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You & APTA: The (Many!) Benefits of Belonging to APTA

The American Physical Therapy Association is your professional association. Join today and make the most of your membership from day one! Put yourself in touch with the resources you need for continued personal and professional growth.

APTA Membership Helps You... Protect Your Future

Advocacy:

• Promoting federal and state legislation to give patients and clients direct access to physical therapists without a referral.
• Preventing a scheduled 10.6% reduction in payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule for the remainder of 2008 and an additional 5.0% cut for 2009.
• Preserving the scope of physical therapists' practice against efforts to restrict or eliminate your ability to practice.

Consumer Awareness:

• Publishing For Your Health consumer magazine each October. Bulk copies are free to members for distribution at clinics and at NPTM events.
• Creating the Find a PT database featuring more than 4,000 physical therapist members.

APTA Membership Helps You... Get Paid Appropriately for Your Services

• Answering member questions through phone calls and e-mails.
• Providing a Medicare Fee Calculator to members FREE.
• Sponsoring workshops throughout the country on reimbursement and coding.
• Meeting regularly with insurers and case managers to educate them about physical therapy issues.

• Access to APTA's Defensible Documentation for Patient/Client Management resource, a companion guide to the Association's existing documentation guidelines.

APTA Membership Helps You... Respond to Changes in Practice

• Publishing the Interactive Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, With Catalog of Tests and Measures, Version 1.0.
• Developing Hooked on Evidence, an interactive online database with more than 4,000 entries designed to assess the validity and clinical importance of research evidence.
• Creating CONNECT, a national outcomes data collection system to store and analyze information on patients/clients in outpatient settings.

APTA Membership Helps You... Find Answers to Your PT Questions

• Physical Therapy and PT in Motion ($170 value; FREE to members)
• PT Bulletin Online
• 24-hour access to information via www.apta.org
• Reimbursement News
• Online Buyers Guide
• PT e-Clips
• APTA's Consulting Service that links members with qualified consultants who can provide personalized guidance
• Staff experts on practice, reimbursement, education, and research issues

APTA Membership Helps You... Strengthen Your Knowledge and Skills

• More than 1,690 hours of continuing education courses annually and the opportunity to earn FREE CEUs using APTA's Online Learning Center.

• Advanced Clinical Practice Series, a new course series based on evidence, and focused on helping you secure your future.
• A variety of convenient and flexible distance-learning options—including both home-study and interactive online courses.

APTA Membership Helps You... Gain Recognition and Advance Your Career

• Clinical residency and fellowship credentialing.
• Online Career Center with job listings and tips on emerging practice areas, résumé writing, and interviewing.
• Specialist Certification in 8 specialty areas.
• Online Directory of Certified Clinical Specialists.
• Members Mentoring Members online Directory.
• At the Chapter level: Attention to state and local issues, referral sources, and a network of colleagues.
• Via Sections: Information specific to your expertise and access to colleagues with mutual interests.

APTA is working for you and succeeding!

Take pride in being a part of the only professional association representing physical therapy. As a member, you make our success possible!

Help APTA achieve even more! Share these accomplishments and the benefits of belonging with your colleagues. With each new member, APTA grows stronger. To request membership information for a friend, colleague, or student, contact APTA's Member Services Department at 800/999-2782, ext 3395, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm ET.

[Last updated: 11/02/09 | Contact: membershipdevelopment@apta.org]