- East Rochester NY 14445
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“Can I just start with the treatment I need?”
“Do I have to go to the doctor first? Aren’t they just going to send me to PT anyways?”
Starting PT without needing a prescription (‘Direct Access”) has been enjoyed by many of our patients – for many it’s the quickest and easiest path to recovery. There’s no need to prolong your hurting…to go another week hoping your symptoms will go away or that inability to do what you love will magically just return. If what you’ve been doing isn’t working maybe it’s time to be proactive or to do something different. Physical Therapy is here to help people reduce and resolve musculoskeletal condition and post-operative symptoms and restore function!
Too often people with limitations and symptoms end up delaying their own care because they don’t want to go through the hassles of our health care system. They recognize that sometimes there’s a wait to be seen, then extra costs incurred for sometimes superficial level testing and other times expensive testing like X-rays (“plain films”) or MRI’s that they later discovered were discovered as being unnecessary early on…or just feel frustrated that in the end they were sent for Physical Therapy anyways.
Physicians are an incredibly awesome, skilled and necessary and integral component to health care. The key is understanding when your condition requires that knowledge and skills and when there may be opportunities to see other health care providers directly yourself so that proper testing and care can be started right away, allowing quicker action and lower costs.
In 2006 NY State approved the “Direct Access” law, meaning patients could now go to see a Physical Therapist “directly” without requiring a physician’s prescription to be seen. It allows for up to 10 visits or 30 days of care, whichever occurs first. A PT must have three years experience to see patients this way and care beyond those initial guidelines requires a prescription whether someone is self-paying or has insurance. The majority of insurances honor this law and do cover Physical Therapy with whatever standard policy provisions they have in place. That means most people reading this can call and be seen by a PT without having to see their doctor first.
There are several insurances that we know do not yet allow direct access. That list includes worker’s compensation, motor vehicle, medicare/Medicaid. Each of those presently requires a prescription first. (Yes, that does upset many people with those insurances. Your only solution is to speak to your legislators and those companies to express your concerns and opinions.) Our office team will be able to contact your insurance company to check benefits to verify that Direct Access PT is covered by your plan (but it’s always best to call yourself as well).
We know most conditions don’t require immediate radiography (X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans…). Most conditions are surgical. Your first question is “Is my problem in need of films or surgery?” Often enough that answer is “Yes” and your best choice is to contact your Primary Care Physician or maybe a specialist, like an Orthopedist/Orthopedic Surgeon, because you had a trauma happen or the pain is very severe and debilitating and you need to make sure there isn’t a fracture or torn tissue etc.
But most often pains and limitations people have fall into strains, sprains and overuse problems. Physical Therapists are trained and skilled at doing a comprehensive evaluation including medical screening as needed (history related concerns as well as blood pressure and recognizing signs of organ related issues) and assessing your function. That can include global and local body movement ability, range of motion, strength/endurance, power, balance/coordination, agility, perform special orthopedic tests to check integrity of joints and ligaments and tendons to identify the injured tissue, and palpation to differentiate what specific tissue is involved. Some studies have even shown that PT clinical exam knowledge and testing is 2nd only to orthopedic surgeons! When we find something that is out of our realm, requires, or would benefit from a specialist consult we can also help by directing patients to various resources in our area that would be a great fit. We have excellent working relationships with all sorts of specialists that we regularly refer to as a “team” with the common goal of helping you get back to what you love comfortably, confidently, and capably…as quickly as possible. (That includes orthopedists, neurologists, podiatrists, osteopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturists, orthotists, massage therapists, personal trainers…).
Monday:
Tuesday:
7:00am – 7:00pm
Wednesday:
Thursday:
7:00am – 7:00pm
Friday:
7:00am – 4:00pm
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