According to the CDC, falls among older adults cost the U.S. healthcare system over $23 billion in 2005. To combat this alarming statistic, Apple Physical Therapy has implemented a Fall Prevention Program. To discuss their program, Matthew Krings, PT, MPT, OCS, and Clinic Manager of Apple Physical Therapy in Kirkland, Washington recently joined PT Talker.
The comprehensive program at Apple Physical Therapy assesses medical conditions that could increase a patient’s risk of falling and gait speed. The program has been proven to help reduce a patient’s fall risk through exercise and patient education. To learn more about the benefits of a fall prevention program, listen to the full podcast now.
Dealing with the day to day challenge of running a clinic is hard enough. Let alone dealing with the complexity of measuring patient outcomes and mastering Medicare compliance. This week’s expert aims to simplify these challenges. A previous guest on PT Talker, Tim Richardson, PT shares details about his new book Bulletproof Expert Systems: Clinical Decision Support for Physical Therapists in the Outpatient Setting.
A practicing physical therapist and clinic owner, Richardson has spent years coming up with a complete system to help make measuring outcomes and compliance almost automatic. His book serves as a workbook with templates, checklists and tools you can use to improve patient outcomes and compliance at your clinic. To learn more, listen to the entire podcast now.
According to the Pew Research Center, every day for the next 18 years 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65. And at some point they’ll likely need physical therapy services. Despite a challenging economy, Lynn Steffes, PT, DPT , President/Consultant at the rehabilitation consulting firm Steffes and Associates, believes it’s still a good time to explore owning your own practice.
Before starting your own practice, Steffes recommends getting involved in clinic management, accounting, and marketing. And even more important, work on building and growing relationships with the businesses in your community.
To help physical therapists gain their position as a primary provider in the future of health care she also stresses the importance of physical therapists helping patients get better, faster and longer. Schedule a follow-up appointment in 6 months – don’t wait for patients to call you. She stresses that physical therapists and other health care providers can save 26 billion dollars a year in health care costs, if by simply keeping seniors in their home for one more year. Learn tips for private practice success by listening to the full podcast now.
There are a number of tools available to help your patients recover and return to the activities they enjoy. One is a system commonly found in training settings and quickly becoming a staple in physical therapy clinics. The TRX Suspension Trainer uses an individual’s weight to complete a variety of exercises. Joshua Funk, DPT, CSCS joins PT Talker to discuss utilizing the TRX Suspension Trainer in a physical therapy clinic. He utilizes the system at Shirier Physical Therapy and instructs the TRX Sports Medicine Course.
The TRX suspension trainer uses a strap suspended overhead or anchored to a door. The system is scalable to adapt to all fitness levels, patient age and stage of rehabilitation and can be used to rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries, enhance mobility, improve joint stability or strengthen multiple planes of motion. Whether helping individuals get in shape again or helping a patient recover after surgery, physical therapists are using the TRX suspension center to complete movements that they may not be comfortable completing otherwise.
Funk finds that patients are curious about the system and enjoy the opportunity to use it in a therapy setting. To learn more about the TRX system, listen to the full podcast now.
Matt Krings Apple Physical Therapy Fall Prevention Program [ 15:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
