Virtual Physical Therapy / Telehealth

The purpose of a telehealth session would be to complete an initial evaluation, a follow appointment, a re-evaluation or discharge session and should feel very similar to in person therapy. During the session, your medical history and personal health information may be discussed using interactive video (similar to Zoom).

Our electronic systems incorporate HIPAA Secure technology to secure your virtual appointment against intentional or unintentional corruption.

Sometimes it surprises people to know that the majority of the information needed for a PT to diagnose and develop a plan of care can be done without physically touching a patient. A thorough subjective assessment discussing your general medical history and your injury or reason for attending PT will be completed. Your therapist will instruct you to perform certain movements to identify your strength, range of motion, functional movement limitations and assess your pain. Although some techniques (e.g. manual therapy, electrical stimulation) cannot be performed through a virtual telehealth session, these are only a few of many tools used by a physical therapist. Through video observation and instruction, physical therapists observe how you move, identify barriers to returning to your normal function, instruct you with a progressive exercise program and instruct you with self care management guidelines.

Insurance coverage of Telehealth physical therapy services varies widely across individual insurance plans. Some insurance plans may cover this service. It is recommended that each patient check with their specific insurance provider. As a courtesy to our patients, PTP verifies general insurance coverage prior to your appointment. However, due to the ever-changing landscape of telemedicine and nature of individual plans, we cannot guarantee coverage or payment by your insurance carrier. It is the patient’s responsibility to check his/her individual coverage. All patients participating in telehealth physical therapy will be asked to sign a financial responsibility form to be responsible for payment as assigned by their individual insurance policies. We do offer a cash pay option if preferred. Feel free to contact our office for further information.

We welcome you to call our office, 410.884.4111 to schedule an appointment. If you are a new patient, please have your insurance card and physician prescription available. After scheduling an appointment, you will receive an email from OptimisPT (our EMR) with an attachment that contains NEW PATIENT paperwork for you to print and complete. If possible, please sign and return documentation as instructed. You will also receive an email from OptimisPT with a link for JITSI to attend your virtual scheduled appointment. We strongly encourage you to contact our front office to complete a “practice session” prior to your scheduled appointment time. This will ensure that you understand the process and steps required to complete your session. Your therapist will join you at your scheduled appointment time to start your session. At the beginning of your appointment, your therapist will ask questions to verify your identity and age, obtain verbal consent, verify that you are located in the state of Maryland and ask questions about why you need physical therapy. If you are a new patient, your session will start with you providing a history regarding your current condition and symptoms, detail about your other medical conditions, medications, your functional limitations and your specific goals. You will be asked to perform certain movements and the PT will guide you through an examination to further identify your current limitations. The PT will provide you with a summary about your diagnosis/condition, discuss potential physical therapy recommendations and determine approximately how many sessions will be recommended. Various treatment options may include activities to address neuromuscular re-education, therapeutic activities and detailed instruction for a progressive home exercise program. Further exercise instructional guidance may be provided using our software called Medbridge. A link to these exercises will be provided to you upon request. A typical treatment session will review your goals, observation of your movements, instruction with appropriate exercise, self-management strategies and provide further educational guidance as appropriate. Telehealth should FEEL very similar to an in-clinic appointment, but you will be viewing your therapist through the computer screen. Home exercise programs will be updated as you progress. At the end of each session, your plan of care will be reviewed and modified as needed. We encourage you to contact the office directly upon completion of your session to schedule additional appointments and to complete payment for your copay / coinsurance if you have one. Please note our sessions are scheduled every 45 minutes and that we keep our sessions timely. It is recommended to have your questions and concerns ready for your therapist before you begin.

For safety concerns, we do request patients NOT participate in a TeleHealth appointment while in a car. We encourage you to log on x5 min prior to the start of scheduled appointment time. Use a computer, laptop or tablet with a camera / microphone and strong internet connection. Make sure that you grant computer permission to use audio and video. Ensure that you have adequate space to move around during your session. Sometimes it is helpful for the device to be 4 – 6 feet away from you to allow the therapist to get a full view of your movement for assessment and exercise instruction. Having a chair and/or place to lie down (e.g. a bed or yoga mat) accessible may be beneficial. We encourage you to have a pad of paper and a pen handy to write notes. Depending on your specific issue, you may benefit from having Theraband, a can of soup (mock free weight) or a set of small free weights if you have them available. If it is appropriate for you, please have another person available in your home in the remote chance of an emergency occurring during your treatment. A headset or earphones are often helpful during sessions.

Be sure to wear comfortable clothing so you can move around easily! Please try to have the area of injury easily accessible for viewing. For example, if you are being treated for upper body issues (neck, shoulder, elbow etc), wear a tank top, or if you are being treated for a lower body injury (hip, knee ankle), it would be best to wear shorts. If you are being treated for a pelvic floor related issue, please just wear comfortable clothing such as leggings or sweats. Please note that you will remain fully clothed during sessions.