Primary care physical therapy: 2025 consensus definition

Over several decades, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has been prompted with numerous motions in its House of Delegates to elaborate on the role of physical therapists in primary care. The 2025 APTA House of Delegates adopted a motion recognizing primary care physical therapy (PCPT) as an area of specialty and residency practice. One of the most common inquiries presented to the 2022 to 2025 APTA Federal Primary Care Special Interest Group board members was "how is primary care physical therapy (PCPT) defined?" As this practice area develops, it was determined that a consensus definition would prove to be an invaluable resource to ensure consistent language and knowledge translation. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop a consensus definition for PCPT. >Impact Statement: As an emerging practice area in the United States, a consensus definition of primary care physical therapy (PCPT) is needed to advance team-based primary care and to conduct valid research regarding the impact of PCPT on the quality and cost of health care services.