Physical Therapy Trending Downward In Comp: MedRisk

A provider of services to rehabilitating injured workers, MedRisk Inc. has seen post-surgical physical therapy cases drop by 26% in the last five years, according to an industry trends report the company released Thursday.

For its annual report, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based MedRisk examined recent changes, including relevant legislation, regulation and research, scouring its own data and other industry reports — including those released by the Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance — to highlight trends in workers compensation, according to the report.

Focusing on the downward trend of physical therapy in comp, MedRisk found that from 2015 to 2018 there was a 11.19% reduction in number of physical therapy visits per case on average.

In its report, MedRisk said the change is driven by a combination of factors including “quality management practices such as the application of evidence-based guidelines, expert providers,” coaching among physical therapists and “clinical recommendations.”