Physical therapy deals with the entire body, anywhere from the inner ear and vision to the arms and legs. Physical therapists look at the body as a whole and are focused on getting people up and walking and working on balance, overall strength and core strength. Occupational therapy specializes a little more in the upper extremities, arms and hands. OT is very task-related and goes more into depth with someone’s fine motor skills and memory-type exercises and cognitive strategies. Description text goes here

A physical therapist assistant, commonly abbreviated as PTA, is also a healthcare professional who works with patients under the direct supervision of a physical therapist (in Missouri). Other states have varying degrees of supervision requirements.

Here at Outbound Physical Therapy & Rehab, we work with a team approach, consisting of one physical therapist and one physical therapist assistant in each team.

In most states, physical therapists cannot make a medical diagnosis. This is something that your physician will provide for you. While physical therapists are important members of your medical team, physicians are typically the healthcare providers that will provide you with a medical diagnosis.

Yes, forms can be emailed to you ahead of time or you may come in 15-20 minutes prior to your first appointment to fill them out in the clinic. If you have not received an email with your intake forms please contact the office.

In most cases the answer is yes. Outbound maintains records electronically, so we can provide you with the added convenience of visiting either of our convenient Jefferson City clinics, and any of our Physical Therapists will be able to follow your specified Treatment Plan.

The only exception to this would be if you would need to see our Occupational therapist/ Certified Hand Therapist who is solely located at our West (Mall) clinic or if you need to see our Pelvic Floor Specialist who is located at our East clinic.

You play a large role in your health by the actions you choose to take. Listed are some of your responsibilities as a patient at Outbound Physical Therapy & Rehab:

1. Attending, on time, all scheduled appointments.

2. Informing your therapist of your progress at each visit.

3. Compliance with your treatment plan developed by your therapist.

4. Compliance with completing your Home Exercise Program as assigned by your therapist.

5. Asking questions when you do not understand any instructions given to you by our staff.

6. Notifying your therapist in advance of your next doctor’s appointment.

With the exception of serious emergencies, it is expected that you keep all your appointments. If you need to reschedule an appointment, we require 24 hours notice. In such a case, please call our office and arrange for a make-up appointment with our Front Desk. The make-up appointment needs to be in the same week, preferably the very next day. However, due to the popularity of our staff we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reschedule you to keep you compliant with your plan of care.

In an instance of cancellation, without 24 hours notice, we reserve the right to charge you a $25.00 fee. In the instance of a no-show you will be charged a $50.00 fee. After the second no-show or third cancelled appointment all future appointments will be removed from the schedule, and you will be added to our “same day appointment only” list.

At Outbound our physical therapists measure your baseline function at the start of care during your evaluation. Additionally, you will fill out a subjective questionnaire regarding your current function with activities of daily living. During subsequent visits, our therapy staff will monitor and assess your progress with activities during treatment sessions and provide regular feedback to you. Midway through your plan of care, the physical therapist will often re-evaluate your function, update your physical therapy goals, and provide a progress note to your referring physician. At the end of care, your physical therapist will re-assess your function, check your progress with your activities of daily living, and provide a note to your referring physician with your updated functional status.

Often times people go to therapy only two or three times a week depending on their insurance and payment options. The responsibility for improvement falls on the individual, too. The stretching and strengthening exercises are really something that has to be done almost daily. You’re not going to get the progress or improvement you need just relying on going to your therapy visits, so you have to do exercises at home.

Psst: And, by the way, those PTs can always tell if you are being good about doing your home exercise program or not.

Ultimately, the goal of physical therapy is to return you to normal day to day activities, recreation, or sport independently. Our physical therapist will design a home exercise plan to fit your needs to do independently at home, or in the gym, to safely maintain your gains from physical therapy.

Outbound is in-network with the following plans:

- Medicare Part B and secondary plans

- Medicare Advantage Plans (please note most MA plans will have a copay for PT)

- Aetna

- United Health Care (commercial and Medicare Advantage plans)

- UMR

- Care Improvement Plus

- Healthlink

- Tricare

- Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield

- Wellfirst

- VA CNN Optum Referrals

- Medicaid (we can accept Medicaid patients if they are under 21 years of age)

Our patients without insurance coverage or who are Out of Network with Outbound (Cigna, Humana, Medicaid patients over 21 years old) can also opt to pay for treatment directly Out of Pocket (OOP), as we offer a discounted self-pay rate, due at the time of service. Contact our office to discuss this option to start your care.

Billing for Physical Therapy services is similar to billing for a doctor’s visit. The following occurs when a patient is scheduled for treatment:

1.The patient’s insurance is verified to ensure coverage from the insurance carrier for the specified course of treatment. Authorization is obtained and we bill the insurance company based on the results of the verification of benefits. The patient is notified if there are issues obtaining authorization for services, or if we are unable to verify coverage.

2.The patient’s insurance is billed based on charges or Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes that are determined based on the course of treatment from the patient’s Physical Therapist.

3.The insurance carrier processes the information submitted and makes payments according to an agreed upon contract or fee schedule.

4.The patient will receive an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance carrier; we receive a similar EOB indicating the payment has been issued. The EOB also provides patient responsibility, and if applicable, the patient is obligated to make the payment for any balance.

It is important to understand that there are many small steps (beyond those outlined above) within the billing process. Exceptions are common, and missing information and/or miscommunications may occur. This can delay the payment process.