Philippines
Welcome to Worldwide Physical Therapy Practice: a focus on Primary Care Physical Therapy
This is a project created by and for the students in the School of Physical Therapy at the University of St. Augustine in St. Augustine Florida. Please do not edit unless you are involved in this project, but please come back in the near future to check out new information!!
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Patient Access to Physiotherapy or Physical Therapy Services / Entry Point[edit | edit source]
- How do members of this country access Physical Therapy services?
- What is the entry point or typical path the patient must follow in order to receive services?
- Do PT's have direct access or are they part of a primary care team?
Residents of the Philippines can access Physical Therapy services through referral by their primary care physician if they are not hospital in patients. The out patient clinics are mostly affiliated to a major hospital that employs physiatrists (doctors of rehabilitation medicine). They evaluate the patient and prescribe both medical and physical therapy prescriptions. Further medical testing such as imaging, lab tests and medication prescriptions are accomplished during the initial visits. Physical therapy prescriptions include the modalities, tx frequency, and duration. The patients then bring the prescription to the physical therapist who performs the evaluation and the prescribed treatment.
The second method of access is for the hospital in patients. Following surgery or any other medical illness, the patient will be referred to the Rehab department. The physiatrist will be the first responder performing evaluation and writing rehab prescription. The acute care physical therapist will then conduct the PT evaluation and the prescribed treatment regimen.
The last method of PT access is through private care. Through private pay negotiation, the patient gets to be seen at home without the need for primary care or physiatrist prescription. There are small out patient clinics run and operated by the physical therapists.
Therapist Preparation[edit | edit source]
Degree/Credentialing[edit | edit source]
- What is the education process to become a Physiotherapist or Physical Therapist in this country?
Specialization[edit | edit source]
- Do clinicians specialise in certain areas of care and if so how?
In the Philippines, the physical therapy program is 5 years in length awarding the Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. The program consists of 2 years of general education, followed by 2 years of physical therapy undergraduate courses ending in the final year of clinical internship. After graduation, to practice Physical therapy each graduate must then pass the national licensure examination administered by government through the Professional Regulation Commission. After passing the 2 day examination, they become licensed physical therapists with the initials PTRP (Physical Therapist Registered in the Philippines) (1).
Licensed clinicians get to specialize in certain areas of care depending on where they get to be employed. For example, physical therapists who work at the Lung Center of the Philippines get to be more adept with pulmonary rehabilitation. While others who get to work at the Heart Center of the Philippines become experts in cardiac rehabilitation. Philippine General Hospital for example becomes the training center for everything. As of this date there are no credentialing institutions or specialty schools/training centers that grants certification for some type of specialization. PT graduates however can pursue Master of Science in Physical therapy from two accredited universities.
Professional Associations[edit | edit source]
- What are the professional associations associated with Physiotherapy or Physial Therapy in this country?
Information about the Patient Community[edit | edit source]
- What is the population these PT’s serve?
- What are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the population served?
Social/Cultural Influences[edit | edit source]
- What is the influence of the family on a patient's health status?
- What are the typical patient's living conditions, family dynamics, and cultural back ground?
Delivery of Care[edit | edit source]
- Is delivery of care provided in a timely manner?
- Special methods? Home health etc
Type of Health System[edit | edit source]
- Is it a national health system with universal access?
Payment System[edit | edit source]
- What methods to patient use to pay for service? (Insurance, bartering etc.)
