Why Should Direct Access BE a Nation Wide Policy?
Cost Effectiveness and Time Saving graph
Based on a study that reviewed 62,707 episodes of physical therapy using data from non-Medicare claims of over a five-year period, patients who visited a physical therapist directly for outpatient care (27%) experienced fewer visits and lower overall costs on average than those who were referred by a medical doctor.
In fact, in a study conducted in Iowa and South Dakota nearly 63,000 outpatient physical therapy episodes of care were analyzed: more than 45,000 were physician referred and more than 17,000 were self-referred to physical therapists. Researchers found that self-referred patients had fewer physical therapy visits and lower allowable amounts ($0.87 self-referred for every $1.00 of physician referral).
Another study was conducted to analyze the cost effectiveness, which compares the cost and health effects of an intervention to assess the value of the money the patient is spending. Using data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland researchers found that the costs established for physical therapy visits were 123% higher when there was physician involvement than when patients went to a physical therapist directly. The study also showed that physician referral occurrences generated 67% more physical therapy claims and 60% more office visits than when the patient went directly to the physical therapist without a physician referral. This shows that with the ability to go directly to a physical therapist, direct access is not only less expensive, but it also requires fewer visits; taking less time out of the patients schedules.
In fact, in a study conducted in Iowa and South Dakota nearly 63,000 outpatient physical therapy episodes of care were analyzed: more than 45,000 were physician referred and more than 17,000 were self-referred to physical therapists. Researchers found that self-referred patients had fewer physical therapy visits and lower allowable amounts ($0.87 self-referred for every $1.00 of physician referral).
Another study was conducted to analyze the cost effectiveness, which compares the cost and health effects of an intervention to assess the value of the money the patient is spending. Using data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland researchers found that the costs established for physical therapy visits were 123% higher when there was physician involvement than when patients went to a physical therapist directly. The study also showed that physician referral occurrences generated 67% more physical therapy claims and 60% more office visits than when the patient went directly to the physical therapist without a physician referral. This shows that with the ability to go directly to a physical therapist, direct access is not only less expensive, but it also requires fewer visits; taking less time out of the patients schedules.