Out of Network Care for Long Term Post Op Performance
Dr. Maddy Hanrahan PT, DPT, OCS on the blog today to talk about out-of-network care post op performance!
For the first 7 years of my career I spent working in the insurance game. I’ve work in private practice, hospital based outpatient clinics, training rooms, etc. I saw a lot of different patients for a lot of different injuries and for most of that time I saw a heavy post-op population. I absolutely loved it - from a straight-up ACL reconstruction to a massive rotator cuff repair or a joint replacement. The more complex the better, the more acute the more fun! I loved the acute aspect of it and being able to work closely with patient’s on navigating life post op. Things are harder, you have to move slower and sometimes get a little more creative. Figuring out how to get dressed without breaking precautions, walking someone through their first few steps post op to cheering them on at a lacrosse game or a marathon after their recovery - It was something I looked forward to daily. However, working in the insurance space and with post-op patients came with the challenge of just that, insurance.
I saw patients whose physical therapy was delayed after surgery because they were awaiting for approval, sometimes setting their rehab back weeks or my least favorite variety of insurance interference - discharged from physical therapy because they had “met all their goals”. Unfortunately, this was often when the patient was back at work, walking and doing most daily things pain free, but wasn’t back to playing their sport, running, going to group fitness classes and their recovery was about 90% done.
However, I have always said the last 10% is the real work, the important work. It’s learning to how move well, safely and efficiently through fatigue, it’s learning how to cut and change directions and it’s learning how to do all of those things while not wholly focusing on your injury. It’s lifting heavy, playing, sprinting…it’s having fun and living your life (i.e. YOUR goals!). It’s about being detailed oriented so that we are able to mitigate the risk of reinjury and keep you healthy!
Since transitioning to The METHOD a little over a year ago now it has been so refreshing to not argue with insurance companies on the importance of someone being able to run, to work on overall fitness and be able to take the time and attention without counting each visit and worrying about a phone call or claim denial from an insurance company.
We’ve all heard it from a family member, friend or sometimes even our own inner monologue - “I had surgery 10 years ago but my knee has never been the same” or “I haven’t been able to do “x” since my injury in high school”.
The METHOD is all about setting new goals and being able to crush them, so you can set new and bigger goals you may not have thought possible. It’s being able to get to the root of why that injury has been keeping you held back. And having the time and resources to get into the nitty gritty of what exactly is going on. With hour long appointments we can truly work on it all - from range of motion, manual therapy and dry needling to plyometrics, sports specific drills and then adding neurocognitive tasks on top of all that. Essentially can we mimic exactly what you want to get back to so your body knows how to respond in uncharted territory. These are the parts of rehab that often get overlooked or we just don’t normally get to in an in-network clinic because of the restrictions that traditional insurance imposes on us.
If you feel like you are identifying with this or are curious if you are ready for this up coming flag football season, a new block of marathon training or ski season don’t hesitate to reach out. We will go throw a combination of tests and measures to make sure that you are confident in your ability and all the unknowns to tackle whatever your next goal is.
