American Specialty Health Is Bringing Physical and Occupational Therapy to Patients
HEALTH & BEAUTY
The American Specialty Health home‑based and mobile physical and occupational therapy model reflects a growing emphasis across the healthcare industry to meet patients where they are and focus on functional activities that integrate into daily life.
Traditionally, accessing physical or occupational therapy has meant working around a clinic's schedule, finding transportation, and fitting appointments into a day that's already full. American Specialty Health (ASH) is changing that, and it's doing it at scale.
The San Diego-based musculoskeletal HealthTech company announced this month that it has expanded its network to include home-based and mobile physical and occupational therapy (PT/OT) services. The update, which took effect in April, means ASH's health plan members can now receive clinically appropriate therapy where they actually are, not just where a clinic happens to be located.
Meeting Patients Where They Are
The core shift here is philosophical as much as logistical. The healthcare industry has increasingly recognized that therapy is most effective when it reflects how patients actually move and function in their daily environments. Practicing balance exercises in a clinic is one thing. Practicing them in the kitchen where you actually cook every morning is another.
As Jaynie Bjornaraa, PhD, MPH, PT, ASH's Senior Vice President of Clinical Quality Evaluation and Digital Self-Care Solutions, put it: "Physical and occupational therapy is most effective when it reflects how people actually move and function in their daily lives. This model aligns closely with the direction of the professions and supports patient-focused, functional care."
The new model extends care to 13 designated places of service beyond the clinic, including members' homes, schools and educational settings, gyms, workplaces, retirement and senior living communities, assisted living and nursing facilities, homeless shelters, and other accessible community locations.
Not Home Health Care, Something More Flexible
An important distinction worth clarifying: this is not traditional home health care. Home health services are typically limited to patients who are homebound, a narrow category that excludes the many people who struggle to access clinic-based care for other reasons. ASH's model is broader and more flexible by design, enabling outpatient PT and OT to be delivered in alternative settings when it's clinically appropriate and in the member's best interest.
Members can schedule appointments at times and locations that fit their daily routines. The administrative infrastructure, service eligibility, billing, clinical standards, remains consistent with ASH's existing systems, ensuring the same quality and oversight that health plans already rely on.
Built on a Network That's Already National
ASH isn't starting from scratch. The expansion draws from a subset of the company's existing in-clinic PT/OT provider network of more than 80,000 contracted physical and occupational therapists nationwide, supplemented by additional providers who specialize specifically in at-home and mobile services.
ASH President and CEO George DeVries framed the broader vision clearly: "Our comprehensive solution brings together home-based, mobile, and in-office, as well as digital and virtual PT/OT care to deliver unparalleled flexibility for health plans, employers, and their members. By offering services in a member's residence, at pre-set approved locations, and through digital platforms, we reduce access barriers and empower patients with greater choice."
For a company already covering more than 62 million members nationwide across its clinical and fitness programs, this expansion represents a meaningful step toward ensuring that geography, mobility, and scheduling no longer determine who gets quality musculoskeletal care, and who doesn't.
For more information about ASH, visit ASHCompanies.com.
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