EMR Solution: Monitoring and Improving Staff Productivity

EMR Solution: Monitoring and Improving Staff Productivity

by | Jun 22, 2015 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management

Did you know that electronic medical records can not only make the documentation process faster but they can also help to monitor staff productivity?

Critical business metrics (time in / time out, number of patients seen, number of units billed) can give the practice owner important insight on how to improve the business more and increase profitability.EMRAn efficient practice is a productive practice, and one that’s able to treat more patients, expand and prosper. The key to that dream clinic is an EMR or electronic medical records system.

The system has a number of functionalities to help clinicians monitor the productivity of every staff member, identify problem areas or processes, and improve productivity throughout the clinic.

To maintain a steady cash flow within the clinic, practice owners must ensure that each staff member is seeing as many patients as possible each day, but without sacrificing the quality of care provided to each client.

Electronic Medical Record

An EMR can include date and time stamps, or a handwritten copy of the attending therapist or staff member, allowing practice owners to monitor how many patients each staff member is seeing and how much time they’re investing in each.

It’s imperative that practice owners implement an EMR specifically developed for a physical therapy clinic. It will contain the crucial elements needed by the practice and offer customization options that reflect the way the clinic is operated.

Following the implementation of an EMR, it’s normal for productivity to decrease as staff members become familiar with the new system. Speed and efficiency will increase the more they use the system.

The Greatest Challenges

Loss of productivity is one of the greatest challenges facing clinic owners. The problem may be staff members who are stealing time from the practice with extended breaks or lackluster performance, or the problem could lay within the office processes.

An EMR will provide the information needed for practitioners to pinpoint problem areas and take steps to effect improvement. Staffing requirements change as practices grow and an EMR provides clinicians with the information needed for the strategic allocation of employees.

Practice owners strive to maintain a full patient schedule, but some clients may require more involved treatments that are time intensive or there may be an increased need for specific services at certain times of the day.

All of those types of statistics are readily available with an EMR, allowing practitioners to schedule staff for optimum effect or terminate redundant employees. Improving on staff productivity isn’t confined to therapists within the clinic.

An EMR provides the tools to monitor and improve upon billing, coding and reimbursements, along with scheduling and communicating with patients.

Practitioners who have implemented an EMR can coordinate efforts with other healthcare providers to eliminate information gaps or duplication of tests that delays treatment.EMR solutionEMR Must Be Fully Understand

Many therapists fear the loss of productivity that immediately follows the implementation of an EMR without fully understanding the benefits to be had once employees are trained in the system.

An EMR offers metrics to identify the most productive employees and areas within the practice where processes and workflow can be improved.

Identifying problem staff and more efficient ways to operate the practice results in significant savings and greater revenues for therapists who want their clinics to grow, prosper and thrive.

EMRs increase profits, efficiency, documentation and staff productivity throughout the practice. An integrated EMR represents a major change for any clinic and provides practitioners with the tools needed to streamline their business, monitor and improve staff productivity, control employee costs and increase revenues within the 21st century practice.

Physical Therapy Marketing to Patients — Before, During and After Visits

Physical Therapy Marketing to Patients — Before, During and After Visits

by | Jun 15, 2015 | Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing

Effective physical therapy marketing begins even before the patients starts his / her treatment. Nitin Chhoda shares some important strategies about effective marketing to patients before, during and even after their treatment.

physical therapy marketingOwners of a physical therapy practice will soon learn that marketing takes up a significant portion of their clinic time. The business of physical therapy marketing never stops.

Clinicians must market their business to attract patients, find ways to promote themselves to clients in the office, and develop follow up methods to keep the clinic in the forefront of clients’ minds.

Patients can pick and choose the therapist they see and practice owners must market to ensure those clients are selecting them. Physical therapy marketing can be viewed as a dating game where therapists court new patients, woo them from other sources and keep the romance alive with ongoing strategies.

Good Physical Therapy Marketing

Building a good patient-therapist relationship takes time and effort, but if clinicians are giving clients what they want, or perceive they want, it can be the beginning of a long and profitable relationship.

Successful physical therapy marketing strategies begin with a clinic standing out from its competitors. Practice owners can utilize a variety of techniques that take advantage of referrals, word-of-mouth advertising and free information.

Social media, search engine marketing, patient newsletters and discounts for patients that pay cash can all be utilized to build a reputation as the preferred go-to therapist. Physical therapy patients want to feel better or mitigate their pain and practice owners need to demonstrate to prospective clients how they can accomplish those goals.

Clients want to feel cared for and clinicians that make each patient feel as if they’re the clinic’s only priority are guaranteed return business, an effective physical therapy marketing technique. Clinicians who achieve that are building a team of cheerleaders for the practice that will have far-reaching effects.

Promoting a physical therapy practice doesn’t have to be expensive. Some of the best strategies utilize simple but low-cost methods. The most effective physical therapy marketing strategies use a combination of techniques and can include any of the following.

  • Patient newsletter (a very effective physical therapy marketing strategy);
  • Hold a customer appreciation day;
  • Establish a VIP club with discounts for those who pay cash or pay their balance by a specific time and give away free trial memberships;
  • Write a column for the local newspaper, do regular radio spots and make the clinic’s expertise available to TV stations;
  • Submit press releases online to announce new products, methods, techniques and services;
  • Network with other healthcare professionals for referrals;
  • Send patients a note, email, voice mail or text message thanking them for their visit, inquire about their health or offer an incentive for discharged patients to return;
  • Give a community presentation on injury prevention or the benefits of exercise;

  • Create and distribute an audio CD or short DVD about the practice, its services or the benefits of physical therapy;
  • Develop a product or treatment method specific to the clinic;
  • Provide free information on the business website;
  • Utilize social media to connect with clients;
  • Offer a core service and two or three specialized services such as massage or acupuncture;
  • Create a blog;physical therapy marketing to patients
  • Write a book;
  • Seek staff input.

The best therapists,with the help of above physical therapy marketing techniques, are with the most patients. They are clinicians that are warm, sincere and provide a superior patient experience.

They are not afraid to display a sense of humor if appropriate. A good bedside manner is essential and humanizes therapists to their clients.

In the office, even little niceties like free coffee and juice creates a friendly ambiance that makes patients feel welcome, cared for and promotes a practice they eagerly return to for all their physical therapy marketing needs.

Physical Therapy Documentation: Productivity Benchmarks in Your Documentation System

Physical Therapy Documentation: Productivity Benchmarks in Your Documentation System

by | Dec 25, 2012 | Physical Therapy

Nitin Chhoda discusses how setting benchmarks will allow your physical therapy documentation and practice to become more productive.

physical therapy documentation templatesKeeping track of productivity benchmarks should be the priority of any physical therapy practice that wants to make the most of time management strategies.

Efficiency and productivity are not always easy to measure, but with a few benchmarks included in your physical therapy documentation system, you will be able to view reports on how everyone is measuring up to expectations and goals.

Benchmarks for Determining Optimal Operational Levels

One way that benchmarks in physical therapy documentation can serve to improve productivity is to measure the productivity of providers. This can be a difficult line to draw, especially without any basis for comparison.

An EMR reporting system can help determine what the average number of patients per day is, as well as patients per day per physical therapist. But even then, you are relying on numbers without much context.

Because physical therapy documentation is so closely aligned with billing, one way to measure productivity is to track weighted procedures per provider work hour or weighted procedures per visit.

Weighted procedures are used by billing staff to determine which CPT billing codes to use, and those codes give a specific financial value to each appointment.

Using these numbers, you can come up with a much more precise measurement of productivity. Rather than just focusing on visits per day, which may have varying values depending on the visit, you can focus on the amount of billable work that is being done each day or even each hour.

The challenge is to come up with a quick and realistic system physical therapy documentation for collecting the data and measuring them against your goals or expectations.

Visits Per Patient and Cancellation Ratesphysical therapy documentation benchmarks

Another measure of the productivity of a physical therapy documentation practice will be in the success the practice has with each individual patient.

Do many of your patients “self-discharge” before completing their anticipated number of appointments?

How often do you have no-shows or last minute cancellations? Are patients being discharged early because you cannot schedule new patients?

The average physical therapy documentation series will last for 9 appointments, depending on many factors, including diagnosis and affordability for the patient. However, 9 visits is an appropriate benchmark for practice management to anticipate and aim for.

Payments Per Weighted Procedure and Per Visit

Payments per weighted procedure and per visit can be dramatically different depending on where your physical therapy documentation practice is located and the productivity of each visit.

These two numbers should be used together as benchmarks for success. Let’s say you have a goal of averaging $90 per visit. If one physical therapists only bills for three weighted procedures, but another bills for four, the amount per visit will be dramatically different for the two providers.

The physical therapy documentation payment per weighted procedure amount is critical to these calculations. If you know what you can bill for, you can design the treatment plan around weighted procedures that can be billed to the insurance companies you work with. Setting benchmarks will allow your physical therapy documentation and practice to use that information and become more productive.