Here's the facts I have already.
Medicare --- I found a Medicare document called ?Top 200 Level I
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)? (www.cms.gov). According to this
document, the amount spent on aquatic therapy (CPT code 97113) in 2005
was $46 million. It also gave a frequency of visits. The problem with
this statistic is this: First, Medicare is only one payer in the
system. There are hundreds of other payers (private insurance,
worker's compensation, etc.)Second, this tells me only about services
which would be covered under Medicare's rules (in other words,
services provided by a physical therapist or occupational therapist).
It doesn't tell me how often recreational therapists or athletic
trainers (for example) are working in the water.
I am most interested in discovering how "popular" aquatic therapy is.
For instance, we know how popular swimming is (USA DATA). We know
approximately how many people participate in aquatic exercise
(AMERICAN SPORTS DATA). We know how frequently people with "X" disease
use alternative medicine (various research papers published and
searchable on www.pubmed.com). Is there a way to know how often
aquatic therapy is prescribed (or provided or billed for)?
Please ask me follow-up questions. If you do not understand the
elements of the question (e.g. the difference between a physical
therapist and occupational therapist) then you probably can't answer
the question. One last thing: Don't look to the following for
sourcing! I've already tried.
Aquatic Resources Network (this is my organization)
Aquatic Exercise Association
Aquatic Therapy & Rehabilitation Institute
American Red Cross
National Swimming Pool Foundation
Thanks so much! Andrea Salzman |