I've written before about the trend in the UK towards triaging all and treating some patients with musculoskeletal complaints over the telephone. I've been very skeptical of this approach to the problem of access to PT services. By its very definition, we're removing the ''physical'' from physical therapy. A new paper came out last week in ...

Along with all the chaos that accompanies a capstone project, additional pressing issues come to the front lines. Within the past few months, the subject of G-Codes has taken up a majority of time in regard to educating ourselves, clinical and ancillary staff, as well as a busy IT department. In preparation for a mandatory July 1 compliance date, ...

I was working with an elderly female on transfer safety. After about 20 minutes, she understood the sequencing involved in standing up from a wheelchair. This was important -- she had fallen multiple times because she had forgotten to lock the brakes on the chair. I was satisfied that she was safe and we proceeded with other aspects of mobility. ...

In past posts, I've expressed frustration at volunteering for various opportunities within the APTA and the Neurology Section. A few months ago, I was nominated for a position on the nominating committee for the stroke special interest group. The results arrived today. I wasn't elected. I wasn't surprised. One of the questions nominees were asked ...

A few months back I blogged about how Gretchen Reynolds, the New York Times fitness writer, was doing a job that might be better done by a physical therapist. I've been reading her column fairly regularly and the responses from other readers are often more enlightening than the original articles themselves. One arose today that made me confident ...

Over the past few months I've noticed a few things about the physical therapy profession that caught my attention, and I wanted to describe the situations here.  First, I was speaking with a physical therapist about the doctorate program education for physical therapists, and she responded, ''I think it's a really good thing that they are ...

I was at the grocery store a few days ago. There was one cashier and a long line of people. One person told the cashier what she already knew, ''There's a line going out the door.'' I stood silent waiting my turn. The guy behind me seemed impatient and was making grunting noises while holding a case of beer. Clearly he had somewhere important to ...

Last week in his post, fellow ADVANCE blogger Dean Metz shared some good news. CMS has ruled the need for skilled intervention, not functional improvement, makes therapy reimbursable. This means, as he pointed out, patients with chronic conditions can receive treatment without first experiencing an exacerbation. This will undoubtedly result in an ...

A report from the Commonwealth Fund was just highlighted in the press. It's a remarkable comparison of healthcare costs between developed nations. It shouldn't be surprising that the United States spent more on health care per capita than any other developed country. Unfortunately all that spending is not resulting in superior quality of ...

It was recently brought to my attention that in certain states, the option exists to take the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) prior to graduation if certain requirements have been met. Eligibility varies from state to state -- some require completion of the didactic portion of the program, others set a maximum amount of time prior to ...