Scheduling Physical Therapy

How do I get scheduled with a physical therapist? In Illinois your physical therapist will need a prescription for physical therapy evaluation and treatment written by a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant. It must list a diagnosis for treatment and ask for PT evaluation and treatment as well as any specific treatment requests your doctor might have. Seeing your doctor prior to treatment by a physical therapist is necessary to rule out underlying organic disease states that may be causing these pain symptoms. To set up an appointment, you or your physician’s office may call DMH centralized scheduling at (217) 876-1111.

What should I expect my first visit? On the first visit we will need information from you to make sure you get the best possible care. A patient information packet should be completed and given to our staff when you check in for the first appointment. This packet will provide you with a description of the first evaluation and other treatments as well as a patient history form. The packet will have a bladder diary form that needs to be filled in and brought with you the first visit. It is a very important part of the first visit and gives valuable information about your voiding and eating/drinking habits. Do not fill out the bladder diary if you are pregnant. Only fill out the patient history questionnaire. You can download this packet here or call (217) 876-2600 to have it mailed to your house. The first visit takes about 1-1 ½ hours and will include the initial evaluation.

Where do we go from there? Once the therapist has finished the evaluation, they will share their findings and give an idea about total number of treatment sessions and frequency. Each treatment plan is formed from the exam results and different patients require different amounts of time. It is very important for the patient to be actively involved in their care including filling out the bladder diary and patient history packet prior to the first visit and then following through with the recommended exercises and reading the educational handouts provided by the therapist. This will ensure the best possible results.

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