PDPM Implementation Reduced SNF Individual Occupational/Physical Therapy; Group Therapy Use Increased

Implementation of the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) led to a “significant reduction” in skilled nursing facility (SNF) occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) minutes in its first five months of implementation. PDPM also resulted in an increase in SNF OT and PT utilization in group settings.

During the months following implementation, the number of minutes of individual OT for Medicare stays decreased by 19.3% for SNFs that used PDPM. The number of minutes of individual PT per week for Medicare stays also decreased by 19.0%, respectively for these facilities. However, in group settings, the number of . . .