The rehab industry is at a crossroads. Providers of outpatient therapy services face increasing reimbursement pressures, labor shortages, and rising patient expectations for digitally enabled care journeys. Fortunately, technological advancements and the power of big data have matured to help meet these challenges. However, it can be challenging for providers to determine which solutions are mature enough to help them succeed in today’s environment. Amidst all the confusion, one thing is certain: it’s time for practices to transform, to not only survive, but thrive, in today’s environment.
Old-fashioned approaches to modern problems
Physical, occupational, and speech professionals are challenged by heightened demands from patients and payers as well as labor shortages. They’re also dealing with ever shrinking business margins. There is another underlying issue, however, which exacerbates these issues: status quo software.
The rehab therapy software industry is fractured into point solutions or “all-in-one” platforms that can’t actually do it all. Many practices have assembled a myriad of point solutions to manage their marketing, front office, clinical, back office, and reporting needs. This places the burden of integration and practice performance solidly on the backs of the providers. Dealing with the complexities of legacy software, manual business processes, and disconnected experiences continue to be the norm.
The lack of unified technology is more than just a hassle. It’s a barrier to patient access and engagement; staff satisfaction; informed decision-making; and better business margins. To bring rehab care into the future, the realms of patient care and practice management must be united into one integrated system.
The need to unite patient care and practice management
Modern practices need a comprehensive ecosystem to seamlessly manage every aspect of rehab therapy practice. The solution comes in the form of practice experience management (PXM). Rather than being a new type of product or a single type of technology, PXM is an overall approach to practice management that will change the way practices approach their care – in a good way! This holistic perspective offers providers and practice decision-makers access to the solutions, data, and insights they need to:
- Improve patient care and experience
- Support executive and clinical-decision making
- Achieve scalable growth
The benefits of integrating complete solutions
PXM connects the many interdependent workflows it takes to run a practice. It empowers therapists in their day-to-day practice and provides administrators with a birds-eye view of practice performance. PXM creates a better practice experience across every clinical, patient, and practitioner touchpoint. Its benefits are seen in three main areas:
Engagement
Improving patient engagement drives optimal outcomes. As pay-for-performance rises as the payment paradigm in the US healthcare system, outcomes will become much more critical to not only patients’ well-being but also to a practice’s. Therefore, patient engagement is key to a practice’s long-term health.
PXM helps to increase overall patient volume with tools that enhance acquisition efforts and refine your engagement strategy. It also promotes return visits and builds trust at every stage of the patient journey through enhanced experience at all touchpoints.
Patient Care
Patient expectations are evolving and rehab professionals are flexing to keep up with increasing demands. The average consumer expects a certain level of convenience and connectedness to their providers—whether that’s with scheduling an appointment or accessing their records. In response, many practices have needed to make adaptations in the service offerings, such as rolling out virtual care and home exercise programs.
In today’s environment, the healers delivering hands-on care need tools that help them deliver the right documentation, with the right plan of care, with minimal administrative overhead. Optimal care solutions work hand in hand with these providers to help them deliver the best possible outcomes with the lowest amount of friction.
PXM helps a practice provide a continuous arc of healing, from intake to scheduling to documentation. A complete solution includes an electronic medical record (EMR) and front-office solutions designed specifically for rehab therapy workflows. The right solutions will not only maximize productivity, it will also support excellent patient outcomes and solidify clinician confidence.
Monetization
Payers continue to increase administrative burdens placed on providers while reimbursements are shrinking. And then there’s the matter of increasing operational expenses.
Rehab therapists are expected to do more to make up for the lost margins by augmenting traditional care by offering virtual care, cash-pay services, and more. Meanwhile, competition is intensifying due to the influx of larger entities with the budget and expertise to take patients from smaller practices.
Fortunately, PXM can help turn your practice, no matter its size, into a financial powerhouse through a suite of integrated billing solutions to support your clinic, including:
- Streamline billing processes
- Reduce claim denials
- Optimize reimbursements
- Maximize revenue capture
The role of data and insights
Healthcare is now a data-driven industry. In order to run an evidence-based practice, providers need the right data at the right time. Data can drive better outcomes, better efficiency, and improved reimbursement rates.
One of PXM’s core tenets is leveraging data to make informed decisions—which means collecting and analyzing the data clinicians need for more significant insights into their patient outcomes, operational processes, practice performance, and more.
Embracing modern solutions in rehab therapy
Rehab therapists strive to provide patients with the best care possible—but that work gets more complex every year. That’s why practices need a truly integrated approach to their technology. But until now, there’s never been a software platform that fully connects patients, providers, and administrators. Without a truly integrated approach, gaps have prevented providers from collecting a unified view of patients, optimizing outcomes and retention, and maximizing their billing.
PXM offers a new (and hopeful) way of thinking for therapists. By using technology as a partner—and having a way to see the whole picture—therapists can spend more of their time in patient care and maximize their practice’s financial opportunities. The future of rehab therapy is here—and it’s bright!
Ashley Glover
Ashley Glover is CEO of WebPT.
