When it came to the production of resources to help members thrive in their practice and gain a better understanding of the professional environment, 2023 was a banner year for APTA. The association published a range of resources that offered both actionable information and unique insights, all available for free to APTA members.

Here are the most-read reports, guidelines, and advisories of 2023, based on web traffic.

1. "The Economic Value of Physical Therapy in the United States"
One of the major highlights of 2023, APTA's landmark report uses an economic model to calculate the net benefits of choosing physical therapy over alternative treatments to patients and the U.S. health care system for eight conditions. The report is already making news and being used in advocacy, public relations, and consumer outreach.

2. "APTA Practice Advisory: Good Faith Estimate for Uninsured or Self-Pay Patients"
This guidance helps PTs understand "surprise billing" rules that require a good faith estimate of the costs of services for uninsured or self-pay patients. The advisory includes background on the requirements and who must comply as well as information on how the estimates must be provided, and what they should include.

3. "A Physical Therapy Profile: Wages for the Profession, 2021-22"
Using data from APTA's 2021-22 practice profile survey, this report offers information on the influences of geographic location, practice setting and clinical focus, years of experience, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and advance practice on PT and PTA wages.

4. "A Physical Therapy Profile: Demographics of the Profession, 2021-22"
Data from APTA's 2021-22 practice profile survey was also used to produce this report on the makeup of the physical therapy profession. The profile combines survey data with information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau to provide information on the number of PTs and PTAs in the United States and each state; a national comparison with other clinical occupations; and percentages by practice setting, age, ethnicity and race, and sex/gender.

5. "APTA Practice Advisory: Screening Patients for Anxiety"
This advisory helps members understand how to comply with a United States Preventive Services Task Force guideline that primary care clinicians screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety. The resource includes information on the signs and symptoms to look for and suggests tests to use for screening.

6. "APTA Practice Advisory: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Codes Under Medicare"
Updated from its 2022 version, the 2023 advisory provides even more information on when and how to apply five CPT codes for remote therapeutic monitoring that PTs may bill.

7. APTA: Physical Therapist Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis Clinical Practice Guideline
This resource is the first clinical practice guideline designed specifically for the profession on the management of individuals with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis, or GHOA, and those undergoing total shoulder arthroplasty, or TSA. The new CPG focuses on nonoperative, preoperative, and postoperative management of adults with GHOA, including both those who do and don't undergo TSA.

8. "2023 Benchmark Report: Hiring Challenges Continue in Outpatient Physical Therapy Practices"
APTA and APTA Private Practice published this report as a follow-up to an initial report, released in 2022, aimed at helping practice owners, managers, employees, and others in the profession manage their employment situations. The 2023 report indicates that even as the physical therapy profession is moving past the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the profession continues to face significant challenges with staffing and the workforce.

9. "APTA Practice Advisory: CPT Codes for Caregiver Training Without the Patient Present"
In a win for the profession, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule now includes new CPT codes that will allow PTs to bill under Medicare Part B for providing caregiver education in the interest of an individual or group of caregivers without the patient present. This advisory helps PTs understand the specifics of when and how to apply each code.

10. "2022 APTA Foresight Project Report"
This report, published in 2023, tracks APTA's efforts to identify societal changes, economic developments, and technological advances that could affect how the association will operate in the long term.