During your first visit you can expect the following:

• Arrive at your appointment with your paperwork completed (you can download it from our website - see the paperwork or forms link).
• You will provide us with your prescription for physical therapy.
• We will copy your insurance card.
• You will be seen for the initial evaluation by the therapist.
• The therapist will discuss the following:
  
  
  1. Your medical history.
  2. Your current problems/complaints.
  3. Pain intensity, what aggravates and eases the problem.
  4. How this is impacting your daily activities or your functional limitations.
  5. Your goals with physical therapy.
  6. Medications, tests, and procedures related to your health.
• The therapist will then perform the objective evaluation which MAY include one or more of the following:
  
  
  1. Special Tests - the therapist may perform special tests to confirm/rule out the presence of additional problems.
  2. Posture Assessment - the positions of joints relative to ideal and each other may be assessed.
• Range of Motion (ROM) - the therapist will move the joint(s) to check for the quality of movement and any restrictions.
• Muscle Testing - the therapist may check for strength and the quality of the muscle contraction. Pain and weakness may be noted. Often the muscle strength is graded. This is also part of a neurological screening.
• Neurological Screening - the therapist may check to see how the nerves are communicating with the muscles, sensing touch, pain, vibration, or temperature. Reflexes may be assessed as well.
• Palpation - may or may not be done depending on your problem and the area of location.

The therapist will then formulate a list of problems you are having, and how to treat those problems. A plan is subsequently developed with the patient's input. This includes how many times you should see the therapist per week, how many weeks you will need therapy, home programs, patient education, short-term/long-term goals, and what is expected after discharge from therapy. This plan is created with input from you, your therapist, and your doctor.

Make sure you bring your physical therapy referral (provided to you by your doctor) and your payment information. If your insurance is covering the cost of physical therapy, bring your insurance card. If you are covered by Workers' Compensation, bring your claim number and your case manager's contact information. If you are covered by auto insurance or an attorney lien, make sure you bring this information.

You should wear loose fitting clothing so you can expose the area that we will be evaluating and treating. For example, if you have a knee problem, it is best to wear shorts. For a shoulder problem, a tank top is a good choice, and for low back problems, wear a loose fitting shirt and pants, again so we can perform a thorough examination.

Average visits are 45 minutes.

This is highly variable. You may need one visit or you may need months of care. It depends on your diagnosis, the severity of your problems. Our average duration is 6-8 visits.

Physical therapists are experts at treating movement and neuro-musculoskeletal disorders. Pain often accompanies a movement disorder, and physical therapists can help correct the disorder and relieve the pain.

Who is better to see, a PT that works for a physician or a PT that owns a private practice? We leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions but here are some facts. The studies indicate there were more treatments (visits per patient were 39% to 45% higher in physician owned clinics) and the cost was greater for those patients that attended a physician owned physical therapy practice (both gross and net revenue per patient were 30% to 40% higher)¹.

Another study indicated that licensed and non-licensed therapy providers spent less time with each patient in physician owned clinics and physical therapy assistants were substituted for physical therapists.²

Another older study concluded that "Therapists who had treated patients through direct access were significantly more likely to believe that direct access had benefited them professionally and benefited their patients than were therapists who had not practiced through direct access."³

We believe that we can provide you with the highest quality of care available and do it in a cost-effective manner.⁴ You will work closely with your physical therapist and in most instances, your case will be managed by the same physical therapist from the beginning to the end of your experience with us.

1. Mitchell, J., Scott, E., Physician Ownership of Physical Therapy Services: Effects on Charges, Utilization, Profits, and Service Characteristics, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992.
2. "Joint Ventures Among Health Care Providers in Florida," State of Florida Health Care Cost Containment Board, 1991.
3. Domholdt E, Durchholz AG. Direct access use by experienced therapists in states with direct access. Phys Ther. 1992 Aug;72(8):569-74.
4. Federal Office of the Inspector General May 1, 2006 - This report calls into question billing processes done by non-physical therapist owned practices.

You will be evaluated by one of our licensed and highly trained physical therapists and he/she will also treat you during subsequent visits. Unlike some clinics, where you see someone different each visit, we feel it is very important to develop a one-on-one relationship with you to maintain continuity of care. Since only one physical therapist knows your problems best, he/she is the one that will be working closely with you to speed your recovery.

Flare ups are not uncommon. If you have a flare up (exacerbation), give us a call. We may suggest you come back to see us, return to your doctor, or simply modify your daily activities or exercise routine.

In most cases, you have the right to choose any physical therapy clinic. You can make this request of your choice to your doctor. Our practice is a provider for many different insurance plans.

The best thing to do is give us a call and we will attempt to answer all of your questions.

Forty-four states have some form of direct access. Some state physical therapy practice acts require a diagnosis before a patient can see a therapist (this is the case in California, Michigan, and Colorado to name a few). Other states allow patients to go directly to physical therapists. In most cases, if you are not making significant improvement within 30 days, the therapist will refer you to/back to your physician.

Seeing a physical therapist first is safe and could save you hundreds of dollars. Click here for details

Physicians make medical diagnoses. Physical therapists can make mechanical diagnoses, and we will do so as a result of the initial evaluation.

Billing for physical therapy services is similar to what happens at your doctor's office. When you are seen for treatment, the following occurs:

1. The physical therapist bills your insurance company, Workers' Comp, or charges you based on Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes.
2. Those codes are transferred to a billing form that is either mailed or electronically communicated to the payer.
3. The payer processes this information and makes payments according to an agreed upon fee schedule.
4. An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) is generated and sent to the patient and the physical therapy clinic with a check for payment and a balance due by the patient.
5. The patient is expected to make the payment on the balance if any.

It is important to understand that there are many small steps (beyond the outline provided above) within the process. Exceptions are common to the above example as well. At any time along the way, information may be missing, miscommunicated, or misunderstood. This can delay the payment process. While it is common for the payment process to be completed in 60 days or less, it is not uncommon for the physical therapy clinic to receive payment as long as six months after the treatment date.