Under California Law, you can directly access physical therapy without a doctor’s referral, however, if you require continued care after 45 calendar days or 12 visits (whichever comes first), you then will be required to see an MD to obtain a referral for continued care.
Under Medicare, you are always required to have a referral from a doctor (MD or DO).
Some private insurances require a doctor’s referral.
A doctor, by law, cannot tell you where to go for Physical Therapy, they can make recommendations and should provide you with options in your area.
As long as you have a PT referral, it does not matter if another clinic’s name is listed on it. A PT plan of care will be faxed to your doctor so they will be kept in the loop with your care.
The first visit, the Evaluation, will be anywhere from 60 minutes up to 1 hour and 45 minutes depending on the complexity of your problem(s).
The follow-up visits will all be 1 hour.
You should wear comfortable clothes that allow you to move and allow exposure of the involved areas (example: if it’s your knee, wearing shorts or loose sweatpants).
During the Evaluation, Jessica will do a thorough intake to get your history of the problem(s) and your medical history that may be contributing to the current problem(s). This will be followed by a comprehensive holistic assessment to help determine the underlying patterns driving the problem(s), including looking at your posture, walking patterns, balance, other more challenging movements if appropriate, as well as assessing range of motion of the area, strength assessments and other special tests that may be indicated. Jessica will review these findings with you and go over the plan of care. Depending on the time this assessment takes, treatment may begin on the first visit.
Education about your problem and the things you may be doing that are contributing to the problem (posture, sleeping positions, work habits, etc), as well as continuous education during treatment of what we are doing and why.
Manual Therapy, which could include joint mobilizations, myofascial release, muscle energy techniques, and taping techniques to normalize movement in the joints and soft tissues that have been found to be restricted.
Custom exercises based on where you are found to be weak. Most often this begins with teaching you how to engage muscles from the inside out to build good core and postural stability to support keeping the mobility you will be gaining.
Flexibility and self-release exercises custom to your needs and what works for you as an individual. This can include use of devices like a foam roller or proper stretching techniques, from static (in one position) to dynamic (stretching with movement).
Jessica is a Medicare provider and may be able to work with other private insurances or assist if they are out of network.
For those insurances that are out of network, we will apply our self-pay rates and offer a Super Bill with all the coding needed for you to apply for reimbursement from your insurance company.
PT Evaluation – fee is based on time spent with the PT, ranging from $225 up to $275 (60 minutes – 1 hour 45 minutes).
PT Treatment – fee is $125 for the hour session.
