New qualifications for PTs who work in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) will help ensure that America’s veterans continue to receive the highest quality rehabilitation for their musculoskeletal and neurological conditions and other impairments, says the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). In recently adopting the Physical Therapists Qualification Standards, the VHA reaffirms its competitive and clinical leadership in physical therapy and rehabilitation.

The APTA says approval of the standards will boost equality among providers with similar education, it will help the VHA recruit and retain expert PTs, and it will bring the agency up to date in current professional practice in physical therapy by recognizing the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and PTs who achieve board certification in a specialty area.

The standards will also allow VA facilities to implement certain incentives designed to recruit and retain more qualified PTs to provide care for chronic diseases that aging veterans face, such as diabetes, and injuries sustained by wounded warriors, including traumatic brain injury, amputation, nerve damage, and burns.

[Source: APTA]