Proud to be a PT
October is National Physical Therapy Month, and I am incredibly proud to be a physical therapist. I have always believed exercise is the best medicine so physical therapy was a natural fit. I'm honored to practice alongside a group of people who are as caring as they are smart.
This month is a good moment to ask a question our profession doesn't spend enough time on. Not what happens in the clinic, but what happens between visits. That is where most of recovery actually takes place.
A nurse, a software engineer, and a dinner table
I come by my forward-thinking streak honestly. I'm the child of a nurse and a software engineer. Our dinner table conversations tended to land on two themes: healthcare has a lot of problems, and technology can solve problems.
In 2017, before telehealth was “cool,” I began practicing exclusively via telehealth. It let me keep continuity of care with patients who I had established a relationship with after I moved. The relationship didn't have to end at the clinic door.
I then spent years delivering telehealth and app-based PT with a nationwide digital MSK company. What I saw there changed how I think about our profession. When patients were engaged in app-based care, they became more independent. More independence meant fewer visits per patient. Fewer visits meant we could serve a much wider population. And the patients were happy with the convenience and access they had to PT.
The gap between visits
A patient might spend one or two hours a week with us. The rest of the week, they're on their own. That is when the home exercise program gets done, or doesn't. It's when pain flares, questions come up, and motivation fades.
Too often, we learn what happened between visits only when the patient walks back in. By then, a week of progress or a week of drift has already happened. The future of PT has to close that gap.
Practicing at the top of our license
I believe every PT can practice this way. Our highest value is clinical: we evaluate, we build the plan of care, and we motivate patients to actively participate in it. Between-visit tools protect that role.
Here is how I see each piece fitting together:
- Home exercise programs (HEP): Digital, video-guided programs patients can follow on their own time, so the plan we build is the plan they actually do. Easily.
- Communication: Simple, two-way asynchronous messaging so patients can flag a problem early instead of waiting for the next visit.
- Remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM): Structured data on adherence and response to treatment, reviewed by the clinician, and a reimbursable model that recognizes the work we do between visits.
- AI: Tools that track movement, surface who needs attention, and summarize trends, so we spend our time on decisions rather than data sorting.
The principle is the same across all four. Technology gathers the signal. The PT makes the call.
Right care, right intensity, right patient
Tech-enabled, low-touch care is ideal for some patients, but not all. Our population is aging, and older adults often carry more complex healthcare needs. We have to serve more people, and serve people with greater needs, at the same time.
That requires us to be deliberate about matching intensity to need. Patients who are motivated and independent can thrive in a high-tech, low-touch program, with fewer in-person visits and close remote oversight. That frees clinic time and capacity for patients who truly need skilled, hands-on care.
This isn't about pushing everyone onto an app. It's about protecting access to hands-on care for those who need it most, by not spending it on those who don't.
A challenge for PT Month
The future of between-visit PT isn't about doing less. It's about staying connected to every patient's progress, and spending our hands-on time where it matters most.
This October, I'd challenge every PT to ask one question: what would it take for me to know how my patients are doing between visits? The tools to answer it exist today. Our clinical judgment is what makes them work.
Happy PT Month to my colleagues. I'm proud to be one of you.
