ABSTRACT
Healthcare in the United States has been in a period of upheaval since the 1990s when the focus moved from providing the highest quality of care regardless of cost to a managed care system that concentrates on providing cost-effective services. Recent newspaper articles described decreased government funding for people in nursing homes (Japsen 2004) and a class-action lawsuit brought against hospitals charging that they were failing to provide the charity care required to retain their non-profit status (Kaiser 2004). Meanwhile, physicians continue to be plagued by the increasing cost of malpractice insurance (Illinois State Medical Society 2004). The chaos in health care has an impact on individuals’ ability to provide services to patients and to grow as professionals. This chapter will focus on the challenges facing one group of health professionals, physical therapists.
