Section 3: Management in Specific Healthcare Settings: Introduction

Introduction

This section provides the opportunity to take a more detailed look into the range of practice settings and the many managerial opportunities for physical therapists. Chapters include common issues managers in healthcare can address to influence quality patient care and positive business outcomes (Fig. S3.1). Each chapter in this section is devoted to management of physical therapy (or rehabilitation) services based in one of the major practice settings:

• Long-term care

• Outpatient centers

• Special education units of public schools

• Home health agencies

• Hospitals and healthcare systems

Each chapter in this section is divided into two parts. Part 1 of each chapter addresses contemporary characteristics and common issues in the setting that affect the work of physical therapists. Part 2 identifies the potential managerial roles in the setting and addresses the eight areas of managerial responsibility presented in Section 2 of the text—vision, mission, goals; policies and procedures; marketing; staffing; patient care; fiscal; risk management, legal, ethical; and communication. At the end of each chapter are activities that provide an opportunity to develop managerial decision-making skills in the context of each setting through the interweaving of all manager responsibilities.