CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current assets:
Allowance for doubtful accounts, patient accounts receivable	$ 2,672	$ 2,273
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)	14,899,233	14,809,299
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	12,684,496	12,594,562
Treasury stock, shares (in shares)	2,214,737	2,214,737