Innovative Practice Award Winners

Leah Einhorn, PT, DPT
The Alaska Physical Therapy Community Clinic: The First Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic Sponsored by the APTA
Description of Practice Innovation: APTA-Alaska has developed the first pro bono physical therapy clinic that is sponsored, managed and staffed by members of the APTA. The Alaska Physical Therapy Community Clinic originated as one location in Anchorage, and has now expanded to two more locations in Wasilla and Fairbanks, with plans to open a location in Homer. The locations are donated one to two times a week by local private practice facilities.
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Mohammad Jamali
Reliable Ankle Plantar Flexion Dynamometry
Description of Practice Innovation:  In recent years Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) has received scrutiny due to lack of reliability. Use of Hand Held Dynamometry (HHD) has been promoted due to its increased inter rater and intra-rater reliability and objective data to assess progress. Use of ordinary HHD for the ankle plantar flexion strength measurement however is not precise due to several inherent problems, described here briefly.
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Janey Prodoehl, PT, PhD, CCTT
Expand Your Reach: A Toolkit for Promoting PT-Dentist Collaboration in the Evidence-based Management of Temporomandibular Disorder
Description of Practice Innovation:  1)Develop a Toolkit for PTs to foster improved collaboration with dental professionals in the care of individuals with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD). 2)Enable PTs to efficiently and effectively advocate for physical therapy as an evidence-based conservative management option in TMD to dental professionals.
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Steven George, PT, PhD, FAPTA
OSPRO Yellow Flag Assessment Tool
Description of Practice Innovation:  The Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome Yellow Flag (OSPRO-YF) Screening tool is a comprehensive assessment tool designed to evaluate psychological risk factors, often referred to as “yellow flags,” in patients with musculoskeletal pain. The tool is innovative in its ability to provide accurate estimates of individual, full-length psychological questionnaire scores. It was developed (through funding from an AOPT Clinical Research Network grant) to address the need for comprehensive psychological assessment in a clinically efficient manner. The tool has 7-, 10, and 17-item versions that allow for acceptable trade-offs between estimation accuracy and response burden. It has been translated or is currently undergoing translation into 7 different languages.
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Trevor Lentz, PT, PhD
OSPRO Yellow Flag Assessment Tool
Description of Practice Innovation:  The Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome Yellow Flag (OSPRO-YF) Screening tool is a comprehensive assessment tool designed to evaluate psychological risk factors, often referred to as “yellow flags,” in patients with musculoskeletal pain. The tool is innovative in its ability to provide accurate estimates of individual, full-length psychological questionnaire scores. It was developed (through funding from an AOPT Clinical Research Network grant) to address the need for comprehensive psychological assessment in a clinically efficient manner. The tool has 7-, 10, and 17-item versions that allow for acceptable trade-offs between estimation accuracy and response burden. It has been translated or is currently undergoing translation into 7 different languages.
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Seth Peterson, PT, PhD
Digital Physical Therapist Triage
Description of Practice Innovation:  In 2020, we noticed that our practice’s rapid implementation of telehealth stopped several patients from seeking care in the ED. Several patients said that “they would have gone to the ED” if it wasn’t for our use of telehealth. In response, our practice designed a telehealth program specifically for the purpose of triage during urgent musculoskeletal situations. We believe physical therapists are best positioned upstream of places like the ED and urgent care centers, where imaging and long wait times are impractical and costly.
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Jaclyn Megan Sions, PT, DPT, PhD
Learn about this innovative practice initiative in Jacyln's own words. Click here to view this video.
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Norman L. Johnson, PT, DPT, DEd, MSS, MBA, LMT
The Functional Reach and Multidirectional Reach Assessment Device and Clinical Utilization Method
Description of Practice Innovation:  The Functional Reach and Multidirectional Reach Assessment Device and Clinical Utilization Method are an efficient, cost-effective, and practical clinical innovations. The portable device may be used in any treatment setting for a variety of patients. It is adjustable, adaptable, and mobile for use with standing and seated patients in a wheelchair, on an exercise mat or on a treatment table. The device may be used to measure standing or seated functional reach and functional lumbar range of motion.
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Lisa Martin, PT, MPT
Health Benefits of Nature and Play Through Exercise: Educational Platform for all Staff to improve Health, and for Patient Care/ Health
Description of Practice Innovation:  Educational Platform to Propel Medical Centers with improving health of all the staff members, including MDs, and also for improved PT evaluation in the area of Pediatrics, and for health / wellness improvements for the geriatric patients in Nursing Homes. This is extensive education that could propel improvements in health and wellness in Medical Centers.
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Nathan Savage, PT, DPT, PhD
Ultrasound-guided dry-needling interventions
Description of Practice Innovation:  The use of point-of-care ultrasound imaging to guide dry needling interventions in real-time (ie, needle visualization during interventional procedure) or to assist in needle placement and localization of dry needling techniques (ie, using ultrasound imaging to pre-identify target structures, including depth, and marking the skin).
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