The Pros And Cons Of Physical Therapy

This frees up the physician’s schedule to see only the medically necessary patients, whereas PTs can share the load of musculoskeletal evaluations. Mitchell and Lissovoy published a study in 1994 on the cost effectiveness of direct access to PTs. They found that the costs for PT visits were 123% higher when patients were first seen by a physician as compared to when they were seen by a physical therapist directly. Establishing close working relationships between medical doctors and PTs, with a 2-way referral of patients, is essential to reduce not only unnecessary referrals, but also improve patient satisfaction and create an efficient process for reducing overall medical costs.

Colleges with a medical department often have a master’s program for physical therapy. (“Physical Therapists”) Physical therapy students have a required amount of field work in order to complete a program. Each candidate must work in an accredited workplace for the field work assignments. This part of the program is extremely valuable and helpful for a new therapist entering the field. Working one on one can be difficult even with all of the educational tools. (Curtis 37)

Ever since I was young my life goals were to help others when I grew up, however I wasn’t exactly sure how. Throughout the past couple years, with a wonderful support system; I have been able to make the decision about wanting to achieve the goal of becoming a physical therapist. It is my belief that I have a high spiritual calling to be a physical therapist, because I have the intention to be able to guide others. I gather that this can be spiritual, because helping others is what God’s intentions are, and would recommend others to follow in His footsteps. My mindset is indeed compassionate, empathetic, selfless, and strong with a thirst for knowledge. Being a physical therapist has many rewards such as happiness, equality, and a sense of accomplishment which can be very valuable and will affect my life in a positive manner.

The day-to-day writing in the field of Physical Therapy varies depending on the audience. The audience determines the purpose of the writing and writing style. Physical Therapists (PT) use evidence-based exercises and activities to rehabilitate their patients in order for them to reach their unique goal. Since PT’s work with both medical professionals and patients, they must adjust their writing to be able to communicate effectively. PT’s are just one of the many people in the medical field that may work with a particular patient so it is important that the communication between the different layers of the medical field are precise and clear. Writing to a patient is also important because they are the person who is being directly affected

So, I am going to clear up some of these myths. These myths are from a article I read called 7 Direct Access Myths Debunked. One topic is that it only applies to private outpatient Physical Therapy Practices. The truth is that is applies to many other areas as well like private pay home care or sports field and performing arts venues, etc. So it's not just applied for one group. If you really need serious go to a physical therapy clinic but you still might have to get approval from your primary care physician. Another Myth is that Direct access doesn’t exist in every state. That is somewhat true but there are different levels of direct access. A state my just limit the amount or put a limit on it. So a form of direct access does exist in every state so you just have to figure out what works best for you. Mississippi is one of the six states that has strict limitations that still require approval. Another myth is that allowing patients coming without a referral from their physician puts their health at risk. “Physical Therapist are doctoral-level medical professionals whose training and education make them more than qualified to not only conduct initial evaluations, but also recognize when a patient’s medical needs fall outside of their scope”(Andrus). Physical Therapist are doctors. They go to med-school like every other doctor does. They can see when a Patient needs therapy or not. According to Apta’s Guide of Professional Conduct it is required that PT’s should evaluate the patient for signs and symptoms of damage for therapy. A doctor would not just treat someone without evaluating

This research project addressed concerns from opponents and included statistical data to support the fact that direct access to physical therapy (PT) does not cause harm, improved patients’ outcomes and is cost-effective when comparing the number of visits of the direct access group with the physician-referred group.

The current statutes and directives from the different states will illustrate the dissonance in the present status on PT and medication management in the US (American Physical Therapy Association [APTA], 2013). The APTA recognizes the role of PTs in the medication reconciliation and use of certain medications, but has no official position regarding the ESP of medication prescription for PTs (APTA, 2013). In stark contrast to the stance of the CSP from which from the start fought for prescriptive rights of PTs in the UK since 1999 (CSP, 2013). Currently, no US state or territory accords prescription privileges to PTs. Hence, the author firmly believes that a federal law or the individual PT state practice acts must be amended for PTs to be able to prescribe certain medications relevant to the scope of practice. The scope of practice of the PT profession is dynamic. Therefore the existing regulations and laws should be adapted to the needs of the profession and most importantly the

The Physical Therapy profession has been around for many years. “The American physical therapy profession emerged during and following the First World War as a result of the need for trained providers of therapeutic exercise – who practiced under the supervision of a physician – for the rehabilitation of injured soldiers.” (Wrynn, 2014) The profession over the past few years has had a huge expansion in need. “Physical therapists (PTs) provide services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients with injuries or disease. (Physical Therapist, 2012) Physical Therapist work with the patient to make sure

Physician owned physical therapy services (POPTS) are organizations in which a physician can financially gain from referring physical therapy services to an institution in which they have ownership or some sort of financial stake in the company of referral. This is commonly known as referral for profit.1 An example of POPTS is an orthopedic surgeon owning his/her practice that employs physical therapists to which he/she only refers their patients. This type of referral not only gives unfair advantage to the physician owner; it more importantly takes away from the patient’s choice of provider. This issue has been a source of controversy for some time. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has been in opposition to POPTS since the late 1970s. This opposition did not gain traction until the Stark legislation in the 1990s; which

You have raised a thought provoking question. This is the type of inquiry that we should be particularly keen when it comes to our profession. To reiterate my reply from yesterday’s discussion post addressed to Jinky as physical therapists we are expected to possess an excellent skills set on diagnostic process that involves the collection of important data, identifying signs and symptoms, mechanism of injury, and prognosis of the patient (“Today’s Physical Therapist: A Comprehensive Review of a 21st-Century Health Care Profession”, 2011). In addition, in our profession it is a widespread knowledge that physical therapists have a hand in identifying whether a patient needs a referral to another healthcare practitioner if necessary. I encountered

A man age of 40 has had a stroke and has been rushed to the nearest hospital by his son. The doctors know exactly what has happened and treat the father as best as they can to help reduce the consequences of the stroke. The father is stable and is now conscience of his surroundings but is unable to move is right arm, and leg because of the effects the stroke had on the left hemisphere of his brain. The doctors now agree that because of his circumstances he is to be admitted into in-patient physical and occupational therapy. The man is confused as to why he needs physical and occupational therapy because he thought that they were the same thing; and if they are different which would be best for him.

Privilege to order diagnostic images are limited to the physicians only in many clinical settings. Yet, other health care specialists are allowed to order diagnostic images in some clinical settings. In relation to our profession, physical therapists in the United States are becoming more autonomous and can practice some degree of direct access to ordering diagnostic images in many states and in Washington, DC (Boyles et al. 2011). Moreover, I have always stated in my previous posts that I support allowing physical therapists to request images. This is because physical therapists have continued to make significant progress in considering pathology in determining the appropriateness of physical therapy for their patients (Davenport & Sebelski

In view of legislative matters, there are some clearances to pass before one may enroll in a Physical Therapy Program in the U.S. More specifically, one needs to go through a process with respect to fingerprinting and the declaration of all criminal records. Fingerprints are to be cleared by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The procedure for fingerprinting is completed by the adherence of the prerequisites of the “Live Scan fingerprinting.” This comes together with a fee of forty-nine dollars and additional fees determined by the Live Scan agency themselves (APTA). As for criminal records, it is crucial to uphold integrity when it comes to declarations. The APTA takes it very seriously as depicted in APTA criminal background checks report that is twenty-eight pages long. It is very detailed and it demands all types of crimes to be declared, from minor traffic violations to arrest records (APTA). This has been implemented with strict regulations due to the uprising trend in falsification of background checks. The rationale for such a detailed check is to ensure that the public’s faith in the professionalism and ethics of physical therapists are not compromised. This background check would also serve as a precaution to eliminate

Although I have been interested in a medical profession and helping people for as long as I can remember, it wasn't until recently that my life was significantly impacted by physical therapy. Being an athlete for the majority of my life, I experienced my fair share of injuries and therefore I know the feeling of being sidelined from an injury and how it seems to affect nearly every aspect of your life. It's not just your body that is injured, it's also your mind and spirit. One of my more serious injuries was a torn meniscus during my freshman year of college while I was pursuing my dream of playing collegiate softball. This included post-surgery rehab, which required a significantly longer amount of time working with physical therapists than

Physical Therapy is the one of the most important thing a person may need when recovering from an injury or disease. P.T.’s are highly educated professionals that teach their applicants how to recover and build their strength up the right way such as exercise, manual therapy, hydrotherapy, electrical therapy and ultrasound therapy. Physical Therapy has been a top chosen profession since World War 1 when Physical therapists were originally called Reconstruction Aids. Physical Therapy first started off as a predominately female career, but as the years progressed more and more males started to enter this chosen profession. During WW1 there were many cases of musculoskeletal injuries that involved soldiers whom were treated by Physical