6 Questions You Should Ask When Choosing Where to Get Physiotherapy Therapy.

Before booking for physiotherapy services, it’s important to know that you have the right to choose your physiotherapist. In Quebec you can make an appointment with a physiotherapist directly without a doctor’s referral. Although a physician or other health care professional may suggest a certain facility or physiotherapist based on referral relationships or geographical location, the decision as to where you go for treatment is yours.

So how do you choose the right physiotherapist? Here are six questions patients should ask a physiotherapist or the physiotherapy practice when choosing where to go:

Does the practice have licensed physiotherapists that are certified in areas that include my condition?

Many physiotherapists have received training and earned certifications in specialized areas of service. One of these areas may be applicable to a patient’s individual condition. In general a physiotherapist can be trained in eight areas of specialization:
Cardiovascular and pulmonary
b. Geriatrics
c. Neurology
d. Orthopaedics
e. Pediatrics
f. Sports
g. Women’s health

Will I see a licensed physiotherapist on each visit, or will care on some visits be provided by a rehabilitation therapist (RT)?

RTs are licensed professionals who assist physiotherapists in carrying out a patient’s treatment plan. Physical therapy aids, however, only help prepare treatment areas and treatment modalities but are not allowed to administer treatment. Asking who will be administering care will assure that a patient receives treatment from the proper professional.

Will I see the same therapist on each visit?

Often physiotherapy practices will book you with any therapist open on the schedule, and book many patients with the same therapist at the same time. This means the therapist will not be providing individualized one-on-one treatment. Before booking, ask if you can see the same therapist for each visit, and if you can receive one-on-one treatment.

Will you be recommending home exercise, and if so, do you have any tools to assist me with this?

Asking this question will give a patient an idea of what will be required of them and how prepared the practice is in helping the patient achieve success at home. Keep in mind the physiotherapist may prefer to wait until they have completed their evaluation of a patient’s condition before answering this question.

How many patients do your therapists usually see at one time?

It is common for a physiotherapist to work with more than one patient at the same time, for instance when a patient is performing exercises on their own after receiving instructions for the physiotherapist and does not require direct supervision. However, if you feel you may need more individualized attention, be sure to choose a physiotherapist that only treats one patient at a time.

Will you help me with my paperwork and avoiding billing problems? 

Nothing is more frustrating than opening the mail and finding unexpected surprises, like medical bills you thought were covered by your insurance. Because of complex processing procedures, many offices have high billing error rates. Ask about which carriers go routinely, and which ones don’t. The answer will give you a good sense of what to expect. Even the best trained billing departments will have occasional problems, so ask if the clinic has direct billing with your insurance company to make sure things go smoothly and with no surprises.

Sources

APTA on Right to Choose

https://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/Practice_and_Patient_Care/PR_and_Marketing/Reaching_Consumers/Handouts_%28Members_Only%29/ChoosingYourPT.pdf

American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties areas of certification:

http://www.abpts.org/About/Statistics/