Home health physical therapy: practice patterns in western New York

Home health care is a rapidly growing form of practice for physical therapists. This study examined how physical therapists are providing these services in one metropolitan area of western New York.

By completing a log sheet, 19 home health physical therapists provided data on 737 home visits, indicating the number of minutes spent in 50 home health activities over a 2-week period. Visits were recorded for 279 patients with an average age of 64.3 years (SD = 21.8, range = 0-101).

Therapists reported that direct patient treatment was the most time-consuming portion of each home visit and that exercise was the most frequent and time-consuming type of treatment provided. Older patients received shorter treatments than younger patients received. Patients with neurological diagnoses received the longest treatments. Patient education was provided in 54% of all home visits.

This study provides data regarding the practice patterns of home health physical therapy in one community. Further research is needed to determine how these patterns compare with those in other parts of the country. Studies of the effectiveness of home health physical therapy are also necessary.