Anaheim is famous for Disneyland, but APTA CSM 2026 has its own version of “too much to see in one day”: the expo floor. And just like a theme park, it’s way more enjoyable when you walk in with a plan.
The APTA CSM expo floor is packed with smart people and helpful solutions. It’s where you’ll find new ideas, better ways to work, and vendors who understand the reality of rehab therapy. So let’s make your expo time count.
APTA CSM 2026: Sessions, Networking, & Expo Hall
APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) is one of the biggest weeks of the year for rehab therapy professionals—bringing together education, connection, and innovation in one place.
At APTA CSM 2026 in Anaheim, most of your time will fall into three buckets:
- Sessions to learn, sharpen skills, and take new ideas back to your team.
- Networking with peers, mentors, and leaders across the profession.
- Expo Hall where you can quickly compare new tools, software, or potential employers (and grab conference swag while you’re at it!).
The expo floor is especially valuable when you treat it as an opportunity for decision support: a place to ask smart questions, make face-to-face connections, and leave with plenty of conversations worth following up on.
The Best Questions to Ask on the APTA CSM Expo Floor
Before you hit the expo floor, pick your #1 goal for the day. Are you here to explore career options, evaluate software, reduce workflow friction, improve your patient experience, or bring ideas back to your team? Once you know what you’re trying to get out of CSM, it’s easier to ask better questions, and easier to move on when something isn’t a fit.
1) If your goal is exploring career options
Best for: Students, new grads, early-career clinicians, PTAs, clinicians exploring a change
The expo floor isn’t only products. It’s also a shortcut to understanding what different organizations value, whether that’s clinical mentorship, professional development, work-life boundaries, specialty growth, or leadership opportunities. If you’re exploring career options at APTA CSM, ask:
- “What does success look like for someone in their first 90 days?”
- “How do you support mentorship and clinical growth?”
- “What does a typical day look like for (your desired role)?”
- “What do you wish more candidates asked you?”
2) If your goal is finding tools that make your day easier (clinician workflow)
Best for: Staff clinicians, clinical leads, anyone who’s already maxed out
If you’re looking for tools that reduce daily friction (without adding “one more thing”), focus on what changes in real clinic life, not what looks great in a demo. If you’re exploring workflow tools at APTA CSM, ask:
- “What steps does this remove from my day?”
- “Where do teams usually get stuck with other solutions?”
- “What do people stop doing once this is in place?”
- “How has this paid off for similar physical therapy practices?”
3) If your goal is building your software shortlist
Best for: Owners, clinic directors, executives, ops leaders, IT stakeholders
If you’re evaluating software at APTA CSM, the goal isn’t to be wowed by features. It’s to quickly understand fit, implementation effort, and what success looks like early on. If you’re shortlisting software at APTA CSM, ask:
- “Who is this best for—and who tends to be a poor fit?”
- “What does a realistic implementation look like for an org our size?”
- “How does customer feedback influence your roadmap, and how do you decide what gets built?”
- “How are you approaching innovation and adoption of emerging technologies—like AI—across your platform?”
Related Content:
- [Podcast] PT Leadership Against the Current: AI, Access, and the Fight for a Better PT Model
- [Podcast] Built to Last: The Inspirational PT Leadership Model That Preserves Culture While Scaling Growth
- [Podcast] The Science & Soul of PT: Why the Left-Right Brain Combination is the Secret to Great Leadership
4) If your goal is protecting revenue and reducing rework
Best for: Billing leaders, admin leaders, practice managers, compliance-focused teams
If you’re focused on revenue, denials, and avoiding rework, skip vague promises and look for specifics: where friction gets removed, how teams coordinate, and what outcomes are realistic. If you’re exploring billing and revenue tools at APTA CSM, ask:
- “Where do you reduce denials or rework?”
- “How do you support authorization workflows and documentation requirements?”
- “What does collaboration look like between front office, clinicians, and billing?”
- “What’s the fastest measurable win teams typically see?”
5) If your goal is improving patient experience and access
Best for: Clinic leaders, growth-minded teams, patient experience champions
Patient experience isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It impacts access, cancellations, and whether patients follow through. Look for tools that reduce friction for patients and staff. If you’re exploring patient experience solutions at APTA CSM, ask:
- “How does this reduce friction for patients—can you show me?”
- “How do you help reduce cancellations and no-shows?”
- “How does this help improve time-to-first-visit?”
6) If your goal is learning what’s next (and bringing ideas back to your team)
Best for: Leaders, strategists, directors, anyone in “research mode”
Even if you’re not shopping for anything specific, APTA CSM is a great place to learn what therapy organizations are prioritizing this year. Treat the expo floor like real-time market research. If you’re there to learn and gather ideas at APTA CSM, ask:
- “What are you hearing most from therapy leaders this year?”
- “What workflows are most teams trying to improve right now?”
- “What do high-performing organizations do differently?”
- “What’s one trend you think will be standard in two years?”
Making the Most of APTA CSM 2026
APTA CSM can fly by fast. The best way to make the expo hall feel productive is to walk in with a clear goal and purposeful questions.
You don’t need to see everything. You just need to leave with a shortlist of conversations worth following up on. Have a great APTA CSM 2026—we’ll see you in Anaheim.