Acute Care Physical Therapy Literature

Purpose: Acute care physical therapy (PT) is a rapidly evolving area of practice. To ensure continuity and consistency of care and advance the science effectively, communication between clinicians, researchers, and academicians is essential. This can occur in the form of literature. Unfortunately, barriers limit dissemination, integration, and progression of literature to all interested parties. The purpose of this article is to highlight selected acute care PT literature published in 2023 to share current knowledge amongst all members of the acute care PT community. Methods: Acute care PT literature from the year 2023 was searched for and reviewed. Articles for presentation were selected based on relevance to today’s health care environment, hot topics, and the anticipated future of acute care PT. Results: Articles were stratified into value-based care, clinical practice including differential diagnoses and treatment dosage, and entry level Doctor of PT didactic and clinical education. Following the summary of each topic’s articles, clinical relevance and future directions are discussed. Conclusions: Evidence supports the importance of intra-professional collaboration. The acute care PT community must work together to further demonstrate our value in a rapidly changing health care environment, optimize patient outcomes through progressive interventions and rigorous outcome measures, and implement novel techniques to educate the next generation of physical therapists.