Today in PT

What's the Point?

Do you ever feel like you spend your day just trying to work your way through the schedule, rather than being able to savor time with each patient? Have you ever felt taken advantage of when all the new evaluations seem to land on your list, while your colleague has extra time to go shopping at lunch? And what about keeping up on all that paperwork? It can be easy to feel alone even when coworkers and patients surround you; at times, the therapist’s life is a solitary one.

But you’re never truly alone, and everything you do touches someone else — you just may not be aware of it at the time. Take a moment today to reflect on a kindness someone has done for you recently, and give gratitude for being part of a profession that brings you the opportunity to help someone else feel better. 

That’s the point.

Anne Ahlman, MPT

Therapist, Heal Thyself

One PT I know very well is quietly struggling to recover from a serious back injury, something she sustained during the course of patient care several months ago. Like most therapists, she’s awfully stubborn, insisting that her patients need her even though she’s in worse shape than they are. However, even health professionals have their limits, and I’m happy to report she is finally seeking treatment for herself even though it means she’ll have to take some time away from her patient care responsibilities.

As a group, health professionals make the worst patients imaginable, possibly because it’s hard to think of ourselves as patients when we're the ones who are supposed to be caring for everyone else. But why are we so reluctant to seek help? Is it bravery? Denial? Stubborn pride? After all, we’re only human, and susceptible to all the same injuries, pains, and diseases as our patients.

What are your experiences with career-threatening injury? How long did you wait to seek care? Did the delay spoil your chances for a full recovery? What advice do you have for your fellow therapists who have been injured on the front lines of patient care?

Bravery will only get you so far.

Anne Ahlman, MPT

A Matter of Trust

I’ve been seeing one of my patients preoperatively to build up his severely atrophied quadriceps muscles before he undergoes surgery for a medial patellar ligament reconstruction next week. My patient had been through the wringer with a history of traumatic patellar dislocation that had caused him so much pain his muscles had completely shut down — his leg was so skinny it looked almost as if it had suffered from polio.

But this patient remained cheerful throughout our sessions to build him up without exacerbating his pain, and he did his homework to choose the right surgeon for the task ahead. Surgery is scheduled for next week … or is it? Through a series of worsening miscommunications with the surgeon’s support staff, his trust is gone and it looks like the surgery has been called off. After all, no one should be expected to go into an operation with unanswered questions and deepening doubts in his mind.

My patient’s experience has made me ponder the importance of clear communication, whether with our patients, their physicians, the insurance companies, or even each other. So much needless stress and anxiety can be diverted when we just take a few extra minutes to be sure the message is clear and that the patient feels safe and comfortable in our care. Every member of the team is an ambassador of compassionate medicine, from the health professional to the support staff level, and we mustn’t forget that procedures that may seem “old hat” to us are no doubt new and frightening to the uninitiated. The trust that patients place in us needs to be honored and respected, and this means answering every question with thoughtful consideration, every time.

Have any of your patients had a similar experience?

Anne Ahlman, MPT

Spring Forward

This is it! The long-awaited weekend during which we can move the clocks ahead an hour has finally arrived. I always look forward to chasing away “The Big Dark” and enjoying the longer, lighter evenings. It’s a time to celebrate and feel a renewed sense of hope for the future.

Will the longer days help shed some light on the impact of impending healthcare reform on PTs and PTAs? Comprehensive insurance coverage should benefit every man, woman, and child in the U.S., allowing them unfettered access to all manner of tests and treatments. But how will this be regulated? Medicare, as an example of a government-run healthcare program, has its own set of challenges with its continually changing therapy caps and exceptions process. Right now, the cost of Medicare accounts for 20% of all healthcare spending, which is sure to rise with the aging of the population — but it’s hard to imagine that there will be unlimited access to healthcare without fixed structural caps. So where will the boundary lines for physical therapy care be drawn?

The economic stimulus plan proposes spending $20 billion on conversion of paper medical records into an electronic format, a move that is gaining mixed reviews from physicians. According to a recent Medscape article, it appears that specialists love the idea but generalists hate it: Primary care physicians maintain that the cumbersome format and need for detailed data entry is cutting into their patient care time. When will PTs have to comply with electronic medical records? Who will pay for it? How will this affect our productivity?

Apparently, President Obama’s proposed $634 billion healthcare reserve fund will be paid for in part by “flesh wounds” in the form of cuts to MDs, hospitals, insurers, and other providers — does this include ancillary services such as PT? Where might our cuts be made?

There are so many things to consider. For now, it’s enough to dream of what positive change might look like as the President assembles his task force to tackle healthcare reform. But since it looks like the Congress will be in charge of developing the details of a comprehensive healthcare reform plan designed to increase insurance coverage, improve healthcare services, and control costs, this could be a good chance for PTs and PTAs to contact their representatives and offer their thoughts.

So as we spring forward into the future, I'm going to try to be a more active participant — our very future, and that of our patients, is at stake. Maybe I’ll use some of my extra time in the evenings to formulate my congressional input.

What will you do with your time?

Anne Ahlman, MPT