Those are two powerful words in healthcare today -- ''accessible'' and ''affordable.'' We (healthcare providers) need to be accessible and affordable to patients in order to provide care, period. Those two words don't even begin to address quality or evidence-based care, but simply allow patients the opportunity to receive care. This concept is ...

The dining room table no longer is clear. It's covered with journal articles, the Guide to PT Practice, and numerous notes from all of the classes I've completed so far. With the final two classes upon me, I'm feeling quite a bit overwhelmed and I'm not sure why. Previous classes have been quite challenging, and now that I have to incorporate all ...

From the moment we set foot in a facility, we're on the move. We're expected to be productive throughout our day by billing patients for our services. We make it rain for the facility but aren't always recognized for it. When I see every other department in a healthcare setting, they usually take up space and use resources that cost the facility ...

If I had any doubt that patient-focused healthcare was a thing of the past, I don't anymore. Last weekend, a situation arose that showed me charging for services was more important than patient care. I work full-time at one facility and help out at another. The second facility is an hour drive away by highway. It fell to me because I'm the only ...

A friend of mine posted on Facebook today, ''I've maxed out my health insurance deductible, in-network bills are on them now.'' What an interesting state of affairs when we're tempted to congratulate someone for being unwell enough to warrant full payment for health care costs. My only fear is that we're in May. What if they hit their maximum ...

As I'm settling more and more into my current clinical rotation on a traumatic brain injury inpatient rehab unit, opportunities are more frequently coming around to develop hands-on clinical skills. Obviously, a lot of what we do revolves around functional mobility. What that really means is I'm finally getting the chance to practice gait and ...

As the dust begins to settle from separating one department into two, this extended break from school allows me to get a grasp on what being a manager really entails in an outpatient rehabilitation facility. From balancing payroll to juggling hours in three disciplines to staying productive, to completing performance appraisals and performing ...

It's hard for me to believe it has been four years since I graduated PT school. I remember working as a student with physical therapists who had been practicing for four or five years and looking at them as a source of information and experience. Now that I'm on the other side of that spectrum, I still feel like I'm learning every day. As the ...

Years ago, I began working at a large nursing facility that also had an assistive living complex attached to it. The place was immaculate in every detail (except one), had a large library and two fancy dining rooms. There were multiple levels with stairs and elevators located at the end of the halls. To get to the therapy room with patients we had ...

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Alexandria, VA, announced in an April 30 press release that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has signed HB 1034, granting Hoosiers direct access to evaluation and treatment by a physical therapist without a physician referral. Ensuring a patient's choice of which healthcare professional ...