PTP Blog

Is “no pain no gain” the right way?

Not necessarily. Admittedly, physical therapists do have to put some people in pain to complete the rehabilitation process. However, all of our patients at PT Professionals will readily admit that they are never in an “unreasonable” amount of pain treated in our office. It is most unusual for a person to leave our office and feel worse than they did prior to their arrival at our facility. In fact, most of the time patients leave our office feeling a sense of relief and accomplishment. The therapy that each patient receives is unique to that patient. Our therapists always consider pain threshold and tissue response to therapy when administering treatment. Contrary to popular belief, as physical therapists we do not enjoy torturing people. The nicknames PT=pain and torture, and PT= physical terrorist, are meant to be funny, but not true. To be completely truthful, in many instances the therapist hurts when the patient hurts. Our education and clinical experience is how we know how hard to push each patient to meet their goals. We hire compassionate and intelligent therapists that are able to relate well to each patient’s pain levels.

Am I going to be evaluated by a physical therapist in your office?

Yes! In our office, every patient is evaluated by a State licensed physical therapist. The term “physical therapy” is often used loosely and in many instances, even in this community, patients are led to believe they are receiving physical therapy from a state licensed physical therapist, but in reality they are not. In Florida, there is currently no legislative language to prohibit anyone from using the use of the term “physical therapy” for advertising or for billing. At PT Professionals each patient evaluated by a State licensed physical therapist, AND every physical therapist in our office is extremely competent and qualified to treat musculoskeletal injuries. We also give our therapists adequate time to perform a thorough evaluation and use their clinical experience and skills with each patient. The take away from this blog is that you are ever in the need of “physical therapy,” always be sure to check to make sure that the provider is a State licensed physical therapist. Don’t be fooled by what is, in my opinion, an inappropriate usage of the term.

Do I need a referral from a physician to receive physical therapy in your office?

Maybe, Maybe not. Legally a physical therapist is able to treat individuals using what is called “direct access” for 30 days under Florida Law. So to answer the question literally, a referral from a physician is not necessary to come to our office. However, it is up to your insurance to tell us if they will pay for your treatment without a physician referral. So even though you can legally receive treatment from our office, you may not be covered and have to pay out of pocket. In order to avoid unexpected out of pocket expenses, we call your insurance company on your behalf  to make sure that we fully disclose coverage benefits prior to the first session. Many insurance companies now recognize the cost savings and improved access to care that come with direct access and do not require a referral for payment. Our therapists routinely examine individuals under direct access and make appropriate recommendations when they identify something during the examination that needs physician intervention. The law does require that after 30 days, if the patient needs continued physical therapy intervention, the patient must be evaluated by a physician in order to verify correct treatment intervention and diagnosis. For the aforementioned reasons, it is routine procedure for us to call the insurance company on your behalf and verify if a referral is necessary for every patient that is referred to our office.

Who am I and why am I here?

Hello and thank you for reading our blog!  I thought I would start by first discussing who I am, who is PT Professionals, and why I am here writing this blog.    I am Daryl Jacobs, co-founder of PT Professionals.  I am a physical therapist who has been working in the out-patient physical therapy setting since 2001.  I am passionate about physical therapy and about providing a rehabilitation experience that is far superior to a standard physical therapy encounter.  My educational background has provided me a unique skill set that is utilized in all of our offices.  We employ highly trained and motivated individuals.  We are strong believers in ethical and transparent billing operations.  Since opening, PT Professionals has been routinely providing a service unique to this community, and we have surfaced as a front runner in the physical therapy community.

So why am I starting a blog now?  Since opening in 2007, we have been continuously refining our procedures to allow our therapists to use their skills and clinical experiences.  We have quietly treated literally thousands of individuals, and in many cases our work and clinical skill changed peoples’ lives.  I feel that it is time to let the community know how passionate we are about what we do, and that we are genuinely proud of the reputation that we have worked so hard to develop.

Some of you may remember when PT Professionals was a two person operation.  The hard work and dedication of our staff has enabled us to grow to an average of 13 employees, with projected growth in 2017.  Over the years we have loosely advertised in small publications and you may have seen our logo at small venues.  We now have several ads that run continuously in local publications, advertisements at local sports arenas, have committee representatives at local high schools and participate with many local events.   We are proud members of the Melbourne and Palm Bay Chambers of Commerce.  We also routinely support local charities and foundations.  We will continue to grow our community presence!

I feel that it is time to blog because I have learned so much since I started practicing in 2001, not just about physical therapy but also about private practice and small business success.  Over the years we have made several mistakes, but we learned from them all and improved our operations as a result.  I would like to share what I have learned through blogging, and I will speak to anyone that is willing to listen.  The profession has changed significantly since I have been a part of it, and understanding how it is changing is not as complicated as one would think.

It seems that it would make sense that every physical therapy office is the same.  It is disappointing to admit that this is most definitely not the case.  What I do know is that our office is committed to raising the industry standard.   I hope that through blogging, I can educate individuals using my clinical experience, inform the public about physical therapy, and how PT Professionals is committed to developing its reputation as a leader in private practice outpatient physical therapy.