In this episode, I sat down with Angela Diaz who is a physical therapist and business leader that saw the opportunity for PTs to be integrated into primary care... a long time ago! She has worked with accountable care organizations (ACOs) which help primary care doctors learn strategies to optimize patient care delivery in order to reduce cost under value-based payment arrangement. We broke down what all of this means and highlighted the tremendous opportunities for PTs to work for and/or partner with ACOs to manage musculoskeletal conditions effectively and efficiently to reduce unnecessary utilization outside of primary care. Check it out!

Here's how to get in touch with Angela:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-diaz-pt-mba-4b6ab867/

I sat down to chat with 2 stellar physical therapist faculty members from George Fox University to hear an update on how they are continuing to lead the charge in primary care PT integration. Dr. Ryan Jacobsen, PT, DPT, PCS is a pediatric PT specialist whose research focus is on PT integration in the pediatric primary care setting. He started this work years ago and is not continuing with more refined efforts. His goal is to inspire and connect with those interested in this practice area... as he hasn't come across anyone else doing it!!! Where are our pediatric primary care pioneers?!!?! Is it you? Contact him ASAP! [email protected]

And the icing on the cake was getting to connect again with the wonderful Dr. Becky Dobler. She is also PT faculty at George Fox U and is currently in the strategic planning phases of PT integration in a family medicine clinic in an underserved population. We were able to talk about how important it is to strategically plan your program and how much time and effort it requires... but how worthy this time investment is for program sustainability. Interested in connecting with Dr. Dobler? Here's her email - [email protected]

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For historical reference, listen to Episode 12 first! In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Gina Miller, MD who was a primary care physician at a Samaritan Health site that had integrated PT. Dr. Miller shares her experience about how physical therapists made a difference in day to day practice as a primary care physician, and also talks about her experience when the decision was made to remove PT from the primary care clinic altogether.

We also talked about the UT legislation that passed which entitled physical therapists as NMSK primary care providers and also the challenges of behind the perception of "scoop creep" and interprofessional collaboration.

An excellent episode!

In this episode, I had the chance to follow up with Dr. Bob Long who was formerly the director of rehab at Samaritan Health. After the ‘shut down’ of the Samaritan Health primary care PT program, there were a lot of unanswered questions for many people, so this episode answers a lot of those questions! This content serves as a great reflection on things to think about and things that perhaps could have been done differently to enhance the sustainability of the program. Here are some of the episodes tied to this particular follow-up, right here on The Primary Care PT Podcast:

Episode 6: Original Interview from Samaritan PCPTs

Episode 9: Drs. Dan Kang & Jeff Houck

Episode 12: The Physicians Take

Get registered for the 2025 Primary Care PT Summit & Think Tank: https://www.aptafederal.org/primary-care

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Marla Ranieri who is a physical therapist who transitioned into the business and technology side of the house. Dr. Marla and I discussed numerous aspects of the business of PT, primarily how larger clinic employers set standards and key performance metrics for clinicians, such as length of stay, script frequency, and number of patients per day. We discussed how these metrics may actually be damaging to the shift towards primary care PT and talked about some solutions which would help employers move away from this.

Connect with Dr. Ranieri on LinkedIn or at Prompt EMR.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marla-ranieri/

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Chris McCallum to discuss how primary care PTs are changing the landscape of “health coverage” by contracting directly with employers. The “Direct to Employer” model of care puts PTs on-site where the workers are and significantly reduces the need for self-insured employers to redirect care claims to health insurance companies. It’s advantageous for the worker, the employer and the PT! And in my opinion, it’s the direction that we MUST pursue in order to preserve our profession. Here’s some of the links we discussed:

How to find self-insured companies. Companies must file with the Department of Labor, so that is where you will find a list:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/plan-administration-and-compliance/reporting-and-filing/form-5500

OSHA recordable data: search the BLS website for Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities to get an idea of employer injury rates. https://www.bls.gov/iif/

We talked about how to get paid by employers:

Hourly rate model

Service based pricing (FFS)

Risk Sharing

The On-Site Physical Therapist (book):

https://us.amazon.com/Site-Physical-Therapist-Direct-Employer/dp/B0CJDDNGXK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VS47PGDOPKX5&keywords=isbn+979-8-218-18265-6&qid=1695568551&s=books&sprefix=isbn+979-8-218-18265-6,stripbooks,119&sr=1-1

Contact Info: [email protected], www.mccallumIP.com

Killer episode with APTA Utah president Dr. Justin Carrier on the recent bill that passed officially recognizing physical therapists as primary care providers. We unpacked a LOT. This is something every PT/PTA, APTA state chapter representative, lobbyist or interested party should listen to. Important references in the links below:

The Bill Utah SB 0196

https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/static/SB0196.html

Cardiovascular conditions in Athletes course:

https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/courses/cvathletes

MSK Imaging Certification:

https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/courses/MSKimagingcert

Foundations for the Primary Care PT:

https://learn.redefinehealthed.com/courses/PCPTonline

In this episode, I share several MSK-mimicking pain presentations that are viral in origin. I've found this topic very interesting for quite some time and recently had 2 patient present with mononeuropathies that appeared like cervical radics....

Super interesting if I do say so myself....

References:

Xu S, Li H, Ai Z, Guo R, Cheng H, Wang Y. Exploring viral neuropathic pain: Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications. PLoS Pathog. 2024 Aug 8;20(8):e1012397. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012397. PMID: 39116040; PMCID: PMC11309435.

Pargas-Colina CD. Transient/Toxic Synovitis. Orthop Clin North Am. 2024 Oct;55(4):471-477. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2024.04.004. Epub 2024 May 14. PMID: 39216952.

So… a lot of you are probably wondering - where have I been?! Well, I've been busy doing all good things, for good reasons! Here's to another season of the Primary Care PT Podcast! This episode is just me recapping and highlighting all the great things happening in the PCPT space lately including...

1. My recent publication, Editor's Choice in PT Journal Sept 2024 - O'Bright K, Peterson S. Physical Therapists in Primary Care in the United States: An Overview of Current Practice Models and Implementation Strategies. Phys Ther. 2024 Dec 6;104(12):pzae123. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzae123. PMID: 39223935.

2. ABPTS accepted the petition for the Primary Care PT clinical specialization!!! Listen in on what's next...

3. We now have an accepted consensus definition of primary care PT!

4. Utah Senate Bill 196 and Montana SB 109 which both include language to recognize PTs as primary care providers.

https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/SB0196.html

https://legiscan.com/MT/drafts/SB109/2025

5. 2025 Primary Care PT Summit & Think Tank - Mark your calendars for Oct 24-25, 2025 at Georgia Southern University in Savannah, GA!!! The summit committee is now accepting proposals for sessions until April 1! More details at the link below:

https://www.aptafederal.org/assets/primary-care-SIG/2025%20Summit%20Call%20for%20Proposals.pdf

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!