Rehabilitative Therapy Practices
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 30,400 rehabilitative therapy practices in the US provide services to help patients restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent disabilities. Rehabilitative therapy includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and audiology. Practices may also provide therapy through art, music, dance, exercise and recreation.
Dependence On Referrals
While most states allow patients to have direct access to therapy services, many managed care and Medicare plans require patients to obtain a referral from a physician.
Demand Projected To Grow
The aging US population, earlier hospital discharges, and improved infant survival are projected to drive increased demand for rehabilitative therapy.
Industry size & Structure
A typical rehabilitative therapy practice operates out of a single location, employs 15 workers, and generates $1.3 million annually.
- The rehabilitative therapy industry consists of 30,400 companies, employs about 470,000 workers, and generates about $41 billion annually.
- Most rehabilitative therapy practices are small, independent operations; 67% have a single location and 89% employ fewer than 20 workers.
- Large companies include Select Physical Therapy, US Physical Therapy, and Concentra.
Industry Forecast
Rehabilitative Therapy Practices Industry Growth
![](https://content.verticaliq.com/charts/rehabilitative-therapy-practices_forecast.png)
Recent Developments
Aug 18, 2024 - Proposal Targets PE Investment In Industry
- Legislation introduced in the US Congress would require increased transparency for private equity investment in health care services companies. The Health Over Wealth Act would require PE-owned practices to publicly report their debt load, executive pay, lobbying activities, healthcare costs and service reductions. The biggest change would be expanded powers for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Private equity firms would need to "obtain a license" from HHS to invest, either directly or indirectly, in a health care services firm. Were a firm to fail to qualify for such a license, it could be forced to divest existing portfolio companies. HHS also could prohibit any deal, even from licensees, while it conducts a study into the impact of private equity on health care. HHS also could block any sale-leaseback transaction that it believes "would lead to a long-term weakened financial status of the health care entity or place the public health at risk."
- Physical therapy has evolved into a broad scope of rehabilitation services to help with everything from chronic constipation to pre-habilitation for strengthening and mobility prior to surgery, said Mary Beth Strotbeck, manager of rehabilitation at UCHealth SportsMed in Colorado. Physicians once prescribed physical therapy mostly after surgery or a serious accident or for competition-level athletes. Therapists can treat patients for issues such as chronic pain, complications from chronic diseases, cancer-related fatigue, and prolonged complications from concussions, according to Strotbeck.
- Wait times for rehabilitative therapy are generally long across the nation, with reports of patients waiting weeks or even months for appointments while dealing with ongoing pain or post-surgical rehabilitation, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The issue is particularly acute in rural areas and places with a high cost of living, like California, which has a lower ratio of therapists to residents — just 57 per 100,000, compared with the national ratio of 72 per 100,000. The industry hasn't recovered from the mass exit of physical therapists from the industry as practices closed during the pandemic, according to health data analytics firm Definitive Healthcare.
- Rehabilitative therapy industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first six months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rehabilitative therapy practice sales are forecast to grow at a 6.08% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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