Early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders in paediatric primary care: A scoping review.

There is a predicted shortage of primary care doctors in the next decade,1­4 and there are infants and toddlers at risk for cerebral palsy (CP) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that typically do not get diagnosed until after the 6­18-month time period where the brain has more plasticity to change its trajectory with how these neurodevelopmental disorders manifest.5­15 This scoping review investigated facilitating characteristics of the models of care (MOC) that improve early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as CP and ASD, in the paediatric primary care setting since primary care practitioners are typically the first to see infants and toddlers for health care check-ups.16,17 In addition, since the United States Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act18 was enacted in 2010, this legislation has allowed nonphysician practitioners to participate in primary care to facilitate more efficient healthcare delivery. Therefore, this scoping review examined if non-physician practitioners, such as occupational therapists, have been used since 2010 within MOC, and demonstrated if the facilitating characteristics align with the occupational therapy scope of practice. Results demonstrated that interdisciplinary staff in the paediatric primary care setting contributed to improved early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders.