On-Site Physical Therapy Advantage

At Physicians Health Center, we believe that having an on-site physical therapy department strengthens our ability to effectively treat patients.

PHC is one of the leading occupational medical centers in South Florida and has been for over thirty years. We are dedicated to serving our patients with the absolute best quality of medical care.

Under the guidance or our Medical Director Susan Nelson, DO, and Physical Therapy Director, Michael Capote, MSPT, ATC, CSCS, Physicians Health Center promotes rapid recovery with an aggressive approach to physical therapy in the initial and most critical stages of an injury. Our PT staff conduct courtesy workplace safety lectures to help employers with injury prevention. Providing injury prevention programs is beneficial for employers as it decreases injuries through work with a physical therapist. Our clinicians have firsthand knowledge on the specific activities workers go through on a daily basis. This provides the physical therapist the ability to develop effective treatment plans which will return the injured worker to their work-related task in an efficient amount of time. This also allows the PT to communicate objective information to the referring physician regarding an injured worker’s progress in treatment. Ultimately, this plan returns the patient back to work safely.

Our physical therapy department is staffed with bilingual licensed physical therapists and physical therapy assistants. Our highly experienced physical therapists are specialized in treating patients suffering from musculoskeletal injuries to various joints in the body. Our physical therapists offer the latest and most advanced evidenced-based treatment techniques including manual therapy, medical exercise therapy, kinematic taping, individualized ergonomic training, and other treatment techniques which enable our patients to return to normal function safely as quickly as possible.    

There are distinct advantages in using our physical therapy department in tandem with your occupational medical program. These include:

• The ease and quickness of a referral to our physical therapy department. Evaluation and attention are vital components to a quick and effective recovery. Rapid referral is of critical importance to a worker suffering from a painful and debilitating injury. Patients do not have to wait days or weeks before evaluation and relief. When patients in pain are expected to wait, their perception may be that their employer and insurance company are taking too long to give them medical care. Research by the American Physical Therapy Association has proven that early physical therapy evaluation and intervention are essential components to accelerating a patient’s return to normal functional status.
  
• An aggressive treatment approach with careful utilization. Early intervention is a key component. This helps in the management of the psychological, emotional, and physical components of an injury as it reassures the patient that all aspects of their recovery are being addressed and considered.
  
• Treatment protocols based on the American Physical Therapy Association’s Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. This guide helps to develop individualized patients’ parameters in order to restore optimal function.
  
• Close communication between physicians and therapist, both written and verbal, is a key advantage at Physicians Health Center. When both physician and therapist review patients’ charts together prior to follow-up medical visits, the degree of progress and patient compliance increases. Communication is direct and without calling or faxing delays.
  
• A formalized Home Exercise Program (HEP). This educational program encourages dependent patients to move to an independent status by staying conditioned at home following their release from physical therapy. Rapid transition to their Home Exercise Program leads to a decreased need for any future PT.

• Unique Treatment Approach for the “Industrial Athlete”. Do you ever wonder how professional athletes from the professional sports recover from orthopedic injuries so quickly? The answer is early access to immediate medical care. We have implemented this concept towards our patients at PHC. We treat our patients like “Industrial Athletes”.

A typical pitcher in baseball can throw the ball for about five to six innings. This is equivalent to a factory worker unloading a conveyor belt for eight hours. The only factor that does not change is that both are at risk for orthopedic injuries. Therefore, the treatment approach for injured workers should be the same as for professional athletes. This is why we treat our patients as “Industrial Athletes”.

It is imperative to incorporate the physician and physical therapist on the same team in order to provide the best treatment possible for our patients. This medical model of treatment has been the gold standard in professional sports for the last four decades, which is one of the primary reasons for the speedy recovery of professional and industrial athletes.

Our in-house physical therapy has been an important component in providing over thirty years of quality and effective health care for many of the major employers in Miami-Dade and South Broward counties. We strongly encourage your participation.