Why I use a cash-based PT

My friends.  It is always my goal to educate and inform.  We all suffer from the curse of knowledge; we just can’t unknow what we already have learned and therefore don’t understand that everyone doesn’t know the same things that we do.

What I’m going to talk about today is going to sound like pure lunacy, but please hear me out.  This system sounds EXPENSIVE, but in the long run, it will save you a ton of time and MONEY!

Let’s start at the beginning.  Did you KNOW that in Illinois and many other states, you no longer need a prescription for physical therapy?  You have what’s known as Direct Access to physical therapy services.  This is from the Illinois combined statutes (225 ILCS 90/) Illinois Physical Therapy Act)

Sec. 1.2. Physical therapy services.    (a) A physical therapist may provide physical therapy services to a patient with or without a referral from a health care professional.    (b) A physical therapist providing services without a referral from a health care professional must notify the patient's treating health care professional within 5 business days after the patient's first visit that the patient is receiving physical therapy. This does not apply to physical therapy services related to fitness or wellness, unless the patient presents with an ailment or injury.    (c) A physical therapist shall refer a patient to the patient's treating health care professional of record or, in the case where there is no health care professional of record, to a health care professional of the patient's choice, if: 

(1) the patient does not demonstrate measurable or functional improvement after 10 visits or 15 business days, whichever occurs first, and continued improvement thereafter;

(2) the patient returns for services for the same or similar condition after 30 calendar days of being discharged by the physical therapist; or

(3) the patient's condition, at the time of evaluation or services, is determined to be beyond the scope of practice of the physical therapist.

(d) Wound debridement services may only be provided by a physical therapist with written authorization from a health care professional.    (e) A physical therapist shall promptly consult and collaborate with the appropriate health care professional anytime a patient's condition indicates that it may be related to temporomandibular disorder so that a diagnosis can be made by that health care professional for an appropriate treatment plan.(Source: P.A. 100-897, eff. 8-16-18.)

Say whatttttt?

It’s true.  

As a fully functioning adult, you are now granted the ability to say “Hmm.  My knee hurts, but I didn’t twist it forcefully in a traumatic fall, so it’s probably not busted, broken, or torn.  I bet if I went to a physical therapist, they could probably help me figure this out!  I can bypass my doctor and a referral and an x-ray or MRI and go to a DOCTOR of physical therapy who will help me.  And if the DOCTOR of physical therapy deems the injury to be out of their scope of practice, they’ll send me to the physician.”

I bet that most of you didn’t know that, did you?

Awesome.  Let me first tell you about my experiences with PT.  And also let me say that there is probably a place and a time for the model of treatment where you go several times per week to PT for multiple weeks.  After a major surgery where you’re not able to move your own limb through ranges of motion or you should be limited and supervised by a professional is probably a perfect time for the insurance-based model of care.  After a major surgery where scar care is important would be a time to visit PT multiple times per week and take advantage of that insurance coverage.

But going to what is referred to as a PT mill for what amounts to an “owie” makes no sense.  Simply having pain in your knee doesn’t mean that there is structural/tissue damage.  You also didn’t hurt your knee laying on a table, so going 3x per week to lay on a table while someone ultrasounds, ices, or heats your knee and then sends you off to do exercises with a high school intern holding a yellow mini-band doesn’t make sense.  Your knee probably will feel better after 18 visits…but not because PT ‘fixed’ the problem.  Because time elapsed and whatever was causing the pain calmed down.

As firefighters, we usually have excellent insurance.  But that excellent insurance doesn’t guarantee us excellent care.  In fact, even a great PT is often limited in what they can do by what your insurance allows.  Stupid, eh?

I choose to use a cash-based physical therapist so that they can see me and ONLY me during my one hour.  They can do whatever modality fits my puzzle without limitation.  And ultimately, they can get me back in the game faster with less money out of my pocket.

Next time you’re in pain, look at bypassing the doctor and seeing a cash-based physical therapist first!  I promise you won’t be disappointed.