Insurance Coverage, Costs, and Barriers to Care for Outpatient Musculoskeletal Therapy and Rehabilitation Services

“Magic” Number of Treadmill Sessions Needed to Achieve Meaningful Change in Gait Speed After Stroke

“…For treadmill training performed in a clinic setting, therapists and patients also have to contend with insurance companies who are becoming more restrictive as far as the number of visits that are allowed for physical therapy each year. 54 Therefore, in addition to being more efficient and fiscally responsible, we observe that an individual with stroke can reap similar benefits from receiving 30 treadmill training sessions spread out over a longer period as compared with 40 or more treadmill training sessions.…”

“…In addition, as far as feasibility of implementing treadmill training interventions in research, completing a large number of treadmill training sessions (i.e., more than 40) can lead to higher dropout rates due to the amount of commitment required from participants and researchers, and it may result in poorer compliance to the research protocol. For treadmill training performed in a clinic setting, therapists and patients also have to contend with insurance companies who are becoming more restrictive as far as the number of visits that are allowed for physical therapy each year 54 . Therefore, in addition to being more efficient and fiscally responsible, we observe that an individual with stroke can reap similar benefits from receiving 30 treadmill training sessions spread out over a longer period as compared with 40 or more treadmill training sessions.…”

Musculoskeletal Health

“…Yet, multiple studies show that in our health care systems we are failing to adequately implement osteoarthritis treatment guidelines, including low use of nonpharmacological therapies such as physical therapy [20,21]. Carvalho, Bettger, and Goode describe a number of specific barriers to rehabilitation and other therapies for patients with MSK conditions [22]. These include co-payments that make care unaffordable for some patients, annual visit limits that do not consider specific diagnoses or severity, and lack of access to rehabilitation providers (particularly in rural areas).…”

Digital rehabilitation for hand and wrist pain: a single-arm prospective longitudinal cohort study

“… 55 Despite the importance of early interventions to prevent progression, access to care remains poor because of unavailable health care resources (amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic 85 ), treatment time, and travel barriers. 13 , 21 , 56 …”