Every October the industry celebrates National Physical Therapy Month (NPTM) to raise awareness with consumers about the many benefits of physical therapy. 

This focus allows all of us the opportunity to show appreciation to our PTs, PTAs and students for all they do to transform lives.

Physical therapy provides value to Americans across a variety of conditions at all stages of life. Physical therapists provide a wide range of services to help people maximize their quality of life. They work with people of all ages and abilities, and in a variety of settings.

NPTM is the perfect time for service events. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) also provides a ChoosePT toolkit packed full of resources to promote the profession

This year the theme of the month will be the “Value of PT.”

Per the APTA, its meaning goes beyond the cost savings of physical therapy to highlight the ways physical therapy improves quality of life. Furthermore, it shares a recently published cost data component highlighted in “The Economic Value of Physical Therapy in the United States,” an evidence-based report by APTA. 

This report investigates physical therapist services for eight different conditions, comparing physical therapy against an alternative course of treatment and quantifying the average net benefit in economic terms. For each condition, the estimates indicate the average net economic benefit of physical therapist services.

While I recommend you read the report in its entirety, some key highlights and findings related to key conditions we often see in post-acute care are as follows:

  • Falls prevention: The average net benefit of physical therapy-based falls-prevention exercise is estimated to be $2,144 per episode of care. The cost per QALY (quality and duration of life) gained relative to the alternative of no intervention is estimated to be $13,425. Patients who participated in a physical therapy-led falls-prevention exercise program had a mean QALY of 0.009 higher and a mean medical cost of $121 higher than those who received no intervention, indicating the cost-effectiveness of physical therapist services.
  • Osteoarthritis of the knee: The average net benefit of treating osteoarthritis of the knee with physical therapy is estimated to be $13,981 per episode of care. The cost per QALY gained relative to the alternative of intra-articular glucocorticoid injection is estimated to be $51,906. Patients who received physical therapy had a mean QALY of 0.07 higher and a mean medical cost of $1,024 higher than those who received injections, indicating the cost-effectiveness of physical therapist services.
  • Low back pain: The average net benefit of treating acute low back pain with physical therapy is estimated to be $4,160 per episode of care. The cost per QALY gained relative to the alternative of usual primary care management is estimated to be $43,624. Patients who received physical therapy had a mean QALY of 0.02 higher than those who received usual primary care, indicating the cost-effectiveness of physical therapist services.
  • Stress urinary incontinence: The average net benefit of treating stress urinary incontinence with physical therapy is estimated to be $10,129 per episode of care. The cost per QALY gained relative to the alternative of urethral bulking is estimated to be $2,265. Patients who received physical therapy had a mean QALY of 0.009 higher and a mean medical cost of $7,864 lower than those who received urethral bulking, indicating the cost effectiveness of physical therapists.

In closing, the report notes that physical therapy also can prevent unnecessary future health expenditures, which may be realized through avoiding a more costly alternative treatment and/or reducing the need for future medical intervention. The benefits of this can often be multifaceted, generated through both quality-of-life improvements for the patient and cost benefits for payers.

So, celebrate your physical therapy teams this coming month. For the skilled service they provide now, for the value impacts in the future, and the prevention of further risks for years to come. 

Renee Kinder, MS, CCC-SLP, RAC-CT, is Executive Vice President of Clinical Services for Broad River Rehab. Additionally, she serves as a member of American Speech Language Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Healthcare and Economics Committee, is a member of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine community faculty; is a member of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group (DMPAG), and an advisor to the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology CPT® Editorial Panel. She can be reached at [email protected] 

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