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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-30/highest-paid-u-s-doctors-get-rich-with-fusion-surgery-debunked-by-studies.html
PT should probably be the answer for these patients...
- Thread starter jesspt
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Good stuff jesspt. I don't know how physicians get away with some of this stuff honestly. Other health care professionals seem to get the "you would be compensated more if your treatments/methods were backed by solid evidence" spiel much more frequently, yet many physician practices are just overlooked. Obviously much of it has to do with the clout of the AMA. The country would save countless dollars if some of these patients were referred to physical therapy.
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Agreed.
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I have found it interesting in my observations how skeptical patients are of the efficacy of physical therapy and how quickly they are to trust a surgeon. The article mentions how trusting patients are of surgeons and just how much of a mistake this could be. I realize that surgeons have had extensive schooling and training but this article elucidates evidence of the greed that is out there. i.e. Dr. Pinto's 3 luxury cars, 3 boats and million dollar home after pulling in over a million dollars in a single year. Certainly it would be tough to conservatively treat a case as severe as the woman who opted for the 13 level fusion, but she is now paralyzed and left to pay the court costs.
Interesting.
Interesting.
It's funny that you memtioned that because a couple days ago there was a patient that came in (refered from an MD) with some knee issues. Five minutes into the eval he asked the PT if he was an ortho doctor and when he found out he wasn't he got up said "I don't need your help. What can you do for me" and walked out.
Some people just don't get it. That is why I think public education is very important for the continued growth of the PT field
Yohan, how did the PT feel and what did the PT do after that happened?
That's pretty much sucks. Plus, the patient was pretty rude to the person trying to help him. It is important to educate the public about physical therapy. There is a lot of misconception out there about the profession and what it is we do (or will do). This is one of the main reasons why people don't opt for physical therapy before trying high-risk procedures conducted by physicians/surgeons. Part of this is also because the physician doesn't take the time to educate the patients on what to expect from physical therapy. People tend to opt for the quick fix (chiropractors for example) instead of the longer process, which could actually be more beneficial and long-term than procedures such as fusion surgery.
If patients stick around, like many of them do, they will see and experience the benefits of PT. The vast majority of patients with whom I spoke were extremely happy with their treatment and progress, even if their treatment spans for months.
I happened to be standing near the treatment room when the pt said that and the therapist immediatley tried explaing why physical therapy would help and the pt cut him off because he didn't need any of this "mumbo-jombo", he needed to talk with a DOCTOR! The therapist soon realized it was a lost cause and let him go. You could tell the therapist was a little offended at first, but brushed it off because what are you going to do? I asked him if he would do anything different next time and he said no because the pt has to want to get better for physical therapy to work.
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Hello everyone! Just joined SDN after seeing some of these recent posts.
Anyways, It will be interesting to see the change that will occur over the next several years. When I think about public education, one method that comes to mind is the way the "The Doctors" and "Doctor Oz" shows educate. I think that there should be a physical therapy show much like these that would be available on local channels also. There could even be PT's that work in different specialties or settings that could present info. A website for the show, perhaps a facebook and twitter, and other ways to people to get some info. What are your thoughts on something like this?
Well, I still got a lot to learn how these forums work. Again, hello!
Spidey134
Anyways, It will be interesting to see the change that will occur over the next several years. When I think about public education, one method that comes to mind is the way the "The Doctors" and "Doctor Oz" shows educate. I think that there should be a physical therapy show much like these that would be available on local channels also. There could even be PT's that work in different specialties or settings that could present info. A website for the show, perhaps a facebook and twitter, and other ways to people to get some info. What are your thoughts on something like this?
Well, I still got a lot to learn how these forums work. Again, hello!
Spidey134
