Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q. What is Physical Therapy?

   A. Physical Therapy is a healthcare profession based on the evaluation and treatment of movement problems. This encompasses a wide variety of issues that can affect anyone from infants to elderly people. Problems with movement may involve the whole body or parts of the body. Movement may be painful, weak, un-coordinated, unbalanced, lacking endurance or any combination of these. When any of these problems are severe enough, a person will have functional limitations. They can’t do what they need to do! That’s a big problem!

   At Everson Orthopedic Physical Therapy Services and Joint Venture Rehabilitation we focus primarily on orthopedic physical therapy. This almost always involves people in pain when moving parts of their body due to specific injury, “wear and tear” over the years and strains from poor postures. The primary goals in physical therapy are to relieve pain and restore function. We do this by restoring normal motion to the painful area and, often more important, to surrounding areas of the body that helped cause the pain in the first place. We do use physical therapy “modalities” when appropriate to help facilitate healing of injured/inflamed tissues. This often includes cold laser, ultrasound or electrical stimulation. This can support the primary work addressing the painful movement problems.

2. Q. Do I need a referral to see a physical therapist?

A. It is not necessary for you to have a referral for your free consultation. Our staff will inform you if you need to see your physician prior to initiating further physical therapy.

3. Q. What insurance plans does Joint Venture Rehabilitation accept?
   A. We are pleased to offer our patients the courtesy of participation with the following insurance companies*:
   Aetna, BlueCross/Blue Shield Anthem, HealthLink, United Healthcare, Mercy, Medicare, Cigna/Great-West, and GHP and related plans.

   *We participate in additional insurance plans; refer to your insurance reference manual or call our office to determine whether we participate with your plan.

   If you have one of the above insurances, we agree to bill your insurance company directly and accept assignment as directed by them. Accepting assignment means that we accept, as payment, the allowance and amount as recommended by your insurance company. Your insurance company may not pay 100 percent of this amount. The balance between allowed amount and insurance payment is your responsibility. Payment is required when your statement is received.

   If you have any questions, please contact our billing office.If you do not see your insurance listed above, please call to discuss your situation. Payment is due at the time of service.

4. Q. Why do you have two companies?
   A. Everson Orthopedic Physical Therapy Services was founded to provide the highest level of physical therapy care we can provide without the substantial limitations imposed by managed care plans. Joint Venture Rehabilitation was created in recognition of the fact that the majority of patients understandably wish to use their managed care in-network benefits when receiving any healthcare, including physical therapy. Thus, we are able to provide the best level of care with flexible insurance and alternative payment options.

5. Q. What if I do not have insurance?
   A. If you have incomplete insurance information with you or no insurance at all, full payment is expected at the time of service. Please contact us prior to your first visit regarding extenuating circumstances.

6. Q. Can I pay by credit card?
   A. Yes. In addition to cash and personal check, Everson Orthopedic Physical Therapy Services and Joint Venture Rehabilitation accept MasterCard®, Visa® and Discover credit and/or debit cards. Please advise us of any special financial problems so we can arrange a mutually satisfactory plan.

7. Q. What are your business hours?
   A. Our normal appointment hours are 8:00 to 6:00 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, our appointment hours are 7:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Other times may be available by special arrangement.

8. Q. How can I get a hard copy of the forms and/or guidelines on this website?
   A. The patient forms that you can complete before your first visit are available here.

9. Q. How do I make an appointment?
   A. Simply call our office at 314.991.2562 during regular business hours. Email us at getbetter@eversonpt.com or use our online Contact Us Form. If you are unable to keep your appointment, please notify our office as soon as possible by phone or email.

10. What do I bring to my first appointment?
    A. To prepare for your first visit,http://eversonpt.com/patient-forms/ click here. Please note that all co-pays are expected at the time of service.

11. Q. What is the difference between Physical Therapy and Chiropractic?
    A. In our opinion, comprehensive orthopedic physical therapy and comprehensive chiropractic work should have 70-80% overlap when it comes to three critical areas: manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and patient education. A key point is that most physical therapy and chiropractic facilities do not use a comprehensive approach to their work. They are good at what they do, but what they do is often limited to one or two methods of practice. Treatment is often heavy on “warm fuzzies” that feel nice but aren’t fixing anything. As for the extensive overlap in services, we are all working on the same bodies! The 20-30% contrast in evaluation and treatment is due to differences in schools of thought, specialized post-graduate training as well as personal preferences and experience of the practitioner.Some patients have a preference to see a physical therapist, others prefer a chiropractor. Many don’t know who they ought to see. All of them just want to get better! We believe we provide the best combination of services to meet the needs of most people seeking relief from their painful movement problems.

12. Q. Does Everson Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Joint Venture Rehabilitation use Licensed Physical Therapists Assistants?
    A. Are unlicensed aides helping provide care? Our physical therapists are assisted in direct patient care by Licensed Physical Therapist Assistants. An LPTA must complete a 2-3 year formal, accredited program and must pass state board exams to receive their license. License renewal requires ongoing continuing education. In Missouri, the only people who should be assisting physical therapists with direct patient care are Licensed Physical Therapists Assistants. We take this seriously. Aides can perform many helpful tasks in the clinic but they are not qualified to perform direct patient care! Our LPTAs work very closely with the physical therapists. Their work is always performed under the specific instructions of the PT and they complete our clinical team.

13. Q. Why Everson Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Joint Venture Rehabilitation?
    A. We ARE Different! It DOES Matter!