![\"Friends](\"http:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/419840\/Friends%20of%20PT%20Award%20banner%20(4).png\")
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This past June, The Louisiana Physical Therapy Association awarded local, board-certified orthopedic surgeon Meredith Warner, the highly distinguished honor of The Friends of PT Award for the Access to physical therapy initiative. This award is given to those who have made conscious and significant contributions to the overall profession of physical therapy in the state of Louisiana.<\/p>\n
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Dr. Warner was a part of the recently passed the\u00a0HB 623<\/strong> bill, #Access2PT, which allows for patients to be treated directly from their chosen physical therapist instead of being referred to one after being seen by their primary care physician. In order for this bill to be passed, number of signatures had to be collected in order to make this bill a law with the Louisiana Legislature.<\/p>\n Why Does it Matter? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This past June, The Louisiana Physical Therapy Association awarded local, board-certified orthopedic surgeon Meredith Warner, the highly distinguished honor of The Friends of PT Award for the Access to physical therapy initiative. This award is given to those who have made conscious and significant contributions to the overall profession of physical therapy in the state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[10,15,16,17],"class_list":["post-2093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-medical"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong><\/span>Direct Access To Physical Therapy Law has many benefits for the healthcare\u00a0community. Some on them include:<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>The passed bill allows for patents\u00a0who are in need of physical therapy to be diagnosed and treated much faster than the previously setup protocol. Patients will no longer have to be seen by their primary care physician and then be referred\u00a0to a physical therapist.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong>The #Access2PT bill also\u00a0lowers the cost of patient care which benefits all parties involved. Before, patients would have to pay their standard copay for their primary care physician in addition\u00a0to the other copays\u00a0and\u00a0medical fees associated their physical therapy.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong>This passed bill will allow\u00a0patients to be treated more specifically\u00a0for their health\u00a0problems. Dr. Warner volunteered to testify on behalf of physical therapists by referring\u00a0to actual\u00a0patients that have benefited from direct\u00a0access.<\/strong>\u00a0She helped to prove that physical therapists\u00a0were able to assess the patient’s physical situation more accurately in many situations and provide better care. She also presented cases studies where misdiagnosed issues by general physicians\u00a0were discovered and corrected by physical therapists. She reinforced the concept that direct access\u00a0to physical therapy\u00a0is safe and effective for all parties involved.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n