PTA 136 Topics in Physical Therapy II

3 credits

Administrative skills relevant to the PTA including accurate and timely billing, resource management, managing productivity and an overview of payment systems. Additional topics include skills for reading healthcare literature and the APTA Guide to PT Practice.

This course teaches the global outcome of Information Literacy.

Prerequisites: All Quarter 2 PTA AAS courses

Corequisites: All Quarter 3 PTA AAS courses

Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Identify current laws, regulations, and policies that apply to physical therapy, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants
Describe how current healthcare laws, regulations, and policies affect physical therapist assistants
Define evidence-informed practice
Describe the role of the PTA in evidence-informed practice
Utilize relevant resources for obtaining and using clincial evidence
Compare and contrast various levels of evidence
Define terminology related to professional research
Implement basic techniques for critically appraising a healthcare research article
Generalize the main ideas of a piece of relevant healthcare literature and how they apply to the clinical work of a physical therapist assistant
Explain the relevance and importance of resource management in physical therapy
Discuss implications of providing accurate and timely information for billing and reimbursement purposes
Describe aspects of practice management including organizational planning and operation of the physical therapy service
Discuss legal practice standards, including federal, state, and institutional regulations related to patient care and fiscal management
Define and give examples of billing fraud, waste and abuse related to physical therapy
Identify ways to prevent billing fraud, waste, and abuse in the field of physical therapy
Identify resources and reporting actions if a PTA identifies fraud, waste, or abuse related to the utilization of and payment for physical therapy and other health care services
Self-assess professional behaviors including interpersonal skills, communication skills, use of constructive feedback, professionalism, responsibility, and stress management
Differentiate the roles and responsibilities of other health care providers in patient-centered care
Prepare professional communication documents to effectively relate personal strengths relevant to a physical therapy clinical rotation
Employ appropriate etiquette when using electronic communication tools in professional communications
Identify components of a PTA clincial assessment tool and their correct application
Discuss the utilization of self-awareness and reflection as a means of understanding personal values and biases
Discuss how culture influences one’s communication style
Incorporate cultural humility whem providing patient and/or caregiver education
Discuss the impact of social determinants of health on provision of physical therapy services
Identify, respect, and act with consideration for patients’/clients’ differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs in all professional activities

College-Wide Learning Outcomes
This course teaches to the college-wide learning outcome of Information Literacy, the ability to recognize when information is needed, to choose the appropriate tools to locate the required information, and to effectively gather and evaluate the information.

This course teaches to the college-wide learning outcome of Cultural Humility, the ability to practice lifelong learning and critical self-reflection in order to understand one’s own cultural identity and its impact on being open to and supporting the cultures of others.

Total Hours: 30 Theory (Lecture) Hours: 30