Several years ago, we created a post entitled PT House Calls Provide Opportunity and Growth. With everything happening in the world, we felt this was a good time to revisit this topic. As we stated in our original article, physical therapy home visits may provide an opportunity to start a physical therapy practice or expand the patient reach of an existing practice. Today, physical therapy is one of the most demanded services for in-home care.
Physical therapy home visits can be an incredibly convenient option to offer your patients. It’s a great alternative for patients who are concerned about leaving home and want to minimize group settings or those with limited mobility that have difficulty getting to appointments. There is also a reduction of cost since they do not need to drive or arrange for transportation services.
If you have an existing Part-A business, offering home visits under Part-B is an excellent way to provide continuity of care to patients that have been discharged from Part-A and can still benefit from ongoing therapy. Physical therapy home visits under Part-B are simply outpatient therapy services provided in a different setting rather than “home health” as defined under Part-A. Learn more about how to seamlessly transition your existing patients to Part-B.
In order to provide home visits under Part-B, you must be properly credentialed with Medicare. For Part-B services, each therapist is required to be individually credentialed, which is a major difference from services under Part-A. Additionally, some commercial Medicare replacement plans have limitations for home visits. Please be sure to verify a patient’s benefits for in home visits prior to treatment.
For physical therapists that wish to start their own business, not having a brick-and-mortar location has huge advantages. You must follow the requirements of your professional license and your state’s regulations, but focusing on physical therapy home visits would tremendously reduce your start-up and overhead expenses. Your office follows you wherever you go and the world is your gym!
If you have any questions about providing in-home physical therapy services, StrataPT is here to help. Contact us today and we’ll show you how to become a more successful, more profitable and more efficient PT/OT practice. Guaranteed.
