Eli's Rehab Report

Reader Questions:

Who Establishes Therapy's Frequency, Duration?

Question: If the prescription doesn't specify frequency/duration of therapy, is the frequency/duration of PT treatment then determined by the evaluating physical therapist? If not, how is it determined?


New Mexico Subscriber


Answer: After your physical therapist completes the initial evaluation based on the patient's specific needs, he will establish the type, amount, duration and frequency of therapy. The physician may collaborate on this.

Medicare, and most other insurance payers, requires that you include the therapy services' frequency and estimated duration in the plan of care, and the therapist almost always establishes this plan of care. You can find the reference for this answer in the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 15, Section 220.1.2 A and B, online at
www.cms.hhs.gov/manuals/Downloads/bp102c15.pdf.

You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were reviewed by Marvel Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver.