How common is preventative care?

[Wildlifelover]

Hi there,

I am currently deciding on my future career and PT is one of the options I am weighing heavily. I have a lot of experience in the outpatient clinic setting, and I have had shadow experience in inpatient, home health, and pediatrics as well. However, I am very intrigued by the idea of preventative/wellness PT but from what I have gathered, it isn't that popular of an option.

Would you guys say this is an area of PT in high demand or would it be an area you would be lucky to break into? What would be the big differences in a DPT working in a gym setting versus a DPT in an outpatient clinic? Scripts from doctors? How does all of this work? How do the job duties differ?

And of course, if anyone here has any experience as a preventative care PT please let me know what you did to get there and what it is like.

Thank you!

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[noyceguy]

Hi there,

I am currently deciding on my future career and PT is one of the options I am weighing heavily. I have a lot of experience in the outpatient clinic setting, and I have had shadow experience in inpatient, home health, and pediatrics as well. However, I am very intrigued by the idea of preventative/wellness PT but from what I have gathered, it isn't that popular of an option.

Would you guys say this is an area of PT in high demand or would it be an area you would be lucky to break into? What would be the big differences in a DPT working in a gym setting versus a DPT in an outpatient clinic? Scripts from doctors? How does all of this work? How do the job duties differ?

And of course, if anyone here has any experience as a preventative care PT please let me know what you did to get there and what it is like.

Thank you!

Insurance does not reimburse for preventative care for PT. So there is no such thing.

 

[Wildlifelover]

Insurance does not reimburse for preventative care for PT. So there is no such thing.

This is why I am confused...

A quote from: http://www.apta.org/PTCareers/Overview/

"Wellness/Prevention/Sports/Fitness - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals with a focus on wellness. This approach to health care emphasizes preventing illness and injury and promoting a healthy lifestyle, as opposed to emphasizing treatment of diseases. Settings may include but aren't limited to fitness centers and sports training facilities."

What is this setting they are talking about then? I could see insurance not reimbursing for preventative care. But then how are PT's working in this setting? People simply paying them without going through insurance?

I just see it as a setting on the APTA website, and I am intrigued. But there is little information out there on it.

 

[jblil]

Settings may include but aren't limited to fitness centers and sports training facilities.

I doubt fitness centers would hire physical therapists; it's much cheaper to hire personal trainers.

Don't take everything you see on APTA's website as gospel.

 

[noyceguy]

This is why I am confused...

A quote from: http://www.apta.org/PTCareers/Overview/

"Wellness/Prevention/Sports/Fitness - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals with a focus on wellness. This approach to health care emphasizes preventing illness and injury and promoting a healthy lifestyle, as opposed to emphasizing treatment of diseases. Settings may include but aren't limited to fitness centers and sports training facilities."

What is this setting they are talking about then? I could see insurance not reimbursing for preventative care. But then how are PT's working in this setting? People simply paying them without going through insurance?

I just see it as a setting on the APTA website, and I am intrigued. But there is little information out there on it.

Physical therapists do not really work in this setting. Mostly inpatient, SNF, home health, and outpatient.

 

[BiffTheFlashRogers]

Some private practices are incorporating one on one training and group exercise classes as alternative revenue sources.

Discussion I started on this exact topic can be found here:

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/research-on-preventative-care.1228092/#post-18278097

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...or-performance-therapy.1224047/#post-18190245

 

[Kuhdaytee]

I observed with a physical therapist who started her own cash-based clinic. She mainly treated people who came to her for acute or chronic injuries, but she also taught yoga classes 1-2 times/week and trained people for wellness/prevention. Some could be patients who were treated for previous injuries and would normally be discharged like your regular outpatient clinic, but wanted to continue paying for her services for wellness/prevention.

 

[PT^]

While insurance doesn't typically reimburse for "preventative care," there are ways to work around that (e.g. cash based PT, private practice, etc.). From what I've seen, PT is really what you make it. I'm huge on preventative care and as a future DPT, I plan on integrating preventative care into all of my treatments. For example, if someone comes to me to post ACL repair from a non-contact injury --> thats a golden opportunity for future preventative care. I am going to assess the heck out of their movement patterns and correct bad biomechanics (e.g. dynamic knee valgus, hip drop, etc.) so that I can prevent them from tearing their ACL again.

 

[truthseeker]

you might call teaching a back pain patient how to lift, stretch their hip muscles, stabilize their core and walk more preventative therapy. Some PTs use estim, massage, tape etc . . . to make them feel better when they hurt but don't stress the importance of the stuff that will make them less likely to hurt themselves in the future.

If you do the first list, technically, you are doing preventative care.