Our Team

PTM's Physical and Hand Therapy Consulting Team

Our extensive industry experience can help pinpoint outpatient rehab operational, financial or regulatory problems and solutions.


Speaking Engagements
  • "The Business of Hand Therapy: Keys to Success", PTM Webinar, November 2023
  • "PT/OT Dashboard Tips for Staff Providers", PTM Webinar, October 2023
  • "Creating a PT/OT Bonus Plan that Works for Your Practice", June 2023
  • "Documenting Skilled Care: The Key to Avoiding Denials", May 2023
  • "Financial and Productivity Benchmarks for Outpatient Physical and Hand Therapy", PTM Webinar, January 2023
  • "Remote Therapeutic Monitoring by PTs and OTs", June 2022
  • "Getting Paid for PT via Telehealth in 2022", December 2021
  • "Creating a PT/OT Bonus Plan that Works for Your Practice", PTM Webinar, May 2021
  • "Starting a PT Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide", March 2021
  • "Financial and Productivity Benchmarks for Outpatient Physical and Hand Therapy", PTM Webinar, February 2021
  • "The Business of Providing PT/OT to Medicare Patients: Keeping Your Head Above Water", OrthoForum Therapy Services Conference, October 2020
  • "Getting Paid for Physical Therapy via Telehealth and E-Visits", PTM Webinar, April 2020
  • "Coding and Billing for Fall Prevention Physical and Occupational Therapy", March 2020
  • “PT/OT Coding and Benchmarking,” Florida Orthopaedic Society Coding & Reimbursement Conference, December 2019
  • “The Business of Providing PT/OT to Medicare Patients: Keeping Your Head Above Water,” OrthoForum Therapy Services Conference, September 2019
  • “Creating a PT/OT Bonus Plan that Works for Your Practice,” PTM Webinar, August 2019
  • “Financial and Productivity Benchmarks for Outpatient Physical and Hand Therapy,” PTM Webinar, February 2019
  • “Hand Therapy by the Numbers,” PTM Webinar, December 2018
  • “PT/OT By the Numbers,” PTM PT/OT Directors 2018 Annual Conference, September 2018
  • “Answers to the Top 10 Questions Regarding the Business of Hand Therapy,” PTM Webinar, October 2017
  • “Starting and Managing Physical Therapy in South Carolina,” Presentation to South Carolina Orthopedic Association, January 2017
  • “ObamaCare Update: Separating Fact from Fiction,” PTM PT/OT Directors 2016 Annual Conference, October 2016
  • “Creating a PT/OT Bonus Plan that Works for Your Practice,” PTM Webinar, June 2016
  • “Answers to the Top Ten Questions Regarding Your Ancillary Physical Therapy Practice,” PTM Webinar, April 2016
  • “The Changing Economics of PT/OT Practice,” PTM PT/OT Directors 2015 Annual Conference, October 2015
  • “Ancillary Revenue Update,” Texas Orthopedic Administrators Society 2014 Annual Conference, October 2014
  • “Providing and Protecting Ancillary Services,” Oregon Orthopaedic Association 2013 Annual Conference, November 2013
  • “Outpatient Therapy Caps and Medicare Manual Medical Review: How do the 2013 Rules Apply to You,” ACS Webinar, July 2013
  • “Alternative (and Legal) Methods of Allocating Ancillary Income Among Physician Group Members,” American Association of Orthopaedic Executives 2013 Annual Conference, April 2013
  • “Increase Physical Therapy Profits Using Benchmarks and Lean Tools,” American Association of Orthopaedic Executives 2013 Annual Conference, April 2013
  • “Optimizing Physical Therapy in Your Orthopaedic Practice,” Texas Orthopaedic Association 2013 Annual Conference, April 2013
  • “New CMS Functional Limitations and Goals Reporting Rules,” InfoDive Webinar, April 2013
  • “Data Driven Management of Physical and Occupational Therapy,” OrthoCentrix 2012 Annual Conference, October 2012
  • “Outpatient Rehab Analytics: Using Data Analytics to Drive Improvements in Quality and Financial Results,” ACS Webinar, July 2012
  • “Therapy-Specific Benchmarks: Improving Provider Productivity, Program Profitability and Patient Clinical Outcomes,” “New and Anticipated Regulatory Requirements and Payment Models,” Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, 2011 Course
  • “Positioning Your Outpatient PT/OT/ST for Success: Key Challenges in Outpatient Therapy and How to Meet Them,” American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, 2011 Webinar Series
  • “Hand Therapy Productivity/Financial Benchmarks and Related Regulatory Developments,” American Society of Hand Therapists 2011 Annual Conference, September 2011
  • “Orthopaedic Ancillaries Update on Financial/Operational Benchmarks and Regulatory Developments,” American Association of Orthopaedic Executives 2011 Annual Conference, May 2011
Publications
  • “Solutions Address PT Business Integration Challenges,” AAOS Now June 2021
  • “Updating the Case for POPTS,” AAOS Now, September 2016
  • “Therapy Caps & Manual Medical Review,” Advance for Physical Therapy and Rehab Medicine, June 2016
  • “The APTA’s Campaign Against Physician-Owned Physical Therapy Becomes Even More Indefensible,” Texas Orthopaedic Association eConnect, December 2015.
  • “Benchmarking PT Programs-Use Benchmarking to Measure and Improve Productivity,” AAOS Now, October 2014
  • “Benchmarking Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Practices,” Texas Orthopaedic Association eConnect, October 2013
  • “Medicare Cap Changes for 2013,” Advance for Physical Therapy and Rehab Medicine, October 2013
  • “New PT/OT Functional Reporting Requirements for Medicare Patients,” Texas Orthopaedic Association eConnect, September 2013
  • “The Truth Behind the APTA’s Campaign Against POPTS,” AAOS Now, November 2012
  • “Recruiting Physical and Occupational Therapists-Hiring Tips to Make it Easy,” AAOS Now, July 2012
  • “Another POPTS View-A Health Care Attorney Challenges the APTA's Campaign Against Physician-Owned PT Services,” Advance for Physical Therapy and Rehab Medicine, October 2011
  • “Benchmarking Physical Therapy Programs,” AAOS Now, July 2011

Clinical Support – Physical Therapy

Peer Reviewed Publications
  • Kivlan, BR, Martin RL, Sekiya J. Response to Diagnostic Injection in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement, Labral Tears, Chondral Lesions, and Extra-Articular Pathologies. Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery. 2011; 27 (5): 619-627.
  • Kivlan BR, Martin RL, Wukich D. Responsiveness of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure in Individuals with Diabetes. The Foot. 2011; 21(2): 84-7.
  • Klingenstein G., Martin RL, Kivlan BR, Martin HD, Kelly BT. Hip Injuries in the Overhead Athlete. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2012; 470 (6): 1579-1585.
  • Carcia CR, Kivlan B, Scibek JS. Time to Peak Force is Related to Frontal Plane Landing Kinematics in Female Athletes. Physical Therapy in Sport 2012: 13(2): 73-9.
  • Carcia, CR, Kivlan B, Scibek JS. The Relationship Between Lower Extremity Closed Kinetic Chain Strength & Sagittal Plane Landing Kinematics in Female Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2011; 6 (1): 1-9.
Publications for Clinical Practice
  • Martin RL & Kivlan BR. The Hip Complex. In: Levangie PK. Joint Structure and Function: A Comprehensive Analysis (5th edition). FA Davis Company. 2011.
  • Ben Kivlan PT, SCS, OCS, CSCS, RobRoy Martin PhD, PT, CSCS, Hal D. Martin, DO, Bryan T. Kelly, MD, Hip Injuries in Baseball in Sports Medicine of Baseball, editors Dines, J (in press). March 2010.
  • Kivlan, B. Prevention and Overuse Injuries in the Pediatric Athlete. In: Huges CJ, ed. Orthopedic Management of the Pediatric Athlete. American Physical Therapy Association Orthopedic Section. La Crosse, WI; 2009
  • Biornaraa J, Kivlan B. Sports Activity Following Total Joint Arthroplasty. In: Cuoco A, ed. Rehabilitation of the Aging Athlete. Indianapolis, IN: American Physical Therapy Association Sports Section; 2006.
Abstracts
  • Kivlan BR, Martin RL, Clemente FR, Palmer I., Martin HD. Function and Clinical Relevance of the Ligamentum Teres. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2012;42(1):A18.
  • Kivlan BR, Martin RL, Sekiya J., Response to Diagnostic Injection in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement, Labral Tears, Chondral Lesions, and Extra-Articular Pathologies. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2011; 41(1): A38.
  • Martin RL, Kivlan BR, Wukich D., Responsiveness of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure in Individuals with Diabetes. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2011;41(1): A33.
  • Carcia CR, Bickford , Scibek JS, Kivlan B, Langhans MJ. The relationship between frontal plane knee kinematics and thigh muscle activity in female athletes during a landing task. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2010;40(1): A100.
Peer Reviewed Scientific and Professional Presentations
  • American Physical Therapy Association, Combined Sections Meeting, Chicago, IL. Function and Clinical Relevance of the Ligamentum Teres. February 2012.
  • International Society of Hip Arthroscopy, Annual Scientific Meeting. Paris, France. An Anatomical Model for the Function of the Legamentum Teres. October 15, 2011.
  • Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers' Society, Annual Clinical Symposium, Lancaster Convention Center, Lancaster, PA. Current Concepts in Evaluation and Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement of the Athlete. June 11, 2011.
  • Arthroscopy Association of North America, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Response to Diagnostic Injection in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement, Labral Tears, Chondral Lesions, and Extra-Articular Pathologies. April 2011.
  • American Physical Therapy Association, Combined Section Meeting, New Orleans, LA. Response to Diagnostic Injection in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement, Labral Tears, Chondral Lesions, and Extra-Articular Pathologies. February 2011.
  • American Physical Therapy Association, Combined Sections Meeting, New Orleans, LA. Responsiveness of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure in Individuals with Diabetes. February 2011.
  • American Physical Therapy Association, Combined Sections Meeting, San Diego, CA. Complicated Patient Presentation: Management of a HAGL Lesion in the skeletally immature patient. February 2006.
  • American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting, New Orleans, LA. Complicated Patient Presentation: The importance of CORE training after ACL graft rejection. February 2005.
  • Grand Rounds Presenter at University of Pittsburgh Physical Therapy Department. Pittsburgh, PA 1999.
  • North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Conference, Greensboro NC. Presenter of original research: the effects of ephedrine on anaerobic power. May 1998.


Scott Jablonka
DPT, BS

Scott has practiced outpatient physical therapy and helped manage PT clinics since his graduation from PT school in 2009. Scott has helped lead the physical therapy practices of two prominent orthopaedic surgery groups, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists in Syracuse, New York and Carolina Orthopedic & Sports Medicine in Gastonia, North Carolina. He specializes in helping therapists maximize their individual productivity while delivering exemplary patient care. Scott obtained his DPT from Damon College in 2009.

Paul Nelson
PT

Paul is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with an undergraduate degree in exercise science and a master’s in physical therapy. Paul is adjunct faculty at A.T. Still University where he lectures on musculoskeletal conditions, mindfulness and performance attributes. Paul has spent his career in an outpatient orthopaedic setting where he has worked in multiple settings from private practice to physician owned practices. He was Clinical Instructor of the Year in 2019 and has been providing clinical instruction since 2003. Paul is also involved in coaching at semi-pro and amateur level for running and cycling. Paul’s interest lies in maximizing optimal performance and communication among clinicians and patients as well as assessment and treatment of persistent pain states. He continues to develop psychologically informed practice and being inclusive with respect to the research evidence; embracing the range of methodologies and designs to inform the different aspects of clinical practice.

Paul’s presentations include:

  • Mindfulness and Physical Therapy for Performance and Pain, 2019
  • Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy: The Lumbar and Cervical Spine”, 2007 - Present
  • Lumbar, Thoracic, and Cervical Manual Therapy, Practical Lab, 2007 - Present
  • Tendinosis, not Overuse Tendinitis: A New Paradigm for a Difficult Clinical Problem, Focus on Achilles, Patellar, Elbow Extensors and Shoulder, 2008-2017
  • McKenzie Therapy, All Just Extension? A Full Overview, 2007-2015


Clinical Support – Hand Therapy


MIranda Materi
CHT, OTD/L

Miranda is both an occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with extensive experience in clinical practice and therapy management. She has owned and operated a successful hand therapy practice where she gained extensive knowledge and experience in patient scheduling, coding, documentation, and other key elements of practice. Miranda also currently treats patients at the Mayo Clinic and Hand Therapy Partners in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She has chaired the Unit Based Council of the Maricopa Integrated Health’s System, has won an ASHT Outstanding Clinical Poster Award, and has published a number of studies regarding hand therapy outcomes. Miranda received her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Creighton University.

Clinical Support – Pediatric Therapy


Josh MacDonald
OTR/L

Josh is an occupational therapist who has specialized in pediatric therapy. He has extensive experience in pediatric therapy practice management and has served as both clinic manager and treating therapist. His experience includes development of a new pediatric clinic and multiple pediatric programs, managing pediatric therapy scheduling and billing functions and supervising an extensive staff of pediatric therapy providers. Josh has also practiced at the prestigious Barrow’s Neurologic Rehab Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He obtained his MS in Occupational Therapy from Grand Valley State University and is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Regulatory Analysis/Guidance


Zachary Edgar
BA, JD, LLM

Zachary provides regulatory information and guidance to PTM clients and is also responsible for CME certifications for PTMS educational services. Zachary has recently worked for CVS/Caremark where he provided regulatory support for its managed Medicaid program. He also worked for Iasis Healthcare where he assisted with certification of managed Medicaid programs. Zachary received his BA and JD from the University of Arizona and his LLM in Health Law from the Loyola University School of Law.

Therapy Database Administration


Diana Kem
BS, Accounting

Diana Kem manages TherapyWorkx, which is PTM's web-based therapy financial and productivity data management and reporting tool. Diana also helps develop and analyze financial, productivity, and other reports for PTM clients. Prior to joining PTM, Diana was the Director of Finance for East Valley Regional Health System in the Phoenix metropolitan area and has also served as a financial and statistical analyst in a variety of other healthcare settings, including physician practices, outpatient clinics, and assisted living centers. Diana received her BS in Accounting and Masters in Business/Heath Care Administration from Arizona State University.

Patient Service Representation


Elizabeth Colburn
MS, BS, ATC/L

Colburn helps train patient service representatives in patient communications, authorizations, scheduling and the other aspects of operating a patient-friendly and efficient front desk. Colburn has had extensive working experience in this area and other key areas of medical practices, including the business office. She has also worked on the clinical side of PT/OT clinics as an ATC and aide, so she brings a unique and useful perspective on all aspects of serving PT/OT patients. Colburn received her BS in Exercise Science and MS in Sports Medicine from Arizona State University.

Recruiting


Stacie Stone
BA

As our recruiting specialist, Stacie brings to PTM a unique combination of HR and administrative skills. Along with a talent for finding the right candidate for any position, Stacie has extensive experience in employee training. Stacie is a graduate of the University of Iowa.



Documentation and Coding

Cindy Murray
LPT, MBA

Cindy has been practicing as a licensed physical therapist in Texas since 1992. During her entire career, Cindy has specialized in both the clinical and regulatory aspects of outpatient orthopaedics. Cindy has taught courses for the Texas Medical Association, Texas Orthopedic Association, and has also presented to the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). In addition, she authored the “Workers Compensation Guide for Texas Physicians, 4th edition” for the Texas Medical Association. Cindy has served as the Director of Rehabilitation for OrthoTexas Physicians and Surgeons, PLLC (formerly Associated Physical Therapy). In this role, she was responsible for both chart reviews and coding and documentation training for all PT/OT providers. Cindy has been involved in hundreds of outpatient orthopaedic PT/OT chart reviews in recent years and is familiar with all of the major EHR systems. Cindy graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in Health Education and received her BS in Physical Therapy in 1992 from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Laurie Britt
Credentialing Specialist

Laurie has more than 20 years’ experience working as a Credentialing Specialist and is responsible for assisting our providers in acquiring insurance contracts with both large and small insurance plans across the United States. The credentialing process requires intense attention to detail and rigorous knowledge of the application requirements as well as the ability to navigate numerous payer portals, which are all part of the skill set she is pleased to bring to our team. Laurie takes pride in the crucial role she plays by obtaining contracts and maintaining provider credentials which in turn allow our therapists the opportunity to provide patients with specialized services to help them achieve and maintain their personal health goals. In her free time, Laurie enjoys being surrounded by her 5 grown children and 11 grandchildren. Laurie also enjoys riding horses at the local stable.