Physical Therapy Management & Physical Therapy Documentation

How to Automate Patient Follow Up

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jun 5, 2014 | ICD 10, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing, Physical Therapy Software

One of the most important things a clinician can do is to keep his/her name in front of patients. That can be done with automated patient follow up. When patients provide their information, the practice should obtain the client’s mail, email, home phone and cellphone number, along with their permission to communicate with them in those ways.

An automated system should be able to contact patients by all four of those mechanisms. The In Touch EMR™ has the ability to accommodate those who utilize mobile devices and older patients who may not be comfortable with modern technology. Patient follow up encompasses more than appointment reminders.

Traditional Mail

In Touch EMR™ has the ability to generate personalized greeting cards with a variety of user defined messages. The feature is an effective means of connecting with new and established patients. Cards are computer generated, but have the look and feel of a personal note.

Cards are effective in welcoming new patients after their first visit or thank established patients for their continuing patronage. Cards can be sent on client birthday or on their anniversary with the practice. Cards tend to make a more lasting impression and are perceived as requiring more effort on the part of the practitioner.

Email

An email message can be generated for the same purposes as a card and many individuals prefer being contacted by email rather than other means of communication. Messages can be used to notify clients about special deals, coupons and referral programs. When applicable and appropriate, congratulatory messages can be sent for an upcoming marriage, birth of a baby or workplace promotion.

Every practice should produce a newsletter and email is a convenient means of delivering it. In Touch EMR™ has the ability to generate newsletters with new, educational and engaging content that requires little effort on the part of the clinician.

Cellphones

In Touch EMR™ can send personalized voice messages to a variety of mobile devices. Studies have shown that individuals typically respond to a text or voice mail within five minutes of its receipt, making it ideal for patient communication. Clinicians can connect with a variety of messages, from appointment reminders to extending holiday greetings.

Home Phones

There are still some individuals who resist the use of smartphones and computers. These are typically older patients. They may not have a computer or mobile device, but they will most likely have an answering machine. In Touch EMR™ can generate any type of message desired to keep in touch with patients that may be resistant to newer types of technology.

Automated patient follow up is an essential part of operating a successful clinic. Automation simplifies the process for staff, while building goodwill with patients who are then more likely to refer the practice to others. It’s customer service at its best, facilitated through the automatic abilities of the In Touch EMR™.

Functional Limitation Reporting in Your EMR

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jun 3, 2014 | Physical Therapy Management

There are a lot of myths, misconceptions and fears about functional limitation reporting. The bottom line is that clinicians who see Medicare patients after July 1, 2015 must use functional limitation codes on their documentation for the initial evaluation, at least once every 10 visits, and at the time of discharge or they won’t get paid.

All practitioners need is an EMR system that prompts them to select one of the functional limitation measures and the goal codes at the appropriate time. It’s then a simple matter of sending the claim to the clearinghouse and on to Medicare for approval and payment. Functional limitation reporting is essentially a goal-oriented process.

Clinical Judgment

The judgment of the physical therapist is critical in meeting functional limitation reporting requirements. Therapists will need to document the patient’s condition at the initial visit, the selected treatment plan, severity of the client’s limitation and the expected outcome when therapy is completed.

In Touch EMR™ provides clinicians with prompts for all the information, G-codes and modifiers needed and at the appropriate times to remain within compliance. The data automatically goes into the patient file for transmission.

Supporting Evidence

Documentation to support every decision, measure taken and treatment is critical. Therapists must maintain a record of the patient’s level of function upon their initial visit using their best clinical judgment, combined with the information obtained from the patient.

Listen closely to what the client says and observe their range of movement to accurately select the level of severity under which they’re functioning. Meticulous records are necessary to document the condition of the patient at each treatment session and when the patient is discharged from further therapy. The process begins again if further treatment is required.

The EMR clinicians choose should have the ability to prompt them at the three major checkpoints of functional limitation reporting – initial evaluation, the 10th visit, and at discharge. In Touch EMR™ provides practitioners with that functionality, making it easy to remain in compliance and get paid.

Documentation Overkill: The Problem with EMR Systems

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jun 1, 2014 | Physical Therapy Management

One of the biggest problems with most EMRS is documentation overkill. Clinicians spend a lot of money for a system and then find out that the documentation forms are extremely long. The vendor logic behind this is that documentation needs to be comprehensive. Documentation can be comprehensive without turning practitioners into data entry experts. In Touch EMR™ eliminates documentation overload with automatic functions and features.

Documentation Goals

The goal of therapists should be enough documentation to be compliant, but not to the point where he/she spends more time on documentation than they do treating patients. The process of documentation shouldn’t take time away from clients, delay the next client’s visit, or keep the clinician long past the end of the day following up on each patient’s record.

Too Much Pressure

Physical therapists have a lot on their plate. They’re trying to operate a practice, provide the best treatment for their patients, market the practice, provide the necessary documentation for claims, adhere to the new rules of Obamacare, and tend to all the details of running a successful practice. Excessive documentation places too much pressure on therapists who are already overloaded.

Conforming To Standards

It’s important that practitioners have an integrated system that provides flexibility in all aspects of the documentation process. The EMR should allow therapists to generate their own templates, enabling them to document in their own way. The system should adapt to the way the clinician works. Practitioners shouldn’t have to change to conform to the EMR program.

In a healthcare climate that’s constantly changing the way patients are treated, the way claims are paid and clinician reporting requirements, therapists are already suffering from documentation overload. In Touch EMR™ provides practice owners with the tools needed to document thoroughly without becoming data entry experts and suffering from documentation overkill.

How to Keep Track of Certifications and Authorizations

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | May 30, 2014 | Physical Therapy Management

Clinicians and their practice are required to keep track of numerous authorizations and strategic certifications that can adversely affect a clinic if they lapse. Clinicians must maintain their certifications in good standing and patient treatment authorizations must be current if practitioners are to be paid for their services. In Touch EMR provides practice owners with a convenient and automatic means of monitoring them all.

Automatic Monitoring

Typically, the front desk keeps track of certifications, authorizations, scheduling patient intakes, and marketing tasks as the workload allows. In Touch EMR™ automatically monitors physician certifications, complete with the identifier number and duration. The system shows a pop up reminder when certifications are ready to expire, providing practitioners with a convenient method of remaining current.

Authorized Treatment

It’s essential that clinicians ensure they have the proper authorization from payers to treat patients who have insurance policies that place limitations on the type, duration and level of treatment they can receive. In Touch EMR™ automatically tracks authorizations for each patient, their insurance company and notifies clinicians when those authorizations will expire. State laws are taken into account to facilitate the notification process.

Procedures, Please

An increasing number of insurance providers are requesting pre-authorizations for everything from lab tests to hospital admission. In Touch EMR™ has the ability to keep track of the vast number of pre-authorizations that must be obtained in the course of regular treatment. Referrals, authorizations for prescription refills, even patient authorizations to access and digitally share information with insurers are monitored.

Authorizations for a wide range of procedures and clinician certifications are an essential part of operating a practice, but keeping track of them all is a time consuming task without the aid of In Touch EMR™. The integrated system works seamlessly to monitor critical authorizations to remain in compliance and operate a profitable practice.

How to Streamline Eligibility Verification

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Mar 23, 2014 | Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing, Physical Therapy Software

The typical practice spends anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours on patient insurance verification. With the modern technology and built-in abilities of In Touch EMR™,it’s no longer necessary to spend hours on the phone each week verifying eligibility, or manually entering the information into client charts. It can be completed online in just a few moments with hundreds of payers across the nation.

Manual Vs. Online

In Touch EMR™ provides billers with the ability to verify insurance coverage online with the click of a button. Verification is automatic and the information goes directly to the client’s chart, which can also be created automatically with In Touch EMR™. The savings in time allows staff to concentrate on marketing and others tasks within the practice with no need to enter data manually.

Online verification of eligibility has the added benefit of virtually eliminating claim questions and denials. Patient eligibility is obtained directly from the payer, ensuring the information is accurate and current.

Hundreds Of Payers

The EMR software includes hundreds of payers and clearinghouses, and new payers can be added as needed. Unfortunately, not all payers have the level of sophistication to provide online verification for specialties such as physical therapy. In those instances, the front desk will still need to make a phone call to verify eligibility, but In Touch EMR™ provides that online ability for payers with the software and sophistication to do so.

Marketing With In Touch EMR™

The automatic and online functionalities of In Touch EMR™ free front desk staff to perform marketing tasks. The software provides clinicians with a comprehensive array of tools to maintain contact with established patients and obtain new clients. Sophisticated reports can be generated to determine which marketing efforts need to be improved and which are performing best.

In Touch EMR™ contains the ability to communicate with patients via multiple methods to send cards, leave messages and deliver newsletters electronically. The software enables practices to communicate by phone, through mail and email, and voice and text messages.

The In Touch EMR™ provides practitioners with the tools to streamline eligibility verification. Eligibility is obtained online from hundreds of payers throughout the U.S. The workflow is more efficient and staff members are more productive.

The software offers automatic functionalities for scheduling, documentation, verification, claim submission and marketing in a single, integrated package.

Time Management for Private Practice Owners

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Mar 13, 2014 | Healthcare Practice Management, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing

Time management is essential for practices, yet many clinicians and practice owners find themselves wondering why their business isn’t more profitable. They’re seeing more patients but being less profitable, and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. The problem could easily be that the clinician is spending too much time involved in negative-dollar or no-dollar tasks.

Many jobs can and should be handled by integrated EMR software. The In Touch EMR™ system provides clinicians with automated functions to save time and money, increase productivity and accelerate profitability.

Negative-Dollar Value

A negative-dollar task actually hurts the practice, whether it’s the clinician or staff engaging in the activity. These actions steal time from the practice and severely hinder productivity. Negative-value activities include checking Facebook, email and texts. Making or taking phone calls via landline or cellphone reduce the time spent with patients and directly affect the bottom line. Clinicians need to ensure that negative-dollar activities within the practice are kept to a bare minimum.

No-Dollar Value

A no-dollar value task is one that can be done by someone other than the clinician. Responding to email, calling patients and physician offices, and ordering supplies are all tasks that should be delegated to someone within the practice that is efficient and capable.

Other no-dollar value jobs that clinicians shouldn’t be doing include answering the phone, paying the bills and scheduling appointments. These are tasks that fall within the $10-$15 an hour range. It doesn’t mean they aren’t important, it just means they can be done by someone other than the clinician.

High-Dollar Value

Clinicians should strive to only perform high-dollar value tasks. These are things that only the therapist can do. All facets of patient treatment fall within the high-dollar value range, from examinations to documentation.

Lifetime-Value

A medical practice is a business and there are some things that require the personal attention of the owner. These are tasks that provide lifetime value for the viability of the clinic. Owners should concentrate their time on conferences, business development, and managing and motivating staff. These are all jobs that will provide long-term dividends. Other jobs reserved for the practice owner include conferring with the accountant, working with a business coach and speaking with other professionals to learn what works for others in the profession.

Looking at reports is an essential part of business operations and among the lifetime-value tasks. They provide the clinic owner with information about the financial wellbeing of the practice. In Touch EMR™ provides business owners with a wide variety of sophisticated, in-depth reports to determine where referrals are originating, the most productive staff members, and which payers provide the best reimbursements.

Clinicians/business owners must manage efficiently to spend as much time as possible on lifetime value tasks. In Touch EMR™ helps practitioners staff with better people and choose better office systems to facilitate the clinic’s efficiency, productivity and overall earning power.