Do you need a referral to start physical therapy in Michigan?
Short answer: no. In Michigan you can come straight to a physical therapist. Here's what that means in practice, and how a first visit with us actually works.
It is one of the most common questions we get by text: "Do I need to see my doctor first?" People assume physical therapy is something a physician has to unlock for them, so they wait — sometimes for weeks — before they reach out.
You don't have to wait. No physician referral is needed to start physical therapy in Michigan. If something hurts, or something isn't working the way it used to, you can call or text us directly and get started.
What "direct access" means for you
Direct access simply means the front door is open. You decide you'd like a physical therapist to look at the problem, you get in touch, and we schedule an evaluation. There is no form to collect from another office first and no waiting on a fax.
That doesn't mean your other providers are out of the picture. We are happy to keep your physician in the loop, coordinate with them, or share what we find — many of our patients want exactly that. It just means the first step is yours to take, on your timeline.
What about my insurance?
This is where the referral question usually comes from. Some people are less worried about the law and more worried about the bill.
Here is what we can tell you plainly: we accept Blue Cross, Humana, most auto insurances and most workers' compensation insurances. If your plan isn't on that list, text or call us with the name of your insurance and we will verify your coverage — we usually have an answer the same day. If a plan has its own rules about how you get in the door, we'll tell you when we check, so there are no surprises later.
We would rather answer that question honestly up front than have you sit at home guessing.
What a first visit looks like here
Every visit at Moore Performance Health is a full one-on-one session with your therapist. You are never handed off to a tech and never sharing your hour with another patient. Your first appointment is an evaluation: we listen to what's going on, look at how you move, and talk through what we think is driving the problem and what a plan could look like.
We treat the root cause of pain and injury, not just the spot that hurts. That's the whole point of doing the evaluation ourselves, hands-on, rather than working from a note that was written somewhere else.
We also pride ourselves on how quickly patients get better — not on how many visits end up on the schedule. That's the standard we hold ourselves to from the first visit on.
Who's on the other end when you reach out
When you call or text (734) 658-2091 you reach Greg directly, not a call center. Greg is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with more than fifteen years in sports medicine, and the rest of the team — Trevor Elliott, DPT, CSCS, and Greg Edward, MPT, PES — bring the same doctorate-level, one-on-one approach to every session.
We're in Plymouth at 41100 Plymouth Rd, Suite B1-162, by appointment, and a second location is opening soon. Same phone number, same standard of care.
So, should you wait?
If you've been putting off getting something looked at because you thought you needed a referral first: you don't. Reach out, tell us what's going on, and we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right place to help.
