Hands-on Physical Therapy important
Physicians Quality Care Physical Therapy is a better choice for workers-comp patients who need physical therapy treatment, said Dr. Peter Gardner, PQC Medical Director.
“I feel our PT is better because our physical therapists aggressively pursue hands-on treatment,” he said. “That’s better for the patient. We’re also able to offer all treatment methods with our equipment.”
Another important advantage is that not only can he minimize the time between the first patient visit and the first physical therapy visit, he also can get immediate feedback from the physical therapist about treatment, he said. “We can then make immediate adjustments to their therapy, if needed.”
Of the 200 and more workers’ comp patients treated each week at Physicians Quality Care OCCMed, about 20 to 25 percent will need physical therapy, he said.
Many of those patients are referred to other physical therapy clinics because of contracts between employers and providers. It’s not unusual, he said, for an outside physical therapy clinic to take weeks before they get back to him about how treatment is progressing.
“This results in a gap in care when continuity of care is very important,” Dr. Gardner said. “The patient will recover faster; the employer will see him back on the job faster.”
