I recently wrote a post for The PT Project about Texas’s push for direct access, which means allowing patients to see a PT without a doctor’s referral. Currently 17 states have direct access including New York and my home state of New Jersey.
As a patient, I remember my parents taking me to see my doctor before seeing a PT anyway, just because we didn’t know what was wrong or how to treat my ankle. Once my sprained ankle was diagnosed, I did eventually see a PT.
Regardless, it’s helpful to know that should my ankle problems flare up again, or should I hurt myself working out, I can see a PT now that I know how they can help me, without needing to clear it with my doctor first.
And although I have a few years to go before becoming a PT, I can imagine how useful direct access must be for them.