Unfortunate Weekend News Roundup
Browsing through my various news feeds this weekend lead me to the following two instances of Physical Therapists making news headlines:
This is about a new facility in Summit County, CO now offering Primal Reflex Release Technique. Click here for a somewhat disturbing video and an opportunity to sign up for a home study course in this technique.
Three individuals, including two Physical Therapists, were arrested and charged with health care fraud, allegedly billing for services not performed and billing for Physical Therapy performed by a massage therapist. At least the FBI knows all about our profession. That's good, right?
How are we doing policing ourselves as a profession? When instances like these happen, the concept of professional autonomy is undermined as the trust we demand from society is eroded. These are fairly extreme instances (and in one case, criminal,) but how do we do in situations that are not so obviously concerning? Such as: Treating too many people simultaneously to bolster a bottom line, over or misuse of modalities, not keeping up with current evidence on a particular condition or patient type? Do Physical Therapists, or any health care profession for that matter, really have a good system in place to help police the rank and file?
Anyway, perhaps that is too much philosophy. All I really want is some Good Press!
ERIC
As I commented on Eric's blog (very nice blog btw), it truly is a sign of how dire our circumstance if a news article on a "referral for profit" arrangement is considered "Good Press".
Mark F. Schwall, PT
Posted by: Mark Schwall, PT | June 25, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Eric, it isn't easy to police ourselves as a profession. The people that are involved with making the administrative decisions that affect bottom line really don't want to hear about practices within their departments that are questionable. If to do things the right way affects the budget, again, the one voicing the concern runs into a brick wall. Also, often times when something affects the bottom line, it affects productivity. Productivity isn't only tagged with the bottom line, but often times with clinician performance also. If an individual clinician does make decisions that are within the scope of what is right, the decision at times can have personal ramifications because of the effect it may have on productivity. Of course, if an individual clinician does make decisions that are not within the scope of what is right, again, there can be personal ramifications. Those ramifications as you have pointed out above are all based on getting caught. The budget, other pressing serious/dangerous matters and the politics within each state are probably what determine the likelihood of pursuance of wrong decisions combined with the level or abundance of the wrong that is occurring (how great of a fine/penalty can be levied and the cost of proving the wrongful acts).
It isn't commonly seen that clinicians actually band together and take a collective stance, I'd assume because of the fear of consequences. I believe that when clinicians are in situations as you mentioned above, some clinicians may attempt to take a stance, but I'd be more willing to bet that more often than not the clinician seeks employment elsewhere and leaves the situation.
Posted by: Selena Horner | June 25, 2007 at 07:36 PM