Its Effects on Myotendinous Structure, Function, and Failure
Magee (1987) and Downer (1988) note that the provision of range of motion (ROM) exercises early on by professional physical therapists can provide the patient with a wide variety of benefits relative to rate of recovery, degree of recovery, use of medication, use of appliances, overall comfort, and amount of time loss from work, and return to work. Given these numerous benefits, then, the provision of physical therapy can not only benefit the patient but, as well, the insurance company responsible for purchasing health care and the employer whose loss of revenues may adversely affect organization operation and financial standing of the firm. Beyond these, the hospital providing the physical therapy as well as benefits, in that research demonstrates that those patients who receive early, passive physical therapy tend to have shorter hospital stays, fewer office visits with physicians, and shorter office visits with their physicians. This is because the imposition of time-limited arrangements by insurance companies and government payment restrictions make necessary the efficient remediation of patient health care.
The introduction of the prospective payment system (PPS) in 1983 by the federal government changed the Medicare reimbursement system for treatment in an acute care setting (Williams & Torrens, 1984). The previously used retrospective payment system was based on the actual cost of treatment. After October 1983, however, a patient's diagnosis-related group (DRG) became the guideline for reimbursement. The PPS has dramatically changed incentives for hospital and clinic management, resulting in increased attention to the reduction of length of stay (LOS) as a method of controlling costs and attaining improvement of hospital financial performance. Under the DRG system, a hospital receives a predetermined dollar amount per patient that is based on the patient...