APTA was pleased to participate in and represent the profession at the 2025 CMS Quality Conference earlier this month. The conference convened a community of advocates, providers, researchers, and champions focused on a commitment to quality care for all and included keynotes and panels with the CMS Administrator, Chief Medical Officer, Innovation Center Director, and other health care leaders in both the public and private sectors.
A key conference organizer was Capt. Ron West, PT, DPT, a board-certified clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy, Division Director in the Quality Measurements and Value-Based Incentives Group at the CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, and an APTA member. APTA thanks Capt. West for his leadership at this highly successful and informative conference and for his ongoing collaboration.
This year’s theme — Improving Health Outcomes Through Prevention, Quality, and Safety — was reflected throughout, with an emphasis on movement and wellness.
Sessions and discussions made clear that physical therapists are well-positioned to improve health outcomes by advancing these themes and promoting functional outcome measures.
The conference emphasized a paradigm shift for health care from a system that focuses on sick care to one that fosters prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management. This transition presents an opportunity to highlight physical therapists’ contributions and roles in each of these areas and, more broadly, value-based care.
As the health care delivery system transforms, enabled by interoperability and digitalization, APTA will continue advocating to ensure that physical therapists are recognized for their importance to the evolving system and that opportunities for all physical therapists to adopt digital solutions are supported.
APTA also encourages physical therapists to be aware of models like the CMS Transforming Episode Accountability Model, a mandatory episode-based alternative payment model effective Jan. 1, 2026, and other initiatives being adopted at the local level, like the Age-Friendly Health Systems and the 4 Ms, Geriatric Surgery Verification.
Stay tuned for future communication from APTA regarding these models and the role physical therapists can play in their effectiveness.