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This is the General News Posting Page. If you are posting information on HOD or Legislative Issues, please use the Members Only posting pages - click on "Members Only".
  • 01-Mar-2023 2:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The gathering for the APTA Montana’s winter conference, albeit cold in temperature, was warm and energizing while together. The knowledge, fun, and passion that was shared by all participants was inspiring to witness. As membership director, I find it invigorating to attend these conferences and enjoy meeting new members every time.

    During this meeting I looked at our mission, vision, values, and core focus. When I stepped back and thought about what this means to our members and future members, I discovered the importance of community and gathering. We have so many new PT’s moving into our communities as well as many native Montana’s that love to enjoy what the Big Sky has to offer.

    CALL TO ACTION.  I need community ambassadors from all over Montana to join me to lead local PT gatherings or what we are calling a PT Social throughout 2023. There are no parameters or forced time commitment. You could do a hike, journal club, book club, coffee social, and many more activities. If you already have a local, regular, meet ups please contact us by replying to this email. I am very excited to interact and brainstorm with all of you!

    Your Membership Director, Nicole Macaluso

    Inspiring collaboration, fostering success!


  • 01-Dec-2022 9:54 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Emily Herndon, APTA Montana President, leading the Payment Committee, met with Blue Cross, Mountain Co-op, and Medicaid in the last two months. Highlights of the discussions include specific CPT codes, frustration with credentialling which each acknowledged, Healthy Kids of Montana issues, and more. For full minutes of these meetings, and for links to contacts and resources, see notes at the payment section of our website. Members sign in is required. 


  • 28-Nov-2022 9:54 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    We as a profession are still facing draconian cuts to Medicare for 2023. The only thing that can move our lawmakers to act is your voice as their constituent. I urge you to take 1 minute to make your voice heard by going to the following link: Take Action on Medicare!

    This link works for any PT, PTA, PTA Student whether you are a member of the APTA or not. Even your patients and your staff can weigh in. We are going for volume of responses with this pre-written communication but by all means, you are encouraged to amend this letter and include any patient stories or small business hardships as examples of why including the ‘Supporting Medicare Providers Act (H.R. 8800)’ and the ‘SMART Act (H.R. 5536)’ need to be included in year-end legislation. Do this now and make congress work for us and our patients!

    Be sure to sign up on that page for alert notifications directly from APTA.


  • 11-Nov-2022 9:57 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    APTA Montana is looking for an interested member to be the Secretary on the Board of Directors. This position is a two year term and voting member of the Board of Directors. The Secretary maintains the records of the organization including motions made at the membership and board meetings. They also serve as the chapter liaison to the Board of PT Examiners.

    Contact the APTA Montana Nominating Committee, or the office, today if you interested or would like to learn more about how you can get involved:

    Tom Little
    Nominating Committee Chair
    thomas.little095@gmail.com


  • 10-Nov-2022 9:56 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    APTA Montana Board of Directors, committee chairs, and other volunteers met over a weekend in October to update the strategic plan. As a result, the board adopted the updated mission and vision statements, values and goals:

    APTA Montana Mission Statement: Advancing and impacting the physical therapy community to enhance life's adventures under the Big Sky. 

    Vision Statement: Transforming lives through movement

    APTA MT is passionate  passionate about our profession and drive to make change through advocacy, education, and community. APTA MT core values are COMMUNITY, ADVANCEMENT, IMPACT. APTA MT will focus on member value, a sustainable profession, quality of care, and demand and access through advocacy, education, and community. 

    Thank you to Emily Herndon, Samantha Schmidt, Jim McLean, Jeanne Korn, Nicole Macaluso, Jon Carling, Thomas Little, Brent Denisar-Green, and Laurie Roberts for taking a weekend away from family to meet and plan on behalf of APTA Montana.


  • 08-Nov-2022 9:59 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    APTA has created a toolkit to help components and practices spread the word about the APTA Consumer Awareness Research Report . The toolkit contains the full report (PDF), an FAQ document, and suggested social media posts with downloadable graphics and links for both the member and consumer audiences that highlight report data about consumers’ positive perceptions of and experience with physical therapy. Components and practices can use these resources to foster professional pride among PTs, PTAs, and students, and inform them about the challenges and opportunities identified. The ChoosePT social media graphics are designed to educate consumers about relevant findings such as patients’ positive physical therapy experience, physical therapy as a safe alternative to opioids, PTs as movement experts, direct access, and physical therapy’s role in long COVID. 


  • 08-Nov-2022 9:58 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    A Gendered Approach to Injury Risk, by Audrey Elias, PT, PhD
    November 8, 7pm. 
    1 hour CE, Category A
    Watch LIVE or VIEW LATER.

    Restoring load capacity in the athlete with lower extremity relative overuse injuries, Rich Willy, PT, PhD
    January 28-29, 2023
    Butte, Montana

    Physical Therapy Solutions to the Low Back Pain Conundrum, Wayne Rath, PT, Dip MDT, CEAS
    April 29-30, 2023
    Bozeman, Montana

    Jeanne Korn and the volunteer Programs Committee are also working on the following programs, soon to be confirmed:

    • A program on payment for PTs, PTAs, and billing staff with Robbie Leonard, April 29, 2023, Bozeman.
    • Quarterly webinars in 2023, 1-2 hours each. If you are interested in presenting a webinar, please send title and description as a proposal to Jeanne Korn
    • Lifestyle medicine, Good for you, good for your patients, October 7, 2023, Missoula
    • A course by Meghan Teed, October 7-8, 2023, Missoula


  • 07-Oct-2022 1:52 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Based on a 2021 survey, the results show significant growth in the public's understanding of the profession's role and level of expertise.


    Consumers' perceptions of physical therapy are moving away from the idea that it's only about injury recovery and toward an understanding that PTs can also help them move more efficiently and reduce pain: That's one of the main takeaways from APTA's recently released report on the public's awareness of the profession. Results from the 2021 survey and focus groups also reveal that a growing number of consumers view PTs as more knowledgeable than primary care providers in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of injuries, injury prevention, and mobility improvement.

    The study, sponsored by APTA and conducted by SMS Research, included responses from 400 online survey participants (an amount above the participant standard for market research and associated with a 95% confidence interval) and eight focus groups held in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, and Orange County, California. Respondents and focus group participants ranged in age from 30 to 64 and included people who had received physical therapy as well as those who had not. Many areas of the study mirror research conducted in 2016, which allowed APTA to gauge shifts in consumer awareness and assess the role APTA's public relations strategy may have played.

    Overall, the study reveals that APTA's public relations work — including the association's national ChoosePT public brand and related campaigns around opioid use and physical activity, as well as its extensive ChoosePT.com consumer website — is helping shape public opinion about the profession.

    Among the findings:

    • A track record of positive consumer experiences: Among respondents who had received physical therapy, 92% rated their experience as either very (63%) or somewhat (29%) beneficial.
    • A growing recognition of PTs as first-choice providers after physicians: When it comes to diagnosis and treatment of injury, pain, or movement limitations, PTs were selected as the provider of choice after physicians among those who had received physical therapy in the past (33%) as well as those who hadn't (29%) — rates higher than orthopedists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and occupational therapists.
    • Expanded perception of what PTs can do: While in 2016 consumers tended to choose injury recovery as the primary reason to see a PT (43%), over time responses have indicated a more even spread among injury prevention, recovery from surgery, pain reduction, and improving range of motion, a category that saw a 7% increase in awareness.
    • Awareness of when PTs may be the most knowledgeable provider: Among both users and nonusers of physical therapy, perceptions of instances in which PTs may have more knowledge than PCPs have grown compared with 2016. Of those who have had physical therapy, 39% said that PTs have more knowledge than PCPs when it comes to diagnosing and treating injuries, 38% gave the knowledge edge to PTs around how to prevent future injuries, and 37% saw PTs as more knowledgeable when it comes to improving physical activity and mobility, up from 30%, 27%, and 31%, respectively. Nonusers reported similar, albeit less dramatic, increases, except for the mobility category, where 37% of nonusers credited PTs with more knowledge than PCPs, up from 27% in 2016.
    • Among those who had experienced physical therapy, a drop in prescription pain medication use: In 2016, 70% of respondents who had received physical therapy reported using prescription pain medication; that number dropped to 57% in 2021. Among nonusers, the percentage rose slightly, from 50% in 2016 to 52% in 2021.

    The report also describes areas where more work needs to be done, particularly around consumers' feelings about seeing a PT without a referral from a PCP. The survey revealed that the rates of consumers who wouldn't see a PT without getting a referral remain high, at 62% for those who've had physical therapy and 67% among nonusers. That's a slight improvement from the 71% rates both groups reported in 2016. However, the survey noted a sizable jump in the number of physical therapy users who now say they'd go directly to a PT without a referral, up from 23% to 33% in 2021.

    The study also revealed a reluctance to engage in telehealth or digital physical therapy, with 63% of users and 75% of nonusers saying that they were not likely to engage in physical therapy delivered through telehealth.

    "This report is a timely resource for members to help them understand what the public thinks about the profession and that opportunities for growth exist," said Aaron Bishop, APTA vice president of public affairs. "It also contains significant good news — that many consumers understand the range of roles PTs can play in health care and that they appreciate the areas in which PTs actually possess more knowledge than primary care providers."


  • 08-Jul-2022 1:46 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    APTA Members: AMA Seeks Your Help on New CPT Code Values

    Be on the lookout for an email requesting your input on values for new CPT codes on caregiver training without the patient present. 


  • 06-Jul-2022 1:35 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    A remarkable athletic, intelligent and accomplished woman left this earth on April 9th when Phyllis Adele Bagley passed away at 94. Miss Bagley died at home of natural causes with loved ones present.

    In 1960, Phyllis Bagley became the very first licensed physical therapist in the state of Montana and began her career at St. James Hospital in Butte.

    Read more about Phyllis in her obituary here. 



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