There's been a lot of confusion and concern over a recent release from the APTA on the use of chaperones in pelvic health.
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This new document surprised a lot of us when it came out in January. Among some important changes in the document were:
Redefining chaperone as 'a member of the health care team' and specifically excludes family members or friends from acting as chaperones
Recommending asking the patient if they would like a medical chaperone at each visit and documenting their answer
The inability for a pelvic physical therapist to provide the first vaginal or rectal examination for a minor patient, regardless of consent or situation.
These are obviously - if they were implemented and followed - monumental changes in our field. These recommendations are impossible for small businesses or solopreneurs to comply with. They would eliminate pelvic physical therapy in in-home settings (obviously you aren't having a chaperone 'ride-along' to each patient's house!). And they could make it financially impossible for even large hospitals to pay for enough medical chaperones, causing programs to close (or never open) and reducing access to care.
In response, we gathered some comments from the Pelvic PT/OT Entrepreneurs group - thanks to all that contributed - and added our own concerns. We then sent these on to the APTA.
To their credit, they responded quickly - and it looks like in a very positive way. They have promised changes to this document and the entire process by which these position statements are created, including:
Removing the definition of 'chaperone' as only a member of the health care team and allowing the patient's family and friends to serve as a chaperone if desired.
Adding legal language meant to future guidelines to make it clear they are only suggestions and providing additional legal support for clinicians
Adding a 30-day comment period to future publications to avoid similar issues in the future.
We'll have to see when the new guidelines come out, but wanted to pass on the update and changes!
As Nicole said on the full 'sode of the topic...
"They have promised changes to this document and the entire process by which these position statements are created." - Nicole Cozean
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Nicole Cozean, PT, DPT, WCS
Founder of Pelvic PT Rising and PelvicSanity Physical Therapy in Southern California.
Dedicated to forever changing pelvic health with online clinical courses to help you be more confident in your practice and business resources to help start and grow pelvic health businesses.
Jesse Cozean, MBA
Co-founder of the Pelvic PT Rising and the Rising Podcast.
Jesse uses his business experience to help pelvic health business owners start and grow their practices so they can build a practice that truly works for them. From website design, SEO, conversions, marketing, finance and money mindset, he wants to make the process of owning your own practice easier and fun.