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New Patients

At Andersonville Physical Therapy, you’ll receive the care and support you deserve to help you every step of the way on the road to recovery.  We know that the decision to take charge of your health can be a difficult one, Nothing is more important than your health, and we thank you for making Andersonville Physical Therapy a part of your well-being.  – I like the intent of this – but it is stated other places.  I just want logistics here – and to let them know we will help them through the process but that they need to understand our system and contribute to the rehab too by coming to following our guidelines.  I am not sure guidelines is the correct word.

What to expect at physical therapy

What do I need to bring to the first visit?
Physican’s referral/prescription - Illinois state law requires a patient to obtain a referral from their physician before they can begin treatment. 
Insurance card and driver’s license.
Completed new patient paperwork found online. [link here] If you are unable to complete the paperwork in advance, please arrive 15 minutes prior to appointment time to fill it out. 

What should I wear to physical therapy. 

We ask that you wear loose, comfortable clothing appropriate for exercise.  If we are examining your back, hips or legs, please bring shorts.   

Will my insurance cover my visits?
Most insurance plans cover physical therapy.  However, because every insurance plan is different, we suggest you call your insurance company to check your coverage. When you arrive for your first appointment, we will also check your benefits and review them with you.  For a complete list of accepted insurance providers, [click here].  We offer a reasonable cash-pay rate to those patients who do not have insurance. 

How long is the initial evaluation?

Evaluations generally take 45 minutes.  Your physical therapist will evaluate you, create a treatment plan, and determine the length and frequency of your treatment.  (Should we give an average?) You will be provided with a print out of specific exercises for you to work on at home. 


What happens next?

On your subsequent visits, you will spend about 45 minutes one-on-one with your physical therapist working to address the deficits found in the evaluation.  Treatment may include soft tissue massage, stretching, joint mobilization techniques/manipulations, strengthening exercises, activity-specific training and/or modalities such as heat, ice, ultrasound or electrical stimulation.  You are also expected to commit to a healthy level of activity to improve endurance and activity tolerance and follow postural/activity recommendations.  Your therapist is a professional problem-solver and committed to assisting you at every stage of the process to ensure your success.
After 4-6 weeks, your therapist will generally perform another formal evaluation and inform your physician of your progress.    


Outcome Measures:

To ensure that each patient’s progress and goals are individually addressed and objectively measured, APT utilizes a wide variety of outcomes measures.  Outcome measures are used in the physical therapy profession to determine each patient’s level of function based on his/her specific impairments/diagnosis.  The outcome measures are each targeted at specific regions of the body, whether its functional use of the upper extremity or lower extremity, level of difficulty with tasks as a result of neck pain, low back pain or after specific surgeries.  We can also objectively measure an individual’s risk for falls with balance-related outcomes measures, along with assessing his/her level of dysfunction as a result of pelvic health related issues. 

Individuals are asked to fill out an outcome measure at their first or second visit related to his/her diagnosis/primary complaint, and then again once the patient is nearing discharge from physical therapy.  This allows therapists to address specific functional tasks that patients have difficulty completing, assists with proper goal setting and further allows us to objectively measure patient progress.  Additionally, we utilize research-based minimal detectable change scores, or MDC’s, to determine whether the improvement was clinically significant.  We can then compare each patient’s number of visits and level of improvement as indicated by the outcome measurement and determine which interventions are shown to be most beneficial to patient improvement.

Cancellations:

We understand that events beyond your control may require you to cancel or be late for your appointment.  A successful rehabilitation requires consistent, conscious involvement in the process by you and your physical therapist. To facilitate achievement of your goals it is important for you to attend your appointments.  Late cancellations (<24 hours notice) and missed appointments will be subject to a $40 charge.

Insurance and Financial Information 

Andersonville Physical Therapy is an in-network provider contracted with a number of insurance companies.  We want to be sure that you’ll have all the information you’ll need to know about what your specific benefits are, so when you come in for your first appointment, we will check your verify your benefits with your insurance company  and share that information in detail with you.

If you’d like to know more about your insurance plan prior to your visit, we encourage you to call the member services number for your insurance company and ask them for the benefit information for physical therapy performed in an office setting.  Usually this number can be found on your membership card or on your insurance company’s website.  Additionally, our friendly office staff is more than happy to check your benefits in advance of your visit upon request.

How much will physical therapy cost?
I will be using insurance to help cover the cost of my visits:
Your exact benefits depend on a number of factors that our office staff will look into and share with you in detail.  As mentioned above, you can also find out that information by calling your insurance provider.

Co-pays: some insurance plans require co-pays for physical therapy services.  When we check your benefits, we will notify you if you have a co-pay.  Please note: co-pays are due on the day of your appointment
Co-insurance:  If your insurance plan does not require a copay, but instead has a co-insure

I will be paying out-of-pocket for my physical therapy:
For those patients who prefer to pay out-of-pocket, we have a cash patient rate of $80 per session.

Privacy Policies:
Please see our Notice of Privacy Practices for a full description

Download Forms

Please download and fill out the New Patient Information and Patient Insurance Information forms and bring them to Andersonville Physical Therapy when you come in for your first visit.

   

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Community Wellness

At Andersonville Physical Therapy's Movement Education Center, we believe it is our role to teach our patients and members of our community about how to keep their bodies healthy.

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Andersonville Pilates Studio has only STOTT PILATES® certified instructors who have been trained to teach sessions that are safe and effective.

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Check out our calendar and where APT teaches in the community!

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