PTPN to Launch National Rehabilitation Outcomes Program.

Therapy Network Selects FOTO System to Track Patient Progress

CALABASAS, Calif. -- PTPN, the country's first and largest network of independent rehabilitation therapists in private practice, has announced plans to launch an unprecedented national outcomes program in 2007.

The initiative will allow PTPN, its providers and its payors alike to track and quantify the success of treatment offered by PTPN therapists. The results will be used to demonstrate that PTPN's industry-leading Credentialing and Quality Assurance programs help ensure that PTPN providers give treatment that is both effective and efficient.

"Our new outcomes program is designed to measure improvement in a patient's function and to compare our providers' performance against national benchmarks," said PTPN President and CEO Michael Weinper, MPH, PT. "As the first national therapy network to launch such a broad outcomes initiative, we're preparing our providers for a number of emerging trends, such as pay for performance and consumer-directed health care."

All of PTPN's approximately 1,200 member provider offices a which comprise more than 5,000 individual physical, occupational and speech therapists in 23 states a will be participating in the initiative by the end of 2007.

PTPN has selected Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes, Inc. (FOTO) as the engine for the outcomes initiative. The FOTO software system measures outcomes for a wide range of rehabilitation patients, using patient-friendly assessment instruments that track patient progress and functional improvement. FOTO's database of results is the largest and most validated of its kind.

"FOTO's measurement tools provide objective evidence of functional outcomes and therefore give providers and payors the critical information they need to manage patient care by evidence, not by anecdote," said FOTO CEO Ben Johnston, PT. "Partnering with PTPN will dramatically increase the size and scope of our database and move the rehab field forward quickly in terms of benchmarking and standardizing clinical outcomes."

Weinper added, "FOTO was clearly the best choice among outcomes systems, because of their broad national experience and their commitment to support PTPN as its largest customer."

About PTPN: PTPN is the nation's first and largest network of rehabilitation therapists in independent practice. It has led the rehabilitation industry in pioneering national contracting and quality assurance programs since 1985. The network has more than 1,200 provider offices (including more than 5,000 physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists) in 23 states. PTPN contracts with most major managed care organizations, as well as insurers, workers' compensation companies, medical groups and IPAs. Only offices that are owned and operated by rehabilitation therapists can be members of the network. For more information, contact Stephen Moore at [phone] or [e-mail], or visit ptpn.com.

About FOTO: Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes, Inc. (FOTO), has provided a national benchmark database and reporting service for outpatient rehabilitation providers since 1992. FOTO's Functional Health Status Measure is included on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' list of approved quality measures in the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse.