If you’re not aware, EIM launched its Executive Program in Private Practice Management (EPPM) in Jan 2009. Until now, intensive, comprehensive practice management training in PT has been virtually absent (think residency training for practice managers/owners). Approximately 20 private practice PTs completed the program in Dec 2009 and another 55 individuals are slated to graduate in Dec 2010. A group of 32 physical therapists, mostly from California, started their own cohort this month. There is also an additional tDPT track, which has been a very attractive option for those who have not completed their tDPT. One of the key features is that the program is designed for busy owner/managers. There is no busy work or traditional academic approach. All assignments are designed to directly imp...

What is the link between obesity and knee osteoarthritis?
Current Opinion in Rheumatology

The 'Test for Substitution Patterns' was evaluated as a means to measure postural orientation in patients recovering from ACL injuries.
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

The malpractice system and defensive medicine in the United States have a smaller economic impact than thought, and physicians' fears of being sued do not reflect their actual litigation risk.
Medscape Medical News

While our profession continues to go down a path that restricts and contracts our own scope of practice, you have to admire the way nurses go about their business-and they put their money where their mouth is by appropriately funding research that demonstrates their outcomes are as effective as specialist physician counterparts. This NY Times article gives the backdrop to 2 studies related to nurse anesthetics which essentially concluded that there is no significant difference in the quality of care when delivered by a CRNA or by an anesthesiologist.   In an environment where healthcare is attempting to lower costs, a potential strategy is to use force multipliers-providers who can provide the same set of services at a lower cost. Nurses to their credit are setting the standard for this ...

Only one third of corticosteroid joint injections are placed correctly. This study suggests that ultrasound-guided injections hit their mark more often.
Medscape Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Can exercise improve mental processing?
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise®

As long as we're all watching videos this week let's watch a movie that calls into question the idea that we can spur productivity in physical therapy clinics with incentive bonuses. I think that physical therapists engage in the "conceptual, creative thinking" that Pink says defies the traditional idea that financial rewards lead to better productivity. Pink says that creative workers need... Autonomy Mastery and Purpose ...and that these three factors lead to better performance and better personal satisfaction. Perhaps better ownership models that allow physical therapists to share reward and risk will create the kind of dynamic that Daniel Pink talks about in this video. What do you think? Tim Richardson, PT PhysicalTherapyDiagnosis.com (Sou...