New Client
What to Expect
Your first appointment will consist of an initial evaluation where I will look at movement and pain behavior, get to know your story and who you are, use special tests to screen for anything serious, and put all this information together for us to come up with a working plan to meet your goals. If I feel you need to be referred out to another medical professional, I will make sure that happens.
Please be sure to wear comfortable loose clothing for your initial assessment.
Before Your First Visit
Please fill out the following forms:
We also ask that you review our HIPAA Policies.
If applicable, please also bring:
Your Physical Therapy prescription
A photo ID
Your insurance card
Any relevant diagnostic reports (i.e. X-ray or MRI)
FAQs
How are you different from other providers?
I provide consistent care and will be the only provider you see through the course of your care. Research has demonstrated better outcomes when you see the same provider for your entire episode of care.
Historically medicine has taken a very biomedical approach to treatment. What this means is we focus on illness instead of health, and look for single causes for the illness instead of contributing factors. Sometimes there is value to this approach, but often it can lead to overmedicalization, or too many procedures and unnecessary treatments that are not really going to help in the long run, and increase risk, as well as the cost of an episode of care. Conservative care at Engage Physical Therapy costs less, reduces visits, partners with you, and looks at the whole person, not just a body part.
I am a big believer in valuable care that is efficient and effective; that addresses individual needs and gets to the contributors of what's going on. I also like to explain better why you may be having various symptoms and the best way to manage them from a biopsychosocial approach. This means that there could be multiple factors contributing to illness, disease, injury, and new or persistent pain.
Do you take my insurance?
I take most insurance plans including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, Medicare and Medicaid, United Health Care, Medica, Preferred One, UCare, Cigna, Aetna, Select Care, and Humana and several others. In addition, I provide a discount if you want to pay cash. We can speak to see if that is a better fit for you. You can also use HSA funds to pay for physical therapy and medical wellness services, and I will provide the appropriate documentation.
Do I need a referral for physical therapy?
Most patients in MN may be treated by a physical therapist without an order from a physician, chiropractor, dentist, podiatrist or nurse practitioner for up to 90 days. If you do need a referral, as with Medicare and some other programs, we can help in obtaining that. Wellness care for maintenance, health promotion and prevention has no time limitation.