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 Articles
November, 2003 Our August article provided you with information to assist you in choosing a physical rehabilitation facility. I hope that our “checklist” was helpful. In this piece, I would like to remind you that YOU can choose your therapy provider, but getting through some of the health care “red tape” can be difficult. I hope the information below helps you understand the relationships and thereby make it easier to access care. Most of us have insurance plans. Your insurance plan can either allow you freedom to go to whomever you wish or limit access by directing that you choose a “Primary Care Physician” or PCP. In the case of an HMO plan, the PCP is the physician that you MUST see first for any injury or illness. The role of the PCP is to evaluate and diagnose your condition and choose to either treat you or refer you to another specialty physician, therapy center, imaging facility, etc. for further evaluation and diagnosis or treatment. You may not know it, but even if your insurance obligates you to choose a PCP, YOU can make the choice as to where you go for therapy services. In the case of physical therapy, Michigan law states that a physical therapist must have a signed physicians prescription to provide therapy services. Under most insurance plans, the insurance company is responsible for authorizing treatment and that can cause delays in receiving care. As long as the therapy provider falls in your insurance network, YOU can request that your rehabilitation be provided there. All you have to do is tell your physician. To further reduce the delay, and get you into the facility you require, relationships between physicians and therapy centers have been established that result in rapid appointment scheduling and communication, which in turn, leads to a quicker recovery. This is most evident in the case of the injured athlete. That is why TheraMatrix has developed the Athletic Recovery System or ARS. ARS consists of a network of specialists from the field of Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation that have volunteered to work together to expedite the evaluation and treatment of the injured athlete. This is done through prompt appointment scheduling, aggressive pursuit of specialist or therapy referral authorization (when required from your insurance company), immediate surgery scheduling (if needed), and quick access to physical therapy services. The ARS providers accept most insurance plans, which make it easy. Furthermore, ARS providers are Board Certified, Licensed, experienced and renowned specialists that have agreed to be readily available, to treat your injured athlete. For more information about this program, keep an eye on this website or contact me at (800) 545-3422 or email me directly at rread@theramatrix.com. All the best, |
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