The International Sports Professionals Association (ISPA), Chicago, announces that a new credential for physical therapists and athletic trainers who care for workers’ compensation patients has been established to certify professionals in these fields. The certification is called the Certified Workers’ Compensation Healthcare Provider, or CWcHP™.

Prior to the establishment of this certification, physical therapists and athletic trainers who rehabilitate patients through workers’ compensation were not required to meet specific standards in order to care for these patients, according to ISPA.The association says that the certification and examination arose out of the need for therapists and trainers to show competency in the delivery of services to workers’ compensation patients.

“This is a giant step in the fields of physical therapy, athletic training, and workers’ compensation," said John Mayer, PhD, a nationally known therapist and author. "It has quality of care, legal, and third-party reimbursement consequences.”

To obtain the CWcHP, applicants must work in the fields of physical therapy or athletic training and they must pass the certification exam. The exam covers three areas of competency: clinical issues, legal issues, and employer-based knowledge.

After passing the examination, a professional can use the CWcHP designation after his/her name and on promotional materials.

“This certification holds health care providers to a higher standard as well as advances their careers as distinguished providers of excellence,” said Andrew Teunis, director of development at ISPA, and the test’s developer.

Information on the new certification and the exam can be found on the certifying association’s Web site: www.theISPA.org.

ISPA is a worldwide credentialing service for professionals in sports that sets standards for its membership by providing professional services to the sports world. The ISPA includes a variety of professional occupations such as coaches, physical therapists, sport psychologists, physicians, nutritionists, sport physiologists, and trainers.

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