Managing and maximizing time value is critical for physical therapy private practice owners. Nitin Chhoda explains the importance of an effective time management system to increase the productivity of the practice.

physical therapy management timeBudgeting is just the beginning of efficient physical therapy management.

Time is a physical therapist’s most precious commodity and ruthless management is required to solve problems, market the practice and ensure a superior level of patient care.

Many popular time management of physical therapy management methods are predicated on an eight-hour day, which is why they don’t work and therapists often find themselves losing ground in the battle for time.

The Goal

The goal of time management is to provide therapists with sufficient time to treat patients, increase the clinic and physical therapy management’s profitability and tend to high-dollar tasks that would be beneficial to the practice.

Physical therapists are extremely effective at using their skills to relieve pain and restore mobility, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good at managing time. Before therapists can master their practice, they must first have self-discipline.

Implementing a physical therapy management and documentation system can manage everything from patient scheduling to billing, along with a full range of options for recording treatments, prescriptions and procedures.

To develop an effective plan of action for physical therapy management, therapists must ascertain the income they desire. That figure can be used to calculate how much the practice owner’s time is worth, allowing them to bill accordingly.

It’s Like Any Other Businesses

A physical therapy management and practice must be treated like any other business. The goal is to make money, not pour funds into the operation. Even working with a general idea is better than having no plan at all.

One of the most efficient uses of time for physical therapy management and business is to cluster activities together for maximum effect. Similar and complementary tasks should be scheduled together for maximum productivity.

Individuals that work uninterrupted accomplish twice as much in the same amount of time as those who must constantly change their focus. Don’t answer the phone and only be available in the event of a life and death emergency.

physical therapy management maximizeProper Delegation

Delegation is part of good physical therapy management. With a trained and competent staff, low-dollar tasks can be assigned to others, leaving therapists with the necessary time to grow the practice’s profitability.

Depending upon the circumstances, it may be more efficient to outsource some duties. Identify non-productive activities and avoid them like the plague.

No shows, cancellations, clients that self-terminate their care, and those who need constant reminders are inevitable, but they also cost practices in time, money and effort. An over-abundance of these types of patients represent a drain on physical therapy management and clinic resources.

Therapists might be better served by sending them to a competitor. The same can be said for those who seek a free diagnosis and information outside the office setting.

Do Not Waste Time

There are dozens of ways to waste time each day and hundreds of people willing to help. Physical therapy management services for efficiency and profitability requires tough, goal-oriented decisions that some may view as harsh, but a physical therapy clinic is a business and therapists much learn to treat it as such.

Physical therapy management is a multi-faceted endeavor that requires strong leadership, focus, and management of staff in and out of the clinic to achieve a profitable practice.

Those who exhibit undesirable traits and behaviors don’t respect the therapist or the practice. They cost clinic owners money and valuable time that can be better spent building an efficient practice.