APTA Michigan: For the Public

Unrestricted Direct Access to Physical Therapy in Michigan

Unrestricted Direct Access to Physical Therapy In Michigan:
Removing the Barriers to Accessing Care

Physical therapy can make a tremendous difference in YOUR life. Physical therapists are movement experts who use hands-on treatment, prescribed individualized exercise, and education to help people reach their activity goals and improve quality of life. If it involves movement, a physical therapist can most likely help, from prevention of injury and disease to keeping your independence throughout your aging years.

Our mission is to help remove the barriers for you to access physical therapy through seeking unrestricted direct access (Michigan Senate Bill 668).

Current state law allows for you to access a PT without a physician’s prescription/referral for 10 visits for 21 days (restricted direct access). Our goal with SB 668 is to remove this barrier and extra cost by allowing you to go see a physical therapist first without a referral. Your physical therapist will still communicate your progress with your physician to ensure continued team collaboration and develop the best plan for your care.

Is it safe? YES!
Since enacting the current limited direct access law in Michigan in 2014, there have been no legal cases related to direct access against a physical therapist. Many studies also support the safety of seeing a PT first.

Physical therapy education includes extensive training in determining a physical therapy diagnosis for musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions. They are trained to screen for and identify health conditions that lie outside the PT scope of practice and require referral to a physician.

Within the United States, 21 states already allow for unrestricted access to physical therapy.

Check out the research!

When studying 81 patients seen by PTs under direct access, a retrospective physician review determined that the decisions made by the PTs were appropriate 100% of the time.

No evidence exists to show that accessing direct treatment from a physical therapist (PT) results in misdiagnosis or harm. Over 35 published cases report that the PT was able to screen for medical disease that required further evaluation and treatment from a physician. Many cases included incorrect diagnoses from the physician.

PTs have 3 to 3.5 years of training in musculoskeletal evaluation and management and have been found to perform better on standardized examination regarding the knowledge of management of musculoskeletal conditions unlike their non-orthopedic physician counterparts. Non-orthopedic physicians are often either not required to have formal training or their training consists of 4 weeks or less.

To be able to practice physical therapy in the United States, all PTs must graduate from a physical therapy program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) which is the only accrediting body for physical therapy and is approved by the U.S. Department of Education. They must also pass a national licensure exam, the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE), and Michigan’s jurisprudence exam.

The Safety of Direct Access

Defense Dept. to Roll Out System-Wide Direct Access to PTs

Direct Access References

A Patient’s Perspective