News

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."

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

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. 

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

2022 APTA House of Delegates Motions Posted

The House will consider 22 motions during upcoming virtual and in-person meetings including several that touch on payment-related issues. 

Study: Telehealth Has Improved Care Access in Disadvantaged Areas

Researchers say the CMS telehealth waivers worked and should be made permanent.

Good Fit: Physical Therapy and Value-Based Care

Practices that can improve outcomes while lowering costs have a lot to gain as health care moves to payment models focused on value.

About Friday Focus

The Programming Committee is initiating a new opportunity for Montana PTs and PTAs to share their knowledge with each other and continue building community! We would like to produce four one hour programs via Zoom annually. Would you be interested in producing a program based on your expertise? Send us a proposal! Successful candidates would receive a $100 honorarium. All proceeds will go directly to support APTA Montana's efforts to work with insurance companies to increase reimbursement rates, to support direct access, to support delegates and lobbyists working to bring your voice to the national APTA.

If interested please submit your brief outline including course title, brief description, and course objectives to: Jeanne Korn, MSc, MPT. at: jeannekorn60@gmail.com, or to the office at mapta@mapta.com Please feel free to contact us for any questions as well.

APTA Montana has an exciting opportunity for interested physical therapist and physical therapist assistant students. Student members are encouraged to apply for one of two student scholarships for the APTA Leadership Congress Student Development session from August 14-15, 2022, in Washington DC. This new event brings together APTA leadership groups for several days of meetings to advance the Association. The House of Delegates will occur at this event, as well as the annual APTA Honors & Awards Ceremony and Maley Lecture.

APTA Montana will cover travel and per diem expenses for two students who:

• Are interested in getting more active in the APTA Montana.
• Have completed the equivalent of the first year of physical therapy education by August 2022.

To apply, interested students must be a member of the APTA Montana and complete this application

Awardees will be expected to:

• Attend the APTA Leadership Congress Student Development Sessions on August 14-15, 2022, in Washington, DC.
• Write a summary of your experience for the APTA Montana “Under the Big Sky” newsletter.
• Remain a student of the APTA Montana for at least 1 year
• Develop a project of your choice to give back to the MT (S)PT/(S)PTA population, see application for more details.

The application deadline is June 10, 2022. APTA Montana will cover travel, per reimbursement policy, and you may be asked to share a room with Montana representatives to the House of Delegates.  Please submit your application and direct your questions to mapta@mapta.com

The end of the year is quickly approaching and the next two weeks are critical, as Congress must act to stop Medicare cuts to dozens of providers, including physical therapists. In addition, Congress must act to prevent the impending 15% payment differential under Medicare when services are provided by a physical therapist assistant.

Send this template letter to members of Congress. Please do so as soon as possible and urge Congress to include the bill language from the Support Medicare Providers Act (H.R. 6020) and the Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy Act, or SMART Act (H.R. 5536) in any end-of-year legislation package. Both bills would prevent deep cuts slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022 — H.R. 6020 addresses the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule pay cuts, and H.R. 5536 provides relief from the PTA pay differential.

Thank you for your support of APTA advocacy! Please encourage your patients, friends, and family participate by going to the Patient Action Center.