: To explore the perceived value contributed by the respiratory therapy profession to health care and the health care system in the Province of Alberta at patient, team, and system levels. RESEARCH METHODS: An interpretive descriptive approach was adopted, including the formation of a description and exploration of possible associations, relationships, and patterns within a field of practice. CONCLUSIONS: The qualitative data analysis uncovered a framework that could inform research efforts of the respiratory therapy community in a way that contributes to the proposed mechanisms by which the profession generates value for the organization and patients. The RT-PBOI Conceptual Model identified five key concepts relating to the value contributed by respiratory therapists to health care: technical skills, practice across settings, strategic expertise, tools that leverage capacity, and growing value into the future.