How can you get to your care quicker?

What is Direct Access?

In New York State, most health insurance carriers will cover physical therapy without a doctor referral, so long as the PT has at least 3 years of treatment experience. This gives you the ability to refer yourself right to Physical Therapy, the people who are trained as primary care providers for sport related injuries, aches/ pains, women’s health specialties, vertigo, work related pains and much more.

How does it work?

The rules are simple. Each year you are allowed 10 visits, or 30 days with a physical therapist, per body part. This means if your shoulder is aching from a weekend of playing football in the backyard, you can call a physical therapist and have them evaluate you and make a treatment plan to get your pain free functioning shoulder restored. If the sustained injury requires more time than the allotted 30 day period, your physical therapist will assist with educating your physician on your health status to acquire a script in order to finish up your care with whatever extra time is needed for you. 

Direct Access does not end there however. Down the road, if you were to need any other care from your PT, Direct Access is able to be used for another body area within the same year. For example, once that shoulder is fixed, and you want to get to work on your knee that’s been a bother for quite some time as well, get that evaluated as well!

Is PT cheaper if I have a script from my physician?

Your cost for PT access is no different if you have a physician referral or not. It all depends on your insurance coverage or if you choose to pay out of pocket.

I’m interested, what do I do to get started?

Give your favorite PT a call. Here at Agape we are very quick to get people in with a therapist who is Direct Access eligible. We will also check your benefits for you so you’ll know exactly how much the services cost for you!