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By KENDALL BLASER
Times-Democrat Special Writer
In a time of revolutionary changes in the
health care industry, the patient is often
left feeling overwhelmed when having
to seek medical treatment.
As more and more employers are trying to manage escalating benefit costs, many are turning to cost containment organizations, better known as Health Maintenance Organizations. A classic characteristic of these health care plans is the delineation of primary care physicians. Patients must first see their PCP in order to receive a prescription to be evaluated by a specialist.
In the Commonwealth of Virginia a physician referral has always been required by law for a patient to be evaluated and treated by a physical therapist.
But further restrictions are attached to HMO policies, such as precertification requirements and a restricted number of visits and/or procedures.
Many of these new limitations to treatment have made it imperative that the therapist develop the most direct and appropriate treatment plan for the patient. This has always been important for the success of treatment, but now is critical in a time when a patient may be limited to three to six visits whether that patient has met the goals of. treatment or not. To create the optimum
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