In 2017, physical therapists could no longer report CPT code 97001 for their physical therapy evaluation. This is because, beginning with dates of service on and after January 1, 2017, physical therapists had 3 new physical therapy evaluation codes to select from based on 4 different components. Calendar year 2025 is the ninth year physical therapists have been using the new evaluation CPT codes, yet, many physical therapists still select the wrong level of evaluation due to their lack of understanding of the 4 components.
This online course will thoroughly explain and teach participants the following:
- 4 components of a physical therapy evaluation
- How comorbidities may impact the level of the physical therapy evaluation
- How to count body structures, body systems, and activity limitations and participation restrictions and how this impacts the examination component of a physical therapy evaluation
- Clinical presentation of stable, evolving, and unstable
- Decision making of low, moderate, or high complexity
- Documentation required to support the physical therapy evaluation complexity level chosen
- Based on the 4 components, how to select the correct physical therapy evaluation level of complexity
Case scenarios will be utilized for pediatrics, adults, and geriatrics to teach participants how to select appropriate physical therapy evaluation code based on the data collected/determined from the 4 components.
At the conclusion of this webinar presentation, participants will be able to:
- Name the 4 components of a physical therapy evaluation
- Explain how comorbidities may impact the history component
- Discuss how to determine elements from body structures and functions and activity limitations and/or participation restrictions
- Differentiate between a clinical presentation of stable, evolving and changing characteristics, and unstable and unpredictable characteristics
- Choose the appropriate physical therapy evaluation code based on the data collected/determined from the 4 components
Rick Gawenda, P.T., graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Gawenda is currently the President and founder of Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc. He has provided valuable education and consulting to hospitals, rehabilitation agencies, private practices, nursing homes, and his peers in the areas of CPT and ICD-10 coding, billing, documentation, reimbursement, and compliance as it pertains to outpatient therapy services as well as denial management and the appeals process for Medicare denied claims. Mr. Gawenda’s website, https://gawendaseminars.com/, provides a valuable source of information on rehabilitation rules and regulations, coding, documentation, and reimbursement.
Mr. Gawenda is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and Michigan Physical Therapy Association (MPTA). Mr. Gawenda is the Past President of the Section on Health Policy & Administration of the APTA as well as Past President of the Michigan Association of Medical Rehabilitation Program Administrators.
Mr. Gawenda is also the author of “The How-To Manual for Rehab Documentation: A Complete Guide to Increasing Reimbursement and Reducing Denials” and “Coding and Billing For Outpatient Rehab Made Easy: Proper Use of CPT Codes, ICD-9 Codes and Modifiers”.
Physical therapists, private practice owners and practice administrators, office managers at private practices, therapy billing companies, as well as directors, managers, supervisors and billers in skilled nursing facilities, hospital outpatient therapy departments, rehabilitation agencies, home health agencies, and comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities.
This webinar is appropriate for all outpatient therapy settings that bill physical therapy evaluations to insurance carriers for pediatrics, adults, and geriatrics.
In addition to the expertise and advice presented during this webinar conference, you’ll also receive a handout (in PDF format) that will include related references.
This webinar has not been submitted to any state board or national organization for CEU approval. A certificate of attendance will be available upon completion of the webinar for each participant and may be adequate for credit in some states; you will need to contact your state licensing regulatory body to determine whether or not credit will be granted for this webinar conference. We provide no additional information for CEU approval.
This course was approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes (including Q&A)
There are no refunds for no shows or any other reasons once you register and payment is received. We are not responsible for organization firewalls or computer software issues that may interfere and/or prohibit your connection to the webinar portion of the presentation.
Venue system requirements:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 7+, Mozilla Firefox 2.5+, Safari, or Chrome
- 1024 x 768 screen resolution
- Stable Internet connection, DSL or above
- Wired Internet connection; wireless is not recommended
- Flash Player 9 or higher
- Disable pop-up blockers
- Computer speakers for participants
Note: Android Smart Phones (i.e. iPhone) are not compatible.
In order to ensure a successful connection to this online course, please take a moment to conduct a system test by clicking this link: http://web.telspan.com/systemcheck
***Application Sharing does not need to be operational to view this course recording link.
*** This COURSE RECORDING and HANDOUTS is not to be distributed outside of your organization. If you have a larger organization and have multiple locations, then please contact us here for pricing.
