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During the APTA 2017 Combined Sections Meeting, the APTA announced the launch of a comprehensive outcome registry with the goal of building a repository data from patients and practices nationwide. In the words of Justin Moore, PT, DPT, it is hoped to be “a bridge from our proud past in physical therapy to fully realizing our potential in the future.”

What the registry will do is collect and correlate health record data electronically from physical therapy practices that are participating in the registry. This will give physical therapists the ability to make improved clinical decisions using the data information available to them. It will also keep track of outcomes and benchmark them against data in the system. The purpose is to show the value of the services provided by physical therapists.

There has never been a resource as extensive as the outcome registry will provide. Just how extensive it will be depends on the profession. The more physical therapy practices that participate, the more extensive the registry will be. The data collected will not only help physical therapists but will also show insurers that physical therapy is often a better treatment option than more invasive and expensive treatment options such as surgery.

As some in the profession of physical therapy have pointed out, the insurance industry tends to view physical therapy as an aid to recovery rather than an alternative treatment option. Because of this, insurance companies reimburse physical therapists at a lower rate. If insurance companies can be presented with data that shows physical therapy as a treatment option that has a better outcome in many cases where surgery and/or drug therapy is currently the prevailing treatment of choice, they may view physical therapy has having high value and reimburse accordingly.

The outcome registry has two purposes. One is to improve the physical therapy industry and the other is to show justification for higher reimbursements from health insurance companies. Both are laudable goals but the success of the registry in achieving them will depend on a large number of physical therapy practices participating on the data collection process.

Physical therapy professionals know the value they provide with their services. It is time for other health professionals and insurance carriers to recognize it as well. Maybe, through this registry, insurance companies will see that viewing physical therapy as the first treatment option in applicable situations is not only better for the patient but also better for the insurance companies’ bottom line.

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