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Oral Presentation

Behavioral Health Sciences

Big Data

Clinical Practice

Health Services Research

Machine Learning

Importance of Incorporating Manual & Passive Physical Therapy Interventions with Patients That Present with Higher Amounts of Pain and Distress to Reduce the Likelihood of Early Self Discharge

Thursday, October 30, 2025
10:45 AM - 11:00 AM  
Location:  ROOM: Conference Room 4B >>> DIRECTIONS Fourth Floor >>> From the Main Elevator Bank, proceed left. Room 4D is at the end of the corridor, after taking a right just before Room 4-D. Walk past Room 4A; Room 4B is the second door on the right.
This project investigates the factors influencing early self-discharge from outpatient physical therapy and the subsequent impact on treatment adherence and patient outcomes. Using a large national dataset, it applies advanced statistical modeling and cluster analysis to identify key clinical, biopsychosocial, and socioeconomic predictors of premature plan termination. Notably, the study highlights the roles of pain location, symptom volatility, initial disability, and financial burden in shaping patient decisions to discontinue therapy. Findings emphasize the importance of integrating psychosocial screening tools, such as the SPARE toolkit, into clinical workflows to better identify at-risk patients early in their care. By elucidating distinct patient profiles associated with different discharge patterns, this research provides actionable insights for tailoring interventions to improve adherence and optimize recovery.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the different physical therapy treatments (active, manual, and passive) and their categorization using CPT codes.
  • Discuss the clinical implications of optimizing the mix of therapy modalities during the first five visits of an episode of physical therapy to reduce the chance of patient self-discharge and the completion of the plan of care.
  • Identify patient characteristics such as back and neck pain that are associated with a higher rick of self discharge.
  • Recognize the importance of early treatment strategies in engaging high-risk patients and preventing premature self-discharge of their physical therapy plan of care.
  • Describe the protective effects associated with manual therapy and active interventions that reduce the likelihood of self discharge.