CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Current assets:
Allowance for doubtful accounts, patient accounts receivable	$ 1,792	$ 1,444
Allowance for doubtful accounts, accounts receivable - other	$ 0	$ 198
U. S. Physical Therapy, Inc. shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	500,000	500,000
Preferred stock, shares issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	20,000,000	20,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	14,732,699	14,635,874
Treasury stock, shares (in shares)	2,214,737	2,214,737