A Vision for Society: Physical Therapy as Partners in the National Health Agenda

Abstract

The American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA's) Vision 2020 statement1 provided the stimulus our profession needed to develop a stronger self-awareness and broader public perception of physical therapy as a doctoring profession. Health service delivery in the United States is being refined and shaped by current sociopolitical events. In addition, changes in the demographics of our society, technological advances in medicine that continue to decrease mortality yet increase morbidity, and the critical need for more affordable health care will have an impact on the demand for physical therapy services. In 2001, the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recognized the urgent need for fundamental change in the American health care delivery system due to the existing “chasm” between the care delivered and the health of the children and adults who reside in the United States today,2 especially for those with developmental or acquired disability.3 On March 23, 2010, US President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148) (PPACA).4 The PPACA focuses on the initial steps needed to reform a health care delivery and reimbursement system that is not consistently meeting the health needs of children and adults across the US population. Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) is the science-based, 10-year national public health agenda for improving the health of all Americans as determined by the US Department of Health and Human Services.5 Healthy People 2020 is the road map between the PPACA (the law that mandates health care reform) and the reform needed in both health services delivery and the national health-science research agenda. There are unique opportunities for physical therapists to participate in the process of health care reform, which includes the stewardship of health care dollars. Through advances in the science and practice of physical therapy, physical therapists have …