SAN FRANCISCO, CA – In a stunning turn of events, a physical therapist at St. Agnes Medical Center has evaluated a patient but is refusing to treat him. The patient, 66-year-old Earl Watkins, was admitted for observation following a TIA, but has since returned to his normal neurologic baseline. His admitting internist, Dr. Hal Schultz, placed a standard order for “Physical Therapy: Evaluate and Treat” to establish whether the patient was safe for discharge. However, physical therapist Dana Wilson had other plans.
“Evaluate AND treat?” she said. “He’s at his baseline. What the hell am I supposed to treat? I can’t make him more normal than normal.” Wilson came to Watkins’ room and performed a standard ADL assessment, finding no abnormalities. She then filed a recommendation note saying simply, “Evaluation: Complete. Treatment: None.” Schultz read the note the following morning and was floored. “They always find something,” he said incredulously. He attempted to get Wilson to work with the patient in the therapy gym, but was quickly rebuffed.
“He doesn’t get to tell me when to treat,” said Wilson. “If I consulted him for hypertension and the patient had normal blood pressure, there would be no prescriptions to write!” Dr. Schultz eventually gave in and discontinued the PT order. The event has sent ripples through the PT and OT communities at St. Agnes.
The occupational therapists in particular are looking forward to evaluating patients but not treating them. Josh Lewis, head of OT services, said, “I don’t even think doctors know what we do, they just order PT/OT concurrently. I bet they don’t even realize we split up. We get all sorts of orders on patients we would consider normal. Dana is really showing us a new path to evaluating and not treating patients routinely.”
At press time, Dr. Schultz had discharged Mr. Watkins to a skilled nursing facility, stating “With PT refusing to treat, I figure he must need some kinda rehab somewhere, right?”
Love this. Bookmarking immediately.
Kristen , haha! This page is like The Onion for medical people.
Love this, so true
Meg
I want to know how the MD got this patient admitted to a SNF for rehab after the hospital PT d/c’d him. We routinely eval and d/c if not needed. Definitely many MDs think OT/PT are not separate entities and have been asked multiple times “are you PT or OT today. “.
And you know where they sent him? Acute GEM!!!
Haha story of my life Michelle Hardie
So true!!!
Hahaha this is hilarious!!!
A must read Carly Veldhuis Sharna Gale
This reminds me of the Onion, but for medical folks
This reminds me of the Onion, but for medical folks
This hits too close to home.
Katie Meyers Jenn Hall Gaubert
Thomas !!! Lol
Radical thought – use the PT and/or OT to help with evaluation of ADL’s and appropriate disposition plans.
Which is why those states that allow self referral to physical therapists, have it right…..The doc just writes eval and treat. They have no clue what the patient needs. I have done this three times and it has been successful. I learn the exercises I need to do and then care cor myself. Other states need to catch up!!
Monique Luca d/c PT!!!!!
Shyla McCarthy, Krista Davis, Lindsey Oesch, Chelsea Wright…every freakin’ day!!!
Can I do this with vancomycin? Pharmacy declines to dose patient with unneeded antibiotic.
Haha! Bridget , you’ll like this:)
Melissa Lippencott
Bryan Cloutier
Matt Huey
JP J-p Miron hahaha
Dustin Cross Kristen Martin Gomez Johnny Sauceda
Melissa Brown – ha ha ha!
But seriously, i was sent to PT for a condition they understood better than the doctor, and which they could not help.
I kind of assumed that was part of the joke… :/ Then again i struggle with thd line sometimes eg pts will look at how patients can go up and down stairs in the house and around. Then the ot will look at how many steps then the s/w might r/v for services who may refer to a dietician and my head hurts…
Roisin Begg
Love it! Except, the good author should have known it is OT looking at ADLs, not PT. :)
Jeremy Butz
Heather Halfaker
Lol!!!
Matt
Garrett Hastings
Joy Capuno
I can always count on Gomerblog for a good laugh!
Reshma Bijal
Melissa