Why do I value my APTA membership?

I became an APTA member as a first year DPT student in 2017 because it was a program requirement at the time. Since I enjoy attending various conferences such as CSM and Federal Advocacy Forum, I kept renewing my membership each year in order to receive the APTA discounts.

The more members that are out there voicing our concerns, the more likely we will be able to achieve the goals we want in order to advance our profession. The APTA has a large advocacy team which works hard in order to keep its members updated and progressing towards the association’s goals; however, we have to be a part of that as well by becoming members.

Asides from my APTA membership, I am also a member of my state chapter in which I can receive discounts in order to attend conferences for CEUs, receive email updates on webinars, and support the state chapter’s advocacy efforts.

Moreover, I am also a member of the orthopaedic section in which I receive the monthly publication, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT). The JOSPT contains research, practice, and case study articles that are of particular interest to orthopaedic physical therapy clinicians

What are the benefits of being an APTA member?

• Enjoy unlimited access to the website. Stay up to date with weekly email newsletters

• Full text access to research and articles from more than 4,500 clinical and academic publications through the EBSCO discovery service provided by APTA’s Article Search and the Rehabilitation Reference Center.

• Receive 11 issues per year of APTA Magazine and enjoy unlimited access to PTJ, APTA’s official scientific journal.

• Get free financial education from APTA’s Financial Solutions Center.

Where do membership dues go?

• APTA promotes the benefits of physical therapy.

  • APTA gives you the public relations and marketing tools you need to share the benefits of physical therapy with consumers and other health care professionals. MoveForwardPT.com includes interactive tools and information for consumers and health care professionals, plus consumer-oriented handouts.

• APTA advocates for you in Washington, DC, and state capitals.

• APTA speaks out for proper payment for high-quality patient care.

  • Stay on top of changing form and code requirements, claim denials, and critical payment topics with the free Medicare Fee Calculator, and more.

• APTA magazine

• APTA promotes evidence-based practice.

• APTA strengthens your expertise with clinical and practice resources.

  • APTA members enjoy best-practice documentation resources and guidelines on supervision of personnel, health information technology, and more. Specially priced APTA-endorsed insurance and financial benefits will protect you from risk and help you save money.

What is the difference between the PT-PAC and APTA Membership?

Donations to the PT-PAC helps to elect candidates to Congress who support the goals of the profession. While APTA membership dues are used to advocate (among other things), it is actually illegal to use association dues for PAC contributions to candidates. All contributions must be separate and voluntary to PT-PAC.

A recent example of the importance of PT-PAC and APTA Membership

A letter was recently signed by 93 bipartisan members and sent to House leadership on August 11th. The letter requested to not cut other providers’ pay to offset the cost for E/M codes. The lawmakers say that House leadership should include in “any upcoming and relevant legislation” a policy to waive the budget neutrality requirement for the physician fee schedule in 2021 and 2022.

Donate to the PT-PAC and become a member of the APTA today.