Do I need to see my doctor to start physical therapy?

What will happen during my first visit?

What should I bring to my first physical therapy appointment?

Can a family member be present during the evaluation and treatment session to listen and to help ask questions?

Does my insurance cover physical therapy?

Will I see the same physical therapist on each visit?

Are the treatment rooms private?

How long has Palmer Physical Therapy for Women been in business?

What happens if I need to cancel or change an appointment?

Can physical therapy help me with bowel or bladder problems?

If you have any further questions regarding our services, you are encouraged to contact the clinic and a physical therapist will speak to you personally. Clinical questions may be emailed to physicaltherapist@palmerpt.com.

Do I need to see my doctor to start physical therapy?

In the state of Kansas, you must have a doctor’s referral for physical therapy services. This referral can also be written by a physician’s assistant (PA) or Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP).

There are several options to obtain this referral. If you have discussed your concerns with your doctor and they agree that therapy would be helpful, they can send the referral by fax directly to our office. Your doctor may, however, feel you need to be seen by them first.

It can be confusing that the doctor’s referral may be different from an “insurance referral”. An insurance referral is written authorization required by your insurance from your primary care doctor for physical therapy. This insurance referral may have a limit regarding the total number of visits allowed or a specific time frame for services.

There is one exception to this doctor’s referral process. If you have been seen by a physical therapist in the past year, you may not need a new doctor’s referral if it is for the same problem.

What will happen during my first visit?

You will be seen by your physical therapist and she will take a thorough history including your primary complaint, other associated health issues and testing results. She will then do a complete evaluation.

After your evaluation, your therapist will discuss the findings and the recommended plan of care.

This visit will last an hour.

What should I bring to my first physical therapy appointment?

Plan to arrive about 10 minutes early and bring your completed paperwork. Your paperwork can be downloaded from the web site.

You should also bring your insurance information (i.e., insurance card, workman’s compensation claim information or auto insurance).

Recent, related test results (i.e. MRI or X-ray reports) may be helpful and can also be brought to your first appointment.

If your doctor’s office did not fax your physical therapy referral directly to the clinic, you will need to bring it with you.

Most patients find that wearing loose fitting exercise clothing and comfortable shoes is helpful.

Can a family member be present during the evaluation and treatment session to listen and to help ask questions?

Patients are always welcome to bring a family member to their sessions to assist with providing history information or to ask questions. It is the patient’s prerogative to include someone in their session for this purpose.

Mothers with small children are asked to determine if their care would be compromised if children were in the room during treatment. Knowing the responsibilities and distractions of child care, we encourage women to secure your own child care for your appointments. We do not provide child care during your appointments and for your child’s safety they need to be supervised.

Does my insurance cover physical therapy?

As part of our service to our patients, we will call your insurance company prior to your first appointment to determine your physical therapy coverage. We share this information with you but, as we can not guarantee the accuracy, we also encourage you to contact your insurance provider directly or refer to your benefit handbook to confirm any limitations or out of pocket costs.

We accept Medicare and most other private insurances. We do not accept Medicaid.

Will I see the same physical therapist on each visit?

Yes. One of the unique features of our clinic is that you will always be seen by your physical therapist as we do not have any physical therapist assistants or aides. We feel you will progress more quickly because your physical therapist will focus on your individual issues and be able to adjust your treatment plan with each session if needed.

Are the treatment rooms private?

All of our patients are treated in private rooms, not in a large gym with simple curtained-off sections.

How long has Palmer Physical Therapy for Women been in business?

Our clinic was established in May of 2003. We have grown from one physical therapist to 5 full time physical therapists. Our business continues to grow as a result of positive outcomes and satisfied customers.

What happens if I need to cancel or change an appointment?

To be respectful of patients that are waiting for appointments, we ask that if you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment that you give us a 24 hour notice so that the appointment time can be made available to another patient.

Patients that do not cancel appointments with a 24 hour notice are subject to our cancellation fee.

If you do not show for a scheduled appointment, you risk cancellation of future appointments as well as the cancellation fee.

It is our goal to see each patient improve in the least number of treatment sessions and to make our services available to patients on our waiting list in a timely manner. To get well, you need to attend your scheduled sessions.

Can physical therapy help me with bowel or bladder problems?

You might be surprised to learn that physical therapy can effectively treat these issues. For more information regarding specific conditions that we treat, please refer to our “Conditions We Treat”.

If you have any further questions regarding our services, you are encouraged to contact the clinic and a physical therapist will speak to you personally. Clinical questions may be emailed to physicaltherapist@palmerpt.com.