CGH #045: Report From APTA 2012

The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 45 is entitled “Report From APTA 2012”.

The American Physical Therapy Association - the national association for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants - is meeting this week in Tampa, Florida. The House Of Delegates has been meeting, and PTs and PTAs have been engaged in continuing education and seminars related to professional issues.

Today’s special guest provides us with a live report from APTA 2012. Jason Richardson, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT is a physical therapist and Vice-President of Clinical Operations for Results Physiotherapy Centers. Jason has a varied perspective on the profession, practicing in orthopedic physical therapy for 14 years while also serving on the executive board of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association, and the Referral for Profit Committee with the American Physical Therapy Association. Along with this, Jason is running for the position of secretary of the APTA's Private Practice section in the November 2012 elections.

All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, June 21.

Episode 45 Notes: Report From APTA 2012

Welcome to the Smart Life Project's "Consumer's Guide To Health" for June 7, 2012. I'm your host, Allan Besselink, coming to you live from Austin, Texas (as I do every other Thursday at 11:00 am central time). This show is brought to you by the Smart Life Project, a health initiative based in Austin, Texas committed to providing sports science solutions for training, rehab, and life. Life is a sport - play smart.

Becoming a consumer of your own health and health care is critical in this day and age. The health care and fitness worlds can be a challenge to negotiate. But we are also in an era of accessibility to information, and as I always say, knowledge is power - if only we'd use it. Let's face it though - the inability to challenge our belief systems in the face of good scientific evidence is the primary limiting factor in the advancement of both health care and coaching, as well as human performance and injury prevention. And as I always say - don't shoot the messenger.

The primary goal of this show is to increase awareness of these issues so that people can become better consumers of their own health - from the grass roots level on up.

With that in mind, our call in number is (347) 843-4753.

Today's episode 45 is entitled "Report From APTA 2012".

The profession of physical therapy in the United States is at a crossroads these days. It is faced with issues of term protection and encroachment, professional autonomy, consumer direct access, delegation of responsibilities, and decreasing reimbursements. Over the past few weeks, I have displayed my typically vocal stance on many of these professional issues, especially professional autonomy. You can refer to posts ….

The American Physical Therapy Association - the national association for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants - is meeting this week in Tampa, Florida. The House Of Delegates has been meeting, and PTs and PTAs have been engaged in continuing education and seminars related to professional issues. And, as at any conference, I am sure much socializing and connecting with colleagues near and far.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the conference this week. But through the power of Twitter and social media, many informed members have been sharing their insights this week. Today, we have the good fortune of having a "man on the street" there. Our live report today comes to you from Jason Richardson (PT, DPT, OCS, COMT) , a physical therapist and Vice-President of Clinical Operations for Results Physiotherapy Centers (http://www.resultsphysiotherapy.com) - a group of 40 private practice clinics in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. Jason earned his Master’s degree in Physical Therapy in 1998, and completed his Doctoral studies in 2004 from Shenandoah University. Jason also holds certifications in Orthopedics, Manual therapy, and ergonomics.

Jason has a varied perspective on the profession, practicing in orthopedic physical therapy for 14 years while also serving on the executive board of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association, and the Referral for Profit Committee with the American Physical Therapy Association. Jason has been very passionate about eliminating obstacles that preclude patient access to quality therapy services. Along with this, Jason is running for the position of secretary of the APTA's Private Practice section in the November 2012 elections.

Thanks for joining us on the show, Jason. I hope you're enjoying Tampa.

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Photo credits: joehardy