In it's June 2010 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is recommending a policy option to exclude physical therapy from the in-office ancillary services (IOAS) exception. This would be a start in prohibiting physician self-referral for physical therapy services. A step that the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) supports and will help eliminate abusive financial patterns by these physicians and help maintain the quality of physical therapy care for patients.
In chapter 8 of their report, MedPAC highlights the rapid growth of physical therapy services provided in physicians' offices and shows that some of the services ordered by those physicians are not clinically appropriate. Specifically the report states that these ancillary services "experienced rapid volume growth under the physician fee schedule from 2003 to 2008... the volume of outpatient therapy services rose by an average of 11.4% per beneficiary per year."
Until there is legislation enacted to effectively end physician-owned physical therapy practices, our best advice to you as a patient is: Do your due diligence. You have the right to choose which physical therapist you go to, regardless of who your physician refers you to. And if they refer you to a facility they have a financial interest in, they are obligated to disclose that to you.
At Elite Sports Physical Therapy, we are committed to not only providing you with the highest level of care in the Fremont area, but we hope to educate you regarding your rights and privileges as a patient. We want you to feel empowered by having control over the quality of care you receive.
Feel free to compare us at www.espt-ca.com to any other facility in Fremont. We are confident that you won't find better clinical care, customer service, and cutting edge equipment anywhere else. We would be glad to answer any of your questions as well at 510.656.3777.
For more information about physician owned practices, check out our previous blog here.
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