Letter to the Editor

Dear Impact Editors:

It was with incredulity followed by horror that I read the Perspectives article in the February 2015 issue of Impact.

The author, Adele Levine, PT, has written precisely how not to provide patient satisfaction and treat a patient with honesty and compassion in her article, “The Band Dispenser.”

If Ms. Levine worked in our practice she would have been terminated for her insensitivity and incompetence as it relates to patient satisfaction—and she seems proud of it.

Our staff read this article as a group exercise and used it to look at our treatment of our patients. We have recommitted ourselves to treating our patients holistically and considering all aspects of their physical health, not just the single condition that they present with. Ms. Levine’s patient wanted to exercise and requested assistance from her therapist in being able to continue her strengthening exercises. Her request was met with derision, scorn, and lies from her therapist.

Amazing and shocking.

Scott Osburne, general manager, West Portland Physical Therapy Clinic, LLC

Dear Mr. Osburne,

Thank you for your letter and your concern. I should have included additional details. I was seeing this patient for lower back pain. I treated her with manual therapy, stretching, and a core-strengthening program on her physical therapy ball. She made good progress, her back pain resolved, and she went back to pain free running. I felt that was a good outcome. I chose to err on the side of caution and stick with what was working. I believe we all go into physical therapy because we want to help people, and I apologize if that was not clear by my article about an awkward situation I found myself in—something we all certainly experience in patient care.

All the best,