It seems an almost unnecessary directive that physical therapists and physical therapist assistants ought not to discriminate against their patients. Yet it would also be difficult to find a therapist or patient who can claim that discrimination in medical settings has never occurred.

In recent years, conversations recognizing discrimination and bias in healthcare have taken place, with varying success. One form of discrimination that often goes underrecognized is ableism. Ableism is the conscious or unconscious set of beliefs or practices that devalue people with disabilities, rooted in assumptions that disabled people need "fixing". In physical therapist practice, this may seem contradictory, given the oft-presumed altruism of the profession.