I hate to break it to you, but this is largely how (U.S.) healthcare works. The insurance decides how often you need PT, how many diabetic testing strips you need per month, whether you need an MRI for those headaches you’ve been having, etc. etc.
Not sure why you are zeroing in on physical therapy/therapists.
mmm
Just from what I see, many PTs are right up there w/ pain clinics and chiros in terms of churning patients for profit. Just my non-medical opinion.
The doctorate, PhD, dates back to the 1600s in Europe. Originally, “philosophy” covered a large number of disciplines that are separate today.
The US first doctorate was, I believe, the doctorate of Medicine, MD. It was a long time before the next professional doctorate was established. As a result, I suspect “doctor” became a bit of a synonym for “physician” in the US.
Doctorates have been standardized for a long time now, in most countries 100+ years. You can have a doctorate in any academic field, they are generally awarded for a substantial body of research.
It has generally been my impression that the US does not do much in the way of certifying universities and professions, relying on professional bodies. In nations where this is a public function, the laws are generally tighter on which title you are allowed to use.
Being a physician does not automatically mean you have a doctorate in most nations I know of.
In my country, it would theoretically be possible for a physician with some kind of specialization and many years of experience to be prosecuted and fined if he called himself a Doctor. I don’t believe its ever happened though. Such a physician would lose a lot of face among his colleagues if it was found out he claimed a title he had not put in the work for, though.
Most physicians I know personally generally got doctorates sooner or later.
I have a friend who, after getting a BA in law announced loudly that she was a lawyer. No, she wasn’t. She did not gain any ability to practice law via that degree alone. She got a degree and never thought she could and I think overstated it.
However, if I knew her mum and she said “my daughter’s a lawyer!” I’d just assume parental hyperbole.
Similarly, in PT one cannot practice just because the college courses are completed. One must still pass the national licensure examination (boards). The first time pass rate is about 90%, as compared to the first time pass rate for the US Medical Licensing Exam of about 95% (ranges from 94% on Step 1 exam to 98% on Step 3 exam), for whatever those stats are worth.