Did you know that physical therapy is actually a prescription item?
Just like when your doctor gives you a medication prescription and you take it to your pharmacy of choice, you have the right to choose where to receive your physical therapy.
Many times, a doctor who is affiliated with a hospital or other medical group will pressure you to see their organization’s physical therapist. This is not necessarily because they feel you will receive the best overall care from their PT; rather this practice helps to insure that revenue from prescription items like physical therapy remains in the organization. This practice is called “self referral for profit” and is ethically reprehensible as it puts the interests of the organization before those of the patient.
The American Physical Therapy Association (www.apta.org) opposes this practice. Their policy states:
APTA is opposed, as a matter of health care policy, to arrangements under which sources of referral (including physicians) stand to profit from referring patients for physical therapy. The policy, adopted by the House of Delegates, states: “The American Physical Therapy Association opposes … participation in services that is in any way linked to the financial gain of the referral source.” – Financial Considerations in Practice (HOD 06-99-13-17) .
When choosing a physical therapist, it is important to choose one who will spend a good amount of one-on-one time with you. You will want a therapist who will be available to answer all your questions, take the time to make a correct diagnosis, work with you to formulate the best plan for your recovery, and teach you what measures to take to help prevent reoccurrences and future injuries.
Barr Physical Therapy and Associates is locally and independently owned and operated, and withall of our years of experience, you can be sure our staff of experts will give you the very best care possible.
You have a choice in where to receive your physical therapy. Why not choose the best?
In October we want you to know the many ways physical therapists and physical therapist assistants can help improve your quality of life by restoring and improving your ability to move.
