They form opinions about our competence from the way that we communicate with and about them. Furthermore, sometimes patients, payers and colleagues are at a bit of a loss about the importance of therapy. Quite frankly, it is a mystery to some people why anyone would be better served by being popped in the water and moved about a bit. I can come to terms with that. Communication skills are the key to achieving this with tact and diplomacy.
Documentation directs most therapeutic intervention.
Faulty documentation can obscure that clear path and create a host of trouble for patient, clinician, referral source and payer. Ronald Scott, in his book Legal Aspects of Documenting Patient Care , has detailed the most common documentation problems, errors and suggestions. 1 Scott's book goes into much greater detail about the pitfalls of documentation and is recommended to all clinicians who periodically struggle in this area. The American Physical Therapy Association has weighed-in on the issue of documentation as well. In addition, clinicians should regard the APTA's Guidelines for Physical Therapy Documentation as a minimum threshold standard for their documentation.