The Primary Care PT Podcast

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Adam Matichak who is an oncology PT embedded in an acute care hem-onc team. Dr Matichak explains how his passion for improving access and outcomes for this patient population led him to seek more involvement in the hem-onc specialty team. This is an excellent reminder that team-based care is not limited to the primary care space. We can provide better care when we work together in specialty teams as well!

This is a podcast verision of the APTA Federal Primary Care SIGs Abstract of the Month! Yes, I am very belated... but... it is what it is yall!

Pubmed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37641476/

Vervaeke, R., Lafrance, S., & Demont, A. (2023). Core competencies for first contact physiotherapists in a direct access model of care for adults with musculoskeletal disorders: A scoping review. Musculoskeletal Care, 21(4), 1353–1363. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1813

In this part 2 episode with Dr. Brockway, we got into the nitty gritty on cardiovascular conditions in athletes and young "healthy" people. Many healthcare professionals sometimes gloss over the potential for arrythmias, blood clots and other cardiovascular conditions in young people because they're... "healthy". This is certainly a personal topic for me, and it's something that needs to have more attention drawn to it, especially when we're screening and working with athletes and populations with heavier physical training and workload.

Want to learn more, sign up for our newest course, Cardiovascular Conditons in Athletes, debuting in July 2024! https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/courses/cvathletes

Check out Dr. Brockway's website here: https://doctorbthept.com/

and follow her on social media @doctorbthept

Ever wonder how we can possible continue on with insurance benefits continuing to dwindle? Well, thank goodness there are companies like Aware Health led by Dr. Heidi Ojha to help meet this need. Aware Health is a PT-led, AI optimized direct to employer service for musculoskeletal complaints that is part of an employer benefit package. In other words - employees of these companies can get free same day service, with no reliance on third party payers.

Employers are constantly looking for ways to cut costs, and Aware Health provides one way they can do just that, while improving MSK outcomes and satisfaction for their employees.

Check it out: https://www.awarehealth.io/

In this episode, I had the chance to catch up with (mostly rant to) Dr. Kaelee Brockway on some hot primary care PT topics which we BOTH get fired up about. She shares how her background in home health drove to her passion for seeing the big picture and how important this is for proper care navigation and improved patient outcomes.

We also discuss our newest course coming out on June 12 on Chest Imaging! Click here for more details: https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/courses/chestxray

Check out Dr. Brockway at her website here: https://doctorbthept.com/ and follow her on social media @doctorbthept!

In celebration of Cancer Survivors Week (June 2-8, 2024), we had the privilege to chat with cancer survivor, Scott Capozza, who is a board certified oncologic physical therapist at the Yale Smilow Cancer Center.

Scott talks about his experience being diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 22 as a young, healthy distance runner. He goes on to discuss his journey as a survivor, not only dealing with the long term effects of treatments, but also how various healthcare professionals have managed his care.

It's not uncommon for healthcare professionals to write out 20 different health issues, then say "patient is otherwise healthy" at the end of their note. What is the gravity of this? We discuss on the show.

Read Scott's article, which went viral, here: https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/OP.23.00798

Give him a follow on social media @scottcapozza

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Laura Baehr from Temple University's Lehigh Health and Wellness Center. At Lehigh, the mission is to serve community members in North Philadelphia with a variety of healthcare and wellness services, including PT. Many integrated primary care PT practices develop their models in this type of setting!

We discussed the importance of PCPTs understanding population health, and it motivated me to finally published my 1-hr population health webinar, which you can check out at https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/

Here are some resources the we discussed on the episode:

Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2023: https://www.apta.org/contentassets/4c9f46a46e4745ad9af7b7790c1ad7fe/apta-positionpaper_nhsc.pdf

Coss et al, 2022: https://sophia.stkate.edu/osot_fac/145/

Area Deprivation Index: https://www.neighborhoodatlas.medicine.wisc.edu/

In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Brian Schaudt who practices in the most rural of rural locations in the frontier of Oregon. Having the opportunity to work in this setting and location gives healthcare providers a rapid baptism by fire in literally anything that could come in the door. It also brings back to concept of true family and community medicine, where it's not uncommon to serve as the PT, the social worker, the home health provider and caretaker all in 1 job. I love every last bit of it.

Give Brian a follow on IG @frontierphysio

As a thank you for listeners, Brian offered this 2024 MET Compendium spreadsheet, which outlines the metabolic equivalent for basically every human activity you can think of. Here's the google drive link for that: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12qC50N8wvBqbHWwzzPojBwE6tphVulMr/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104429963933001498033&rtpof=true&sd=true

WHOA. I am SO glad that I sat down with Dr. Matt Johnston in this 1st of a 2 part men's health series. There is so much that I did not know or realize about men's health conditions and how they present. This is an incredibly underserved and undervalued topic in the PT profession and it deserves to be talked about and highlighted in every which way. Thanks so much to Dr. Johnston for sharing his knowledge and experiences!

WHOA. AGAIN..... BLOWN AWAY by this episode with Di Wu on Men's Pelvic Health considerations. Did you know that PT can be impactful in erectile dysfucntion??? Cause, I didnt before this episode!

I feel as though our profession isn't doing enough to highlight these important issues that many men face, and I am so grateful that Di is trailblazing, not on with direct patient care in Quebec, but also with education. Di is the owner of Integrated Pelvic Care, where he educates other clinicians in the evaluation and management of men's pelvic health conditions. Check out his website here and give him a follow on LinkedIn: https://www.ipc.health/

Free Resources here: https://www.ipc.health/freeresources