APTA's Vision Task Force is seeking feedback on the proposed vision statement that will be sent to the House of Delegates in June. In a Moving Forward  blog post, the task force describes several broad themes that guided its work in developing the proposed statement and explains why the proposed vision is intentionally broad and "lofty." Members and nonmembers are encouraged to leave their comments at Moving Forward. For individuals attending the Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego, the blog post includes information about a Beyond Vision 2020 Member Forum (also open to nonmembers) that will be held on Wednesday, January 23.  

APTA offers a multitude of ethics resources that can significantly inform practitioners. Resources include an online course, Information on APTA’s Revised Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist and Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant, available through APTA’s Learning Center. The non-CEU version is free for members. In addition, ethics decision-making tools are available and include a PT in Motion Ethics in Practice article reflecting on its 6-year anniversary. These articles explore a variety of ethical scenarios on topics such as reimbursement, confidentiality, discharging patients, gifts, professional integrity, and professional behavior. The Ethics and Professionalism webpage includes the core ethics documents and resources on professionalism. Extensive information also is available on the Resolving Complaints or Disputes and Legal Topics of Interest to PTs and PTAs webpages. Use and review of these regularly updated ethics resources is strongly encouraged.

Manual physical therapy provided benefits over usual care that were sustained to 1 year for patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, say authors of an article published online in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Exercise physical therapy also provided physical performance benefits over usual care. There was no added benefit from a combination of the 2 therapies. 

In this 2x2 factorial randomized controlled trial conducted in New Zealand, 206 adults (mean age 66 years) who met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for hip or knee osteoarthritis were allocated to receive manual physical therapy (n=54), multimodal exercise physical therapy (n=51), combined exercise and manual physical therapy (n=50), or no trial physical therapy (n=51). The primary outcome was change in the Western Ontario and McMaster osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) after 1 year. Secondary outcomes included physical performance tests. Outcome assessors were blinded to group allocation.

Of 206 participants recruited, 193 (93.2%) were retained at follow-up. Mean (SD) baseline WOMAC score was 100.8 (53.8) on a scale of 0 to 240. Intention-to-treat analysis showed adjusted reductions in WOMAC scores at 1 year compared with the usual care group of 28.5 for usual care plus manual therapy, 16.4 for usual care plus exercise therapy, and 14.5 for usual care plus combined exercise therapy and manual therapy. There was an antagonistic interaction between exercise therapy and manual therapy. Physical performance test outcomes favored the exercise therapy group.

As private and governmental payers continue to ramp up efforts to curb fraud and abuse, physical therapists are facing more audits of their services. APTA recently published FAQs on audits that identifies strategies to prepare for and respond to private insurance audits. The FAQ document also identifies additional resources available through APTA, including APTA's Medicare Claims Audits webpage, and external entities.

APTA has released a statement commending the final report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The association supports the panel's call for the development and implementation of a NIH rehabilitation research plan that is periodically updated, elevation of the role of the National Center for Rehabilitation Research within NIH's structure, and the elimination of "Medical" from the name of the center to better reflect the inclusive and multidisciplinary nature of rehabilitation, among other recommendations.

APTA members Rebecca Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, served on the 13-member panel. The panel, formed in August 2011, was charged with assessing rehabilitation research across NIH while focusing on the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. 

APTA congratulates the following association members for their winning entries to the 2012 photo contest: Jan Black, PT, MSPT, first place; Megan Herrman, PT, and Gayati Mathur, PT, second place; and Bob Wellmon, PT, PhD, NSC, third place. Black will receive $500. Herman and Mathur will receive a total of $250. Wellmon also will receive $250. 

Physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students submitted 73 entries to the contest. The 3 winning photos and 5 honorable mentions are available at www.apta.org/PhotoContest/. They also will be displayed at association headquarters and may appear in APTA's online or print publications.  

Submissions to the contest were judged on how well they:

• Reflected the full scope of practice and depict strides in contemporary physical therapy practice, education, or research
• Depicted models of excellence in a variety of settings
• Portrayed a diverse population of physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, patients, researchers, faculty, or students
• Reflected high quality in terms of aesthetics, composition, and technical standards  

Information on the 2013 photo contest will be available February 1 on APTA's website.

Be a part of this important time in the history of your profession and join us April 14-16 for the 2013 Federal Advocacy Forum. At the event, you will hear from decision makers on Capitol Hill, learn to effectively communicate with your elected officials, receive an update on the legislative and regulatory issues affecting the physical therapy profession, and lobby your members of Congress on behalf of your profession.

The programming for the 2013 Federal Advocacy Forum will begin on Sunday, April 14, with an evening reception. Monday, April 15, will be dedicated to advocacy programming and preparation for your hill visits. The event will conclude with the opportunity for you to take your message directly to your members of Congress on April 16.

The number of CEUs earned for this event is pending. To claim CEU credit, you must attend the live event and complete the online posttest with at least 70% accuracy. The online posttest will be available on APTA's Learning Center by April 16.

For a full agenda and more information, visit www.apta.org/FederalForum. APTA encourages you to get the word out to your friends and colleagues and bring someone with you to the event. Register now and bring your voice to Capitol Hill on behalf of your profession.

The Magistro Family Foundation recently bestowed a gift of $500,000 to support the Magistro Family Foundation Endowment Fund.

This fund was created in 1998 to support relevant clinical research that evaluates the effectiveness of interventions most commonly delivered by physical therapists.  

Going forward, the fund will support health policy research. This most recent gift to the Foundation for Physical Therapy includes support for the campaign to establish a Center of Excellence for Health Policy Research.

With this donation, the Magistro Family Foundation Endowment Fund now exceeds $2 million and will continue to provide vital grant funding well into the future.

To view the news release, click here.