Question 1

Why choose Smithfield Physical Therapy Specialists over a large group or network?

Accepted Answer

When going to a large system or network, medical records may be readily available.  However, sending records and information is incredibly easy in this day and age.

In choosing our clinic, you get a few things:

-Consistency – At a larger clinic, you may not always get to see the same provider.  Here, we believe that consistency in seeing the same provider may help you get better, faster, which can reduce the out-of-pocket costs to you.

-One-on-one, individualized care – Traditionally, you are billed for the amount of time you are in the clinic.  We value your time like our own, and we feel that your time should not have to be shared when it comes to your money.

-Convenience – Life is busy – work, family, hobbies, sports, etc.  We understand that.  Therefore, we try to accommodate schedule demands as much as possible, offering hours in the early morning, late evening, and everything in between.

Recently voted "Best Physical Therapy in Smithfield"(https://www.smithfieldtimes.com/contests/hammy-awards-2022/#/gallery/331859737/), we aim to provide you with the best, focused, most individualized care possible!

Question 2

What can I do if my physician told me I have to go to a certain clinic?

Accepted Answer

This is one we encounter commonly.  The final answer – you are allowed to go wherever you like!  In fact, we generally would encourage that you check out a physical therapy clinic before just going.  Not all clinics and providers are the same, so it's in your best interest to make sure that any clinic is going to be able to provide the care you need!

Regarding referrals – your provider may send your referral to a particular place, but it is not legal to limit or prevent your care should you prefer to go to another clinic.

Question 3

What sets Smithfield Physical Therapy Specialists apart?

Accepted Answer

We bring two elements to patient care.  First, our staff have pursued high levels of professional development and certification in order to deliver care that helps you feel and function better, as quickly and efficiently as possible. We have the only board-certified Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists in the Western Tidewater region, and we soon will have a certified pelvic health provider.

Second, we want to help you, and along the way, we want to get to know you.  You will never be a "rotator cuff repair" to us – you are the new grandmother that needs to be able to use your arm to pick up and play with the new grandchild.  Your child is not "the ACL tear", but the athlete seeking to get back on the field or court – and seeking to keep up with their younger sibling.  You aren't the "low back" – you're the youth sports coach and parent, and you can't afford to let this low back pain keep you out of work and watching your kids from the stands.

We aim to utilize our education and skillset to get you back to your normal life, and we strive to always make you feel like the focus of our attention and not a slot on the schedule.

Question 4

How do you approach patient care?

Accepted Answer

At the first visit, we will go through a very thorough history – understanding your symptoms and how they interact/behave together, what things aggravate and reduce your symptoms, if these symptoms have been episodic, how long they've been going on, how they're impacting your life, and your personal medical history.

We then utilize this information to help conduct a thorough physical examination.  The findings from your history and the physical exam help us to identify a root cause for your symptoms.

Once we've identified a root cause, we deliver interventions to address these, and then we will reassess.  Did bending bother you initially?  Were you not able to reach fully overhead?  We utilize this opportunity to assess how our treatments immediately impacted your symptoms.  This helps to inform how we specifically get you moving while minimizing guesswork or giving generic exercise to do at home.

With follow-up visits, we will focus on interventions in the clinic to continue facilitating improvement.  We limit redundancy – if it's something you can do independently, why repeat it in the clinic?  We aim to utilize our time together to build on progress and to advance what you're doing in your effort to return to your normal life.

Question 5

Do you accept insurance?

Accepted Answer

We are in network or will imminently be in network with the following:
-Aetna Medicare
-Aetna HMO/PPO plans
-Anthem Healthkeepers HMO plans
-Anthem Healthkeepers Medicaid
-Anthem PPO plans
-Anthem Federal plans
-Optima Family Care Medicaid
-Optima Medicare
-Humana Medicare Advantage
-TRICARE Prime
-TRICARE Select
-TRICARE for Life
-Medicare Part B
-Most Medicare replacement plans, including United Healthcare

Not seeing your plan on here? There are many smaller plans or plans with different names with which we may be in network. We also offer out-of-network rates with certain insurance carriers at rates competitive to or slightly lower than what you may face with in-network options – we are happy to discuss these with you. Ultimately our goal is to assist you in finding the most cost-effective option for you that will get results.

Question 6

How much will this cost me?

Accepted Answer

The answer here unfortunately is that it depends, but we will give you the best answer we can.  We will attempt to gather as much information from your insurance company as possible to determine what your out-of-pocket responsibility is as designated by your insurance carrier.  We will be as transparent as possible – some insurance carriers process a flat-rate cost per visits, while others are variable.  We will provide as much info up front as we have available to us so that you have no surprises on the back end; ultimately, the cost is determined by things like AMA and Centers for Medicare designation, as well as how your insurance carrier sets rates/billing.

We also try to be transparent regarding prognosis – if your case looks like something that will be better served with another provider (e.g., neurologist, surgeon, etc.), we will make the recommendation to transition to their care sooner than later.  Additionally, we try with all of our patients to help you get back to being you in as few visits as possible to try to reduce your out of pocket expense.

Question 7

How does out-of-network billing work?

Accepted Answer

For traditional in-network billing, treatments are broken up into subtypes (referred to as coded procedural technique, or CPT, codes).  These often bear their own billing rate, and insurance companies often reimburse some percent of this charge.  This can lead to a lot of confusion and uncertainty until the billing is processed.

By operating as an out-of-network provider, we can function with a set rate per visit – no guessing, no uncertainty.  This can then be submitted to your insurance carrier to pursue reimbursement.

Especially for people with high deductible plans, this can be a cost-effective option.  With most insurance plans, if you carry a high deductible, often times most billed care/treatment will be passed in part (if not in full) to you until your deductible has been met.  With this avenue, your insurance company may still consider payment for your services, but you get the peace of mind of knowing up front how much you can expect to pay for services.

Question 8

Can you order things like imaging or medications?

Accepted Answer

In the state of Virginia, physical therapists cannot prescribe medications and cannot order imaging.  However, our staff is up to date on the best clinical guidelines for imaging and can discuss with your primary care physician or referring provider if imaging might be warranted.  In many cases, imaging is not necessary before beginning care, but rest assured that we will go through a thorough history and perform a comprehensive exam to deliver the best care and to make the appropriate recommendation.

Question 9

What sports injuries are you able to help?

Accepted Answer

We have significant experience with managing a wide variety of sports injuries (e.g., patellar tendinopathy/"jumper's knee", achilles tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain syndrome, pitching-related elbow and shoulder pain, and beyond).  Additionally, we have worked extensively with soccer, football, baseball, softball, volleyball, and basketball players, as well as dancers and gymnasts.

At the end of the day, the differentiating factor for managing athletes and performance athletes is the role of performance testing and controlled return to sport.  We love communicating with coaches and athletic trainers to help guide an expeditious but appropriate return to sport, using research and defined criteria to get back in the game or performance while minimizing risk of reinjury.

Question 10

I've been told I have to have surgery.  How do I know if you can help me?

Accepted Answer

We lean on our clinical experience and extensive professional development and education to provide guidance.  There are certainly situations where a surgery might be necessary, but many orthopedic conditions can improve and/or be manageable without invasive procedures.  In our treatment model, we are constantly reassessing to ensure appropriate and expected progress.  Likewise, if an issue bears features that point toward surgery being the most appropriate route, or if something is not improving quickly as might be expected with conservative treatment, we believe in getting things moving.  Generally we expect to see at least a moderate improvement within just a few visits, so the combination of constant communication with you and your physician, as well as our approach to reassessment, tends to keep you on track.

Question 11

How do I know if your clinic is a good fit for me?

Accepted Answer

This is a great question.  We value your time, money, and effort, and we want you to be sure that our clinic and providers are a good fit for you.  In order to make sure that we are what you are looking for, we are pleased to offer a brief 10-minute consult where you can check out the clinic and ask specific questions pertaining to your care.  If you decide that we're the right fit for you, we then can proceed to setting up a formal examination and treatment plan.

Here for YOU.
Here for GOOD.
See the specialists, right here at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here for YOU. Here for GOOD. See the specialists, right here at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here for YOU.
Here for GOOD.
See the specialists, right here at home.