Be Heard - Why your contact time with your physical therapist matters

2020 has thrown everybody in almost every industry for a loop. Every industry, across the board, has had to pivot in some way, shape, or form. One of the challenges in providing healthcare during this pandemic has been actually being able to interact with patients. Luckily, these days there’s a technological answer for everything. While telehealth options have existed for a while now, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that third party insurance companies began reimbursing physical therapy providers for remote visits.

There is no free lunch

Technology has done wonders for physical therapy providers to continue caring for patients throughout the pandemic. Particularly in Portland, Oregon, where our patient base has done well with respecting social distancing and doing their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we have benefited from using video conferencing services to continue to have real time conversations with patients while monitoring their exercise and movement, discussions with clients around their nutrition plans, and working with wellness solutions clients to continue delivering our corporate wellness programs. Overall, we at Headquarters Physical Therapy have done a fairly good job at pivoting during these past few months to create various touchpoints with those we serve.

But we aren’t the only ones who have done this. Physical therapy providers across the board have adopted video conferencing as a part of their plan of care delivery strategy, and this has improved the efficiency of patient visits overall. While this is a great advancement in the profession, the constant pursuit of efficiency can sometimes have a negative impact on the personal touch of healthcare. For example, the adoption of electronic medical record keeping has led to providers having to check multiple boxes on patient evaluations while talking to patients rather than, well, talking to patients. So while we love the ability to keep in contact with our patients regardless of what germs are floating around in the air outside, we do realize that video conferencing can make it somewhat challenging to truly connect with your healthcare provider. We understand that it can sometimes be harder to remember and articulate all your questions, frustrations, and other challenges you might be facing in your rehabilitation or fitness journey.

So while there is no free lunch when it comes to efficiency, we vow to continue offering you as much time, space, and freedom as you need to be honest and transparent with us whether you are sitting in our offices or calling in on our laptops and mobile devices.

2021 reimbursement changes

We’ve discussed this multiple times in the past - Medicare is reducing reimbursement by 9% to physical therapy providers effective January 2021. While you may or may not be medicare eligible, it is a guarantee that this will affect other healthcare plans by third party payers. Soon enough, if not already, there will be an adjustment in deductibles, copays, premiums, or out-of-pocket maxes. These changes may or may not be felt immediately by you, the subscriber, but they will be felt. And they may not even be up front and in your face either. The reason why is that as these change, healthcare providers will also be forced to adjust. These adjustments may come in the form of slightly shorter visit times, fewer authorized visits, or less time with your primary provider throughout the course of your care. In other words, you will either spend less time in your rehab facility, be allowed fewer covered visits, or be transitioned to a physical therapy aide/tech sooner on in your visit and have less face to face time with your physical therapist directly.

While this has less of a direct impact on us at Headquarters Physical Therapy, the core principle of our care will always be that your visits will be 100% with your physical therapist for the entire hour that you are scheduled for. This is not a criticism of physical therapy aides and techs as we have all worked with some outstanding support staff in our careers. However, the truth remains that there are some challenges to working with someone who is not legally authorized to answer certain questions or make appropriate accommodations to your rehabilitation plan of care.

Why does this matter for your plan of care

Pandemic or not, the fact is we are moving towards a more efficient and productive society. And while we fully support and love progress, we have to remember that one’s injury rehab or health and fitness journey is not black and white. These paths to being where we want to be physically, and maybe even emotionally, don’t function in the same way as connecting the dots or painting by numbers. The road to recovery from an injury or a healthier life and body is full of peaks and valleys and one of the most beautiful things about the journey is what you can learn about yourself and your own resilience as a human being during the challenging times. However, these lessons are not always easy to learn nor are they typically learned well on the first try. This is where the real beauty of physical therapy and nutrition coaching shines - in walking with patients and clients through those difficult times and even helping them pivot when they need to. The interpersonal relationships built in physical therapy and nutrition coaching can never be sacrificed in the name of efficiency or profit.

Regardless of what happens, we promise you our best

So as we continue to move forward in the face of uncertainty both in Portland, Oregon but also in the rest of the country, you can rest assured on a few key principles that will remain unchanged.

Our session lengths will never change because the level of care and value we provide is too complex to deliver in condensed or expedited sessions. Our sessions will always be delivered by your direct nutritionist or dietitian as well as your primary physical therapist.

However, in addition to these mainstays in our care, we are proud to announce that effective January 1, 2021, we will be offering free 30 minute physical therapy evaluations with no obligations to commit to a course of care with us. We recognize that sometimes walking into a physical therapy evaluation can feel like you are either being “sold” to commit to “2 sessions per week for 6 to 8 weeks” and that sort of blanket recommendation can be intimidating and disingenuous to you. We would prefer that you leave your evaluation knowing that there is a plan in place if you choose to work with us and that it is your choice whether you choose us to be your provider or you take that plan to someone else. Our sole purpose is to help you and we feel strongly that this little change can create big waves in the landscape of healthcare in our community.

If you, or someone you love, is wanting to get healthier, eat healthier, or recover properly from an injury do not hesitate to reach out to our nutrition coach or a physical therapist by clicking one of the buttons below.