SAN DIEGO--There's a popular saying that goes in this vein: There really is no such thing as luck; it is what you do with the situations you are confronted with that determines your own fate. PTs who are in private practice or who are contemplating such a venture would be wise to adopt this strategy for the foreseeable future, according ...

SAN DIEGO--In a two-part session to accommodate a wide range of topics on Medicare and federal health care law changes, APTA presented ''Emerging Issues in Medicare and Federal Affairs: What Every PT Needs to Know'' to a packed audience on Wednesday at CSM. The first point the speakers felt attendees needed to know was that its government affairs ...

After much sweat and tears this past semester, I've finally managed to finish my three online classes for my DPT with a month to spare. It was perhaps the most challenging semester so far, with a class titled ''Direct Access.'' Having worked 20-plus years for healthcare systems, I was quite comfortable with seeing patients who were required by ...

Physical therapists who haven't been paying attention to the legislative battle raging in California might want to start. As the APTA detailed in its Aug. 30 press release, ''In California, a Rough Ride for Senate Bill 924,'' the latest salvo was just fired: ''California physical therapists have been infuriated by the legislative wrangling that ...

  Tampa-June 7, 2012--The City of Tampa is becoming one of the most vital cities to decide what happens in nationwide politics in the upcoming election. Not only will the city be the site of the Republican National Convention in August, but here's a bit of political trivia: Tampa as a city has voted for the president in all but one of the ...

  If you ever get a chance to talk to actors, you'll find that one of their biggest fears is being ''typecast'': always up for parts playing the same character-the good guy, the bad guy, the ''sidekick,'' the token girlfriend, the criminal, the rough-at-the-edges cop, the snob...you name it. Have too much success at one type of role, the ...

On Feb. 22, President Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (HR 3630), noted a Feb. 24 press release from the APTA. Among other facets, this act extends the therapy cap exceptions process for the remainder of 2012. The law mandates consistent use of the KX modifier upon reaching the $1,880 therapy cap and puts in ...

  Defending the PT profession can take not much more than becoming more active in your own state, as drivers of the Public Policy Practice and Professional Affairs group (PPPPA) are calling PTs and PTAs to action. On Feb. 9 at the Combined Sections Meeting, Justin Elliott, director of state government affairs and Angela Chasteen, senior ...

An Oct. 14 press release from the APTA detailed the results of an intriguing new study in the journal Health Services Research. The study suggests ''the role of the physician gatekeeper in regard to physical therapy may be unnecessary in many cases'' and could have significant implications for the U.S. health care system. Funded by a grant from ...

We recently had a representative from the APTA speak to our class about the structure of the organization, as well as some current legislative topics that are on the radar within physical therapy. What sparked my interest most was the prospect of PT being added to the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) list of eligible professionals to benefit ...