The practice
Public provider records list George A. Drysdale, DPT as the physical therapist associated with Drysdale Physical Therapy, under national provider identifier 1629149398. Beyond that individual registry entry, this directory does not publish profiles of clinic employees: staffing changes frequently, and personal details of individual staff members are not something an independent listing should be republishing.
If you want to know specifically who would handle your case — and how much of each session that person would spend with you — ask when booking. It is a reasonable question and clinics are used to it.
A note on this page. The original version of this section, on the site that previously occupied this address, carried no staff information at all. Rather than leave a placeholder, we have used the space for something more broadly useful: how physical therapy credentials and licensing actually work in California.
What the credentials mean
PT
Physical therapist. The licensed professional who evaluates you, forms a diagnosis within the scope of physical therapy practice, and sets the plan of care. Only a licensed PT can perform the initial evaluation.
DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy — the entry-level clinical doctorate that has been the standard qualifying degree for new US physical therapists for well over a decade. It denotes the degree, not a medical doctor qualification.
MPT / MSPT
A master’s-level physical therapy degree, the standard route before the DPT became the norm. Therapists holding it are fully licensed; the different letters reflect when they trained, not a lesser scope.
PTA
Physical therapist assistant. Licensed to deliver treatment under the direction and supervision of a PT, but not to perform the initial evaluation or alter the plan of care independently.
OCS
Board-certified specialist in orthopedic physical therapy — an additional credential awarded after further clinical experience and a specialty examination. Optional, and less common than the base qualification.
Aide / tech
An unlicensed staff member who may set up equipment or assist logistically. Aides are not licensed to provide skilled treatment; if most of your session is spent with one, that is worth questioning.
Verifying a California licence
Every physical therapist and assistant practising in California must hold a current licence from the Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC), a state body within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The board maintains a free public licence lookup.
A search by surname will show you:
- whether the licence is current, and its expiry date
- the licence type — PT or PTA — and the original issue date
- any public disciplinary action, accusation or probation on record
A second, complementary check is the national NPI registry, which is maintained for billing purposes and lists a provider’s practice address, taxonomy code and organisational affiliations. It is a useful way to confirm that the clinic you are calling is the entity you think it is — and, incidentally, one of the ways address changes come to light.
Worth knowing. A clean licence record is a floor, not a ceiling. It tells you the therapist is legally entitled to practise; it says nothing about whether their experience matches your particular problem. That question is answered by asking directly.
Questions worth asking when you book
- Will I see the same therapist every visit? Continuity matters most in complex or post-surgical cases, where small changes in the plan depend on remembering how you moved last week.
- How much of the session is one-to-one with a licensed therapist? Some clinics run several patients concurrently. That is legitimate, but it changes the value of the hour.
- Who supervises if a PTA delivers treatment? California sets supervision requirements; a straightforward answer is a good sign.
- Does anyone here have particular experience with my procedure or condition? Especially relevant after less common surgeries.
- Will the therapist communicate with my surgeon or physician? Direct contact between the two shortens the loop when a protocol needs adjusting.