Physicians

As fellow healthcare workers, we understand that your patient’s care is your top priority. We also believe that by referring to us, you have placed your trust in our medical care and expect great outcomes.

We have developed a list of considerations all physicians should keep in mind when referring patients to physical therapy.

• Ensure the clinic has a specific reporting plan to communicate your patient’s progress and discuss the clinic treatment approach. Be wary of clinics that advise the patient for unusually long terms of treatment, or continue to ask for more physical therapy without appropriately documenting and communicating progress.
• Refer your patient to the appropriate physical therapy specialist, i.e. orthopedic, neurological, pediatric, etc. Be sure your patient’s care will be provided by certified physical therapists with meaningful credentials, i.e. OCS (orthopedics board certification), COMT (orthopedic manual therapy), etc.
• Develop a relationship with a physical therapist who can be an extension of your practice. For example, if you are seeing and increase in headache or low back pain, find a physical therapist that specializes in these practices and you can trust to provide continuity of care.
• Keep an open dialogue with treating therapists to discover and evaluate their individual aptitude and treatment styles to better refer your patients. Good clinical questions will help you evaluate the ability and treatment style of a particular physical therapist or clinic.