Cost-Analysis in Physical Therapy: A First Step Toward Determining the Value of What PTs Do

Participants: Laura Peterson, Clifford Goodman, PhD, David Scalzitti, PT, PhD, OCS, and Patricia Sinnott, PT, PhD, MPH. Moderator: Linda Resnik, PT, PhD, OCS, PTJ Editorial Board member.

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Files in this Data Supplement:

• Discussion Podcast - As the US Congress and the American people debate the future of health care in this country, the focus often is on skyrocketing costs, and health care providers are being called to demonstrate the health and economic value of their services. Cost-analysis and comparative effectiveness research are important tools in demonstrating economic value, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is directing more than $1 billion to cost-effectiveness research over the next two years.

  “Assessment of the Quality of Cost Analysis Literature in Physical Therapy” (August 2009) reports a study that was commissioned by APTA to rate the quality of the cost-analysis literature in physical therapy. In this podcast, authors Laura Peterson and Clifford Goodman of the Lewin Group are joined by David Scalzitti, APTA’s Associate Director of Research, and Patricia Sinnott of the VA Health Economic Resources Center to discuss the implications and limitations of this study and further research needs. Is a perfect storm brewing as the health care demands of an aging baby-boomer population rise at the same time that scrutiny of health care costs grows? Are you and your patients aware that most health care plans already allow insurance companies to use cost-effectiveness analysis and other costs comparisons in deciding what interventions will be covered? Get insights into cost-effectiveness research—where it’s at, where it needs to go, and how the current research can, and cannot, inform clinical decisions.

  “If an intervention is determined to be not cost-effective, but it’s not provided by a physical therapist, is it not cost-effective because the intervention itself is not cost-effective—or is it not cost-effective because the practitioner providing the intervention did not implement the intervention effectively?”

  “Future studies...should identify clearly what...authors mean when they use the term ‘physical therapy’.”

  “Cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-effectiveness studies are required in many other countries before final decisionas are made about including certain technologies and new medications.”

  “The profession of physical therapy needs to be part of these discussions of the value of the care PTs provide.”

  Running time: 23:20 (10.6 MB)

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