Value Centered PT Care

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Since I have been slow in reading some of the PT journals that I receive, I

missed this guest editorial in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical

Therapy from February 2008:

" Preserving the Quality of the Patient-Therapist Relationship:

An Important Consideration for Value-Centered Physical Therapy Care "

PAUL F. BEATTIE, PT, PhD, OCS

ROGER M. NELSON, PT, PhD, FAPTA

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2008;38(2):34-35.

Why is this important? Well this article cites numerous research reports

that back up what myself and others have been trying to say about use of

care extenders and other care delivery methods that reduce the time a

patient spends with their primary therapist. It is not just that we want to

practice a certain way. It is because the research supports that method as

providing the best value.

If we really are concerned about loss of practice to other fields and loss

of reimbursement, then we need to reassert what kind of PT practice provides

the best value for patients. And according to the research, the best value

comes with practices that improve the quality of the PT-patient interaction.

Constantly changing therapists or delegating patients to care extenders all

the time does not help create value in the minds of the patients and does,

by the research, diminish the value of PT. Something to think about.

The full text is available at the JOSPT website but let me know if you can't

gain access and I can provide the text.

Tom Howell, P.T., M.P.T.

Howell Physical Therapy

Eagle, ID

howellpt@...