What Is the New Normal?

By Terry C. Brown, PT, DPT

As I sit down to write this letter, we are approaching the Private Practice Section (PPS) Annual Conference and I am looking back at the first year of my tenure as PPS president. The word that strikes me is “change” and it is all around us. Nothing is static. Payment models are changing: ICD-9 is now ICD-10. Practices are consolidating. Insurance companies are merging. Quality research proving the efficacy of physical therapy is being published. New models of practice are emerging that challenge the status quo. Education models are evolving. PPS has a new executive director and a new president.

Change is all around us. Maybe it is time we acknowledge that change is the new normal. I have seen the word transformed used when speaking of our profession’s objectives, but this word implies an end point or a goal to be reached. I believe evolution is what we are seeing, and it is constant. As a profession, we can evolve or we can try to hold the ground that we have had in the past. Evolution will require that we move out of our comfort zone and reach out to achieve new and challenging goals. The growth and progress necessary to achieve our goals is best accomplished together with PPS being the conduit to success.

I am proud of PPS and all of our members who are leading the evolution of our profession. We are at the forefront of many changes and will be fighting to gain access in others. By attending the PPS annual conference you will be exposed to many of the initiatives that are ongoing within the section. If you were unable, to be there then please read the annual report and see for yourself the evolution that is occurring. Change is constant, how we respond to it is critical. PPS is evolving right alongside the industry, and we will continue to advance our members’ ability to provide quality care to their clients.