Nitin Chhoda shares the status of physical therapy management and practice in today’s economy. Physical therapy management in the new economy represents major changes for therapists, from the treatments provided to monetary reimbursements.
President Obama’s aggressive healthcare reform program has changed physical therapy management in the new economy, the full effects of which are yet to be seen.
The new goals require physical therapists to think less like service providers and more like business owners, focusing on relating not just treating.
New Insights
To assist therapists, Chhoda offered new insights into management issues in the new economy.
“We need great physical therapy management and business systems to empower our clinical skills and retention systems to increase the number of patient visits,” said Chhoda. “Staff members need incentives to perform better and therapists need strategies to build multiple referral systems.”
Physical therapy management services encompass much more than patient care, scheduling, billing and reimbursements. It’s a total plan that maintains the highest patient care standards, builds reputations, and protects the overall profitability of the practice.
EMR Adoption
To insure those goals of physical therapy management services are met, therapists will need to adopt electronic medical records (EMR) technology, identify cost effective treatments and interventions, and help train a superior workforce for the future.
Physical therapy management in the new economy represents major changes for therapists, from the treatments provided to monetary reimbursements.
For many therapists, a large portion of their patients may be those receiving Medicare and Medicaid. Physical therapy management will require affordable access to high-quality care that still provides adequate reimbursements for the practice.
Regulations
In the new economy, therapists are facing restrictive regulations and payment policies that effectively separate them from the patients that need them the most.
Physical therapists are on the front lines of patient care, working to restore functionality, mobility and quality of life to their clients.
As reimbursements decline, physical therapy management will have to include billing and coding changes, and therapists will need to work to identify treatments that achieve the same effect in a more efficient manner.
Initiating an electronic medical records system will assist therapists manage their practice on a variety of levels. Electronic billing allows faster reimbursement recovery and greater billing flexibility.
Documentation Process
EMRs provide comprehensive documentation at a glance, allowing therapists to begin appropriate treatment quicker. An essential part of future physical therapy management will include increasing referral rates and discovering creative avenues for doing so.
Establishing closer relationships with physician practices and hospitals, and educating them about the benefits of physical therapy will help facilitate that goal. Training an efficient and knowledgeable workforce will insure a superior level of patient care.
Physical therapy management is a multi-faceted endeavor and Chhoda’s new insights provide practice owners with food for thought. Therapists can no longer be satisfied to provide superior treatment. The must identify more effective methods that meet patient needs and enables clinics to remain profitable.
