We're working for you.
APTA is fighting for the profession — and creating positive change. APTA continued to work for needed change to empower the profession and improve patient access to care.
Our federal advocacy efforts are contributing to the growing tide of providers, patients, and policymakers calling for a full overhaul of the outdated Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. While Congress did offer partial relief to damaging cuts under the fee schedule, more must be done, and we're committed to pursuing long-term solutions. This year's wins included the establishment of a federal program to improve workforce diversity in allied health professions; a directive to the Department of Veterans Affairs to study how to heighten the role of physical therapy in the VA health system by, among other things, increasing pay for PTs and PTAs; and a two-year extension of telehealth provisions for PTs and PTAs under Medicare. APTA also played a key role in the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' decision to reverse a proposed 0.7% payment decrease to skilled nursing facilities and instead provide a 2.7% increase.
We also empowered members in advocacy at the state and commercial payer levels by collaborating with APTA Private Practice to create a first-of-its-kind suite of payment advocacy tools to help PTs address overuse of prior authorization and utilization management, and through our work with state chapters that resulted in wins related to reforms to state-level prior authorization rules, provisions that specifically permit PTs to order imaging and telehealth, and more.
Our impact wasn't limited to the regulatory and payment arenas. We fought for the profession and patients in the digital health care space through creation of the APTA Digital Health Transparency Campaign, an effort that seeks to ensure that digital health physical therapy is performed or directed only by licensed PTs. To date, 17 digital health care providers have pledged that their companies will align with that fundamental concept.
We're helping you thrive.
APTA helps you stay on top of your profession and provide informed care. Members were offered more opportunities and practice insights than ever in 2022.
The APTA Combined Sections Meeting returned to its in-person format in San Antonio, but we also offered an on-demand learning experience that made one-third of the programming available for viewing online — an option that will return for the 2023 conference in San Diego. APTA also produced numerous new member resources, including new content on productivity, long COVID, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, accompanied by a new DEI certificate program. Digital health’s role in physical therapy also was explored through online resources that include a leading-edge foundational paper on the subject.
New practice tools to support clinical excellence included new tests and measures summaries on physical activity as a vital sign, perceived stress scale, the Berg Balance Scale, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, and more, as well as clinical summaries on long COVID, functional movement disorders, and cerebellar dysfunction. And we enhanced our offerings of clinical practice guidelines with new APTA CPG+ guidance on nine conditions including venous thromboembolism, Parkinson disease, osteoporosis, hamstring strain, pelvic girdle pain, and peripheral vestibular hypofunction.
PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, APTA's scientific journal, continued to expand its relevance and reach. In addition to its ongoing special collection of free-access content related to COVID-19 in the rehab setting, we published two special issues — one on precision rehab and another on fear of movement — that connected readers with the latest research and opinion. PTJ also helped to nurture the next generation of physical therapy researchers through its first-ever live Peer Review Academy. The online event drew 300 participants that gave early-career researchers tools and techniques to improve their scientific writing skills — and connected them with PTJ's community of highly regarded experienced researchers.
Opportunities for enriched professional experiences also grew, with the number of accredited residency and fellowship programs reaching 426, and the first 12 board-certified clinical specialists in wound management being recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (as part of 2,239 PTs earning board certification overall). Another first: the enrollment of 40 physical therapist assistants in the new neurology content area within APTA's Advanced Proficiency Pathways program, a professional development offering designed exclusively for PTA career advancement. The association also continued its investment in PT and PTA educators, through the APTA Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership, which graduated 31 new fellows in 2022. Our Telehealth Certificate Program, launched in 2021, continued its strong growth with nearly 16,000 enrolled in the learning opportunity this year.
We're building community.
APTA is where we connect — and tell our story. APTA members embraced opportunities to create stronger professional and personal relationships in ways that deepened engagement in the profession and the association.
At the inaugural APTA Leadership Congress, we provided the association’s leaders with practical advice to advance DEI, and the House of Delegates adopted motions designed to advance the association, profession, and society. We also increased online connections through the launch of the APTA app, and enriched member benefits through the launch of our APTA Health Benefits Marketplace that provides group health coverage for employers and solo practitioners.
We connected with millions of Americans through ongoing development of ChoosePT.com, the placement of three full-page ads in the New York Times, and other digital advertising, and a satellite media tour that articulated the value of physical therapy to TV and radio stations across the country. The media tour alone reached an audience of more than 76 million viewers and listeners over 895 airings.
Our consumer awareness reach didn't stop there. Our popular ChoosePT.com consumer-facing website with its "Find a PT" search feature, which now includes the option to include COVID-19 and long COVID as a practice focus, received nearly 5 million unique visits. Both the high-profile and longstanding efforts are paying off: Our most recent APTA survey of consumer attitudes toward physical therapy showed that the public's knowledge of the profession and what it can do is deepening.
Among the findings: a growing recognition of PTs as first-choice providers, after physicians, for treatment of injury, pain, or movement limitations; a better understanding of the role PTs can play in injury prevention, pain reduction, recovery from surgery, and improved range of motion; and an increase in the public's opinion that PTs are more knowledgeable than primary care providers when it comes to diagnosing and treating injuries, preventing future injuries, and improving physical activity and mobility.