In this episode of the Functional Freedom Podcast, I’m pleased to welcome Steve Forbush, PT, PhD, OCS to the Functional Freedom Community. Dr. Forbush has over 30 years of experience as a physical therapist in a variety of clinical settings. Throughout his career Steve has been very active in the American Physical Therapy Association.
Steve stepped out of clinical practice, went back to school and earned his PhD. in order to begin sharing his knowledge and expertise with students and therapists. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Arkansas, APTA Component President and a principle lecturer for the International Spine and Pain Institute. Steve and I talk about his professional beginnings, and his journey through private practice to his present teaching appointments. At the heart of our conversation we discussed his passion for helping therapists being more effective and efficient in helping patients get better. Dr. Forbush describes the upcoming congressional requirement for outpatient services to change from fee-based to a severity/intensity payment system. He challenges therapists to evaluate their current model of practice in order to retool for the changes ahead for physical therapists.
More specifically, in this episode you’ll learn about:
- Medicare severity/intensity payment system for outpatient therapy services
- The APTA’s proposed Physical Therapy Classification and Payment System
- The therapist’s mindset and skill set required to thrive in the new payment system
- Dr. Forbush’s advice on helping patients get better faster and get paid for it
- The importance of assessing and tracking your patient’s functional progress
- Practical suggestions on streamlining your functional outcome documentation
- Setting your patients up for success by your attitude and words
- The New Model of Care: Getting People Better
Resources and Links Mentioned in this Session Include:
- http://www.apta.org/APS/ The APTA’s proposed Physical Therapy Classification and Payment System
- http://www.ispinstitute.com/newsletters/ISPI_June_2013_newsletter.pdf ISPI Newsletter, Healthcare Reform: Are you ready?
- http://www.ispinstitute.com/continuingEducation.aspx Look for Dr. Forbush’s Seminars at International Spine and Pain Institute
- http://www.fotoinc.com Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes Inc. A great resource for functional outcome tools and statistical comparisons.
Thank you Steve!
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Blessings,
Paul
Dr. Forbush did a great job describing the new proposed reimbursement model. He may be correct about which therapists will be most affected,but its difficult for me to believe any therapists will benefit with these changes. Even master clinicians or efficient therapists as he describes them will still struggle getting pts.
I agree with you Jake that it will always be a struggle but it’s not supposed to be easy. Providing exceptional care and service will always be hard work. I embrace that part of my work. I personally struggle when the reimbursement system seems not to reward or value that.
Great podcast
I, too, have a hard time understanding how the new billing system will reward therapists (no matter how good they are) who have trouble attracting referrals. There are lots of other issues with this as well…
– In patients with chronic health conditions, functional reporting tests are nowhere near sensitive enough to display progress with the current G code system. Plus, Medicare doesn’t require progress, you just need to prove the need for skilled care. (which is very important for the aging population)
– What will stop therapists from reverting back to treatments with no evidence? If a patient wants a hot pack, will the PT get reimbursed at the same rate as any other treatment?
– What will stop the therapists from all charging the highest reimbursing charge code? Insurance companies will need to audit everything, constantly.
– How will this prevent POPTs (or other facilities with guaranteed referral sources) from bilking this new system and creating even more efficient factory systems for revenue?
Thanks for your comments Joshua. You raise some great questions. I think that the main boundaries for therapists to operate within any new system are internal. Their own integrity, honesty and professionalism are good places to start.