title: Forecasting requirements for physical therapists.
abstract: In response to the existing undersupply of physical therapists and the projected changes of the health care reform era, it is prudent for the profession to consider implementing a training strategy that would bring the supply of physical therapists in line with requirements. Before such a training strategy could be developed, however, the physical therapy community would need to produce a requirements forecast. This article compares the uses and limitations of the two major methods for generating health professions requirements--the "need-based" and "demand-based" approaches--and recommends a pragmatic, tailored approach to determining physical therapist requirements that uses easily obtainable data on staffing patterns of managed care plans. The proposed method draws from both need-based and demand-based models to produce complementary data on which to base policy formation.
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine/Biometry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Jacoby
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D015233:Models, Statistical; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce