WebDevAdmin, Author at Fusion Web Clinic

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For many women, the birth of a child is one of the most joyous occasions of their lives. But it’s also a time when their bodies undergo major changes. The postpartum period can be tough on a woman’s body, from the stretched skin and abdominal muscles to the increased weight and pressure on the spine. Regular movement and exercise can help speed up the recovery process, but an often-overlooked resource is physical therapy.

Physical therapy can help new moms heal from the physical demands of childbirth and regain their strength and energy. In addition, physical therapy can help new moms cope with the emotional challenges of postpartum life. By providing support and guidance, physical therapists can help new moms feel more confident and capable as they navigate this difficult time.

The Benefits of Physical Therapy for Postpartum Recovery

Regular physical therapy sessions can help new moms in a variety of ways:

Pain Relief

Postpartum physical therapy can be an effective way to relieve discomfort in the back, abdomen, and pelvic area. It is often used to correct or compensate for the muscle imbalances that can occur during pregnancy and the added strain on these body parts during childbirth. These muscle imbalances can be addressed through postpartum physical therapy to reduce tension and tightness that may lead to pain.

Strengthens Core and Pelvic Floor

Physical therapy helps strengthen the core and pelvic floor muscles, which are essential in maintaining functional posture and stability throughout the postpartum period. Through stretching, strengthening, and balance exercises, physical therapists can help new moms restore the strength and stability of these key muscle groups.

Improves Range of Motion

Physical therapy also helps improve the range of motion in the body. After pregnancy and childbirth, many women experience tightness and stiffness in their hips, shoulders, and other joints. Physical therapy can help loosen these muscles so that they can move more freely throughout the day.

Improves Posture

Poor posture is often a result of weakened core muscles or muscle imbalances. Physical therapy can help identify and address these issues to improve posture. Through postural assessments, physical therapists can determine which muscles are weak or tight, then provide exercises to strengthen the weaker areas and loosen the tighter ones to create better balance in the body.

Improves Circulation

Physical therapy can also help improve circulation throughout the body by stimulating blood flow to affected areas. This increased circulation helps speed up the healing process and can help reduce swelling in areas such as the lower back, legs, and abdomen.

Reduces Stress

Regular physical therapy sessions can also reduce stress, tension, and fatigue by helping new moms develop healthy coping strategies to manage the demands of postpartum life. Therapists can provide relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and mindfulness-based exercises that encourage rest and recovery.

Marketing Opportunities for Providers

Given the many benefits of physical therapy for postpartum recovery, providers can market their services to new moms by highlighting how physical therapy can help in this key transition period. By integrating additional resources into their services, providers can offer a holistic approach to postpartum care that helps new moms feel supported and confident in their recovery.

Some ways that providers can market their services to new moms include:

Offering Group Classes Directed at New Mothers

Through group classes, providers can offer a supportive setting where new moms can come together to receive education and guidance on how physical therapy can help them in their postpartum recovery.

Providing Home Visits or Telehealth

By providing home visits or telehealth support, providers can enable new moms to receive physical therapy without the need to leave their homes. This can be especially beneficial for moms who are unable to find childcare or those who live in rural areas where access to physical therapy services may be limited.

Creating Specialized Postpartum Recovery Packages

Providers can also create specialized postpartum recovery packages that include an individualized plan tailored to each mom’s unique needs. These customized plans could provide a comprehensive plan of physical therapy services and other elements, such as nutrition and lifestyle advice, geared towards helping new moms with their postpartum recovery.

In addition, teaming up with other maternal health professionals, such as doulas and lactation consultants, can provide an even more comprehensive approach to postpartum care and allow providers to offer a complete package of services for new moms. This can be a great way to attract new clients and expand their reach in the community.

Hosting Community Events

Providers can also host community events to raise awareness of the benefits of physical therapy for new mothers. These events could include panel talks and activities geared towards helping moms learn more about postpartum recovery and how physical therapy can help them in their journey.

Developing Online Resources

Providers can create online educational materials such as videos, podcasts, and blogs discussing physical therapy topics relevant to postpartum recovery. This content can provide valuable information to new moms while also helping raise awareness of their services.

Conclusion

Though often ignored in favor of more glamorous forms of exercise, physical therapy can be a vital part of postpartum recovery for new mothers. By helping to heal the common issues that arise after childbirth, PT can pave the way for a quicker and easier return to normal activity levels.

Additionally, there is a growing market for providers who offer this service, making it an ideal time to start offering postpartum physical therapy at your practice. If you’re not already doing so, consider adding this valuable service to your repertoire – it can provide a much-needed resource to the community and help you expand your business.

Practice Efficiency Has Never Been Easier

Introducing Fusion, the all-in-one solution for PT, OT, and speech therapists. With Fusion, you’ll have everything you need to streamline your practice and provide better patient care. Fusion is simple to use and easy to set up, so you can hit the ground running with minimal disruption to your workflow. But don’t let its simplicity fool you – Fusion is packed with features to help you manage your practice more efficiently.

If you’re looking for an EMR solution to help you take your practice to the next level, try a free demo of Fusion today and see how it can make a difference.

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Regardless of why your patient comes to physical therapy, they’re there to address some area of their body that needs help. Whether it’s their knee pain and they need to strengthen the muscles in that area to prevent the pain, stability where they’re learning how to balance and walk, or any other reason, they are moving their body. Movement is an inherent part of PT and therapists are constantly looking for ways to increase the amount of movement in their patients’ lives. Why? Because it will help them.

Benefits of Regular Movement for Physical Therapy:

Movement helps everyone, it seems. Whether you’re trying to recover from an injury or trying to train for a marathon, incorporating more movement seems to be the best route to go. But it goes deeper than that. Some of the main benefits of daily movement include:

Reinforces PT Efforts – Whatever a patient is learning in PT, they can take it into their normal lives and repeat it. In fact, that is often what they are tasked to do. The more committed they are to their exercises, the more positive their results will be. So, patients must find a way to move every day.
Builds Strength – Movement builds strength. It helps strengthen the muscles that support our skeleton, which for some people is a huge element in preventing pain and discomfort.
Boosts Mood – Regular movement can have a positive impact on mood, focus, and cognitive functioning.
Creates Good Habits – Introducing regular movement into our lives carves the path for us to introduce other good habits into our lives, like healthier eating.
Encourages Positive Health – Exercise and movement are good for heart health, cognitive health, and more. Moving at least a little every day can encourage positive health trends.

Get a free demo of Fusion today!

How to Encourage Patients to Introduce Movement into Their Daily Life:

While most people know that movement has all these benefits, they don’t automatically jump at the chance to introduce it into their daily life. This is because it isn’t always that easy. Developing new, positive habits is challenging and exercise is both difficult and intimidating if you’ve never done it regularly. As their physical therapist, it is vital that you offer support and encouragement to help them make the transition into regular, daily movement. What does that look like?

Listen to Their Challenges – Everyone has different challenges and struggles. As their provider, you need to listen to them. What roadblocks do they feel are preventing them from achieving regular movement? Some of the most common include time (not enough of it), energy/motivation, lack of knowledge, and lack of resources. By listening to their challenges, you can help them find ways to navigate through them and find solutions that work for them.
Model a Positive Relationship with Movement – It is important to remember that movement isn’t the same for everyone, and that your client needs to do what is best for them. They need to move in whatever way makes them happy. If they don’t have a positive relationship with movement, it could be because it was never modeled for them. Discuss with them all the different varieties of movement until one sparks their interest and show them that they’re allowed to be creative with it – it doesn’t have to be walking on a treadmill.
Set Achievable Goals – Some patients might be able to dive right in while others will need to start small. Make sure to set movement goals for your patients that are achievable for them. Don’t tell your patient that has never run before to start training for a marathon. Instead, help them land on something that makes them comfortable. Maybe they like walking their dog or walking around the grocery store to buy their groceries.
Remind Them and Encourage Them – If they ever start to feel discouraged, remind them that introducing daily movement can be difficult, but they’re doing a great job and they should keep trying. You’re there if they need any help.
Provide Information and Resources – If your patient needs structure, there are an infinite number of resources available for you to point them to. From internet dancing and training videos to Home Exercise Programs (HEP) like the one from Fusion that helps you streamline your patient’s home exercise program – helping you work together to achieve their goals, the options are endless. Resources can help give patients a starting point to jump off of instead of aimlessly trying to figure out what might work for them.

Encouraging your patients to adopt daily movement offers tons of benefits for them and their physical therapy. By following these tips, you can help them get started.

Looking to see how Fusion’s Home Exercise Program can help you encourage your clients to include movement in their days? Get a free demo of Fusion today!

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It is important that physical and occupational therapists encourage their senior clients to stay active as much as they can. For starters, getting seniors to stay active helps them lead safe, productive, and high-quality lives. Secondly, seniors who lead active lives are better suited to manage the daily challenges of age and fall risks because their range of motion, cognitive skills, and emotional health are greatly improved. When physical and occupational therapists can get their senior clients to stay active, they help increase the seniors’ independence and can eliminate some of the challenges of being dependent on others.

That said, here are the top 5 ways for seniors to stay active:

1. Walking

Walking is an excellent and widely accessible exercise for maintaining mental and physical health. If your senior client is a dog lover, you can encourage them to stay active by walking dogs. Some clients may be great candidates for getting a dog as a pet, or you can encourage them to help other people walk their dogs if that’s not an option.

Staying active through walking is a great way for seniors to get daily exercise. Combining exercise with a fun companion can help maintain motivation and help provide a sense of purpose.

Walking keeps the joints active, so folks with arthritis will benefit greatly from regular walks. If your client is not able to walk with a dog, outdoor walks solo still provide opportunities for fresh air, sunshine, peace, and quiet when the weather is great. You can encourage your clients to walk inside their local malls on inclement days. The best way to make these walks interesting is to mix things up. They could change routes and alternate between taking those long nature walks and strolling through malls.

2. Playing Video Games

Nowadays, there are video games that incorporate a physical component and simulate real-world activities. These types of video games are great for encouraging seniors to stay active. For example, you could get them to try video games that simulate tossing Frisbees, bowling, golfing, or even boxing.

Video games are a great way to encourage seniors to stay active, even if they prefer to stay home. Additionally, video games are easy to partake in on a senior’s own time without worrying about gym operating hours or safety outdoors.

These types of games can also provide some social interaction with others. Encourage your seniors to invite their friends or family over to enjoy quality time together while promoting movement.

3. Dancing

Dancing is a pleasurable activity that doubles as physical exercise. Dancing requires you to use your muscles to engage your core, upper, and lower body. This helps improve stability, flexibility, and balance in the process. There are many styles of dance that your senior clients can participate in. Help them to narrow down a style that interests them – from ballroom to hip hop, there is plenty to choose from!

Encourage your senior clients to join dance classes for seniors as these classes are set up to get them moving without stressing their joints and muscles. In addition to physical exercise, they get to make new friends too.

Get a free demo of Fusion today!

4. Yoga

Yoga is another great way to get seniors to stay active. It enhances stability, flexibility, and strength while keeping the mind calm. Yoga is great for seniors because it can reduce pain from arthritis in addition to facilitating breath and circulation. Seniors with limited mobility can also benefit from yoga as there are chair yoga exercises specifically designed for people who cannot stand for long periods.

5. Pool Exercises

It is important seniors regularly do activities that increase their heart rate, and swimming and water aerobics are fun activities that help seniors stay active while minimizing pressure on the joints. Additionally, the buoyancy of the water makes the pull of gravity less strong, so your senior clients will feel lighter and move easier doing this type of activity.

Water aerobics gently tasks the entire body and mildly increases the heart rate. This can help prevent heart problems and work on the muscles of the senior for improved tone and strength without putting excessive pressure on their joints.

Bonus! Fusion Home Exercise Program

There are many ways seniors can stay active to maintain and build strength and mobility. The good news is that physical and occupational therapists can help their senior clients stick to a mobility plan thanks to the Fusion Home Exercise Program (HEP). This program is structured to simplify the management of HEP so your clients can keep improving—even after they’ve left the clinic. You can assign exercises and view them directly in the client portal, eliminating the need to make copies of handouts that could get lost. With this program, you can help make sure your clients feel confident about their activity plan.

Conclusion

Any of these options for encouraging seniors to stay active will greatly enhance their overall well-being and help them lead better quality lives. But you needn’t go it all alone, as Fusion can streamline your work so you can spend more time with patients and optimize and grow your practice. Get a free demo of Fusion today!

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As a 38-year-old mom, wife, and businesswoman with an active lifestyle, I received the shock of my life this year when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise as my mom, aunt, and grandmother had all been through breast cancer. But I was by far the youngest in our family to be diagnosed. This kicked off 6 months of changes to my life and learning more about my body than I had ever known.

The cancer was found by my OBGYN during my annual appointment. After a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy, the cancer was confirmed less than a day later. After a month of stress, tests, and learning more about cancer, it was determined that my best path forward was to have a bilateral mastectomy.

My first surgery included removing all of my breast tissue and replacing it with tissue expanders to begin the reconstruction process. The next few weeks were very painful as I recovered. I was used to being active at the gym 5-6 days a week; after the surgery, I was no longer able to move the same way I used to. One of my lymph nodes was removed to see if my cancer had spread; this caused my armpit to completely lose all feeling. I was unable to lift my arm.

Throughout these first 3 months, my medical team was fantastic. One of the things my Nurse Navigator recommended was to participate in physical therapy to reacquire my range of motion and ensure that I work to prevent lymphedema. I was a little surprised to learn that physical therapy was a part of the healing process for a mastectomy; in my mind, it felt unrelated. Despite my doubts about the need for physical therapy, my oncologist confirmed my nurse’s recommendation that I would recover faster with the assistance of physical therapy.

I met with my physical therapist multiple times over a month to learn new exercises. She taught me about how the lymphatic system works so I would know how to recognize lymphedema if it happens. She explained that breast cancer patients often qualify for multiple physical therapy sessions but feel too overwhelmed to participate.

Physical therapy started to give me back the lifestyle I had been used to. After 8 weeks post-surgery, I was back in the gym kickboxing and gaining my strength back. I believe that the sessions with my physical therapists were critical to my recovery this year!

October is breast cancer month and I want to personally encourage all women to make sure they visit your OBGYN this month if they haven’t been to their doctor in a while. This year wasn’t what I expected it to be, but I have a newfound appreciation for my doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and the medical advancements that have been made in breast cancer.

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Research shows that quality patient communication remains a cornerstone in effective treatment. Patients should feel that their provider offers empathy coupled with quality communication when explaining a diagnosis and treatment plan.

As a healthcare provider, you should always take the time to review your patient’s understanding of the treatment plan to improve care and ensure long-term success. Patients tend to follow through successfully with directions and medical recommendations when they have a strong positive relationship with their healthcare provider.

The key components of effective patient communication include:

The ability to explain the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Listening to the patient’s questions and concerns.
Empathizing with any concerns or fears the patient might express.

When the top three components of patient communication are met, the health outcomes and patient satisfaction tend to improve dramatically.

Communication plays a significant role in the patient/physician relationship. A patient will consider their quality of care exceptional if they have an effective communication foundation and interactions. A patient who has positive interactions with their healthcare provider tends to take a much more initiative-taking part in their treatment, care, and self-management.

The Effects of Communication Problems on Treatment Success

Communication problems lead to poor treatment success.

Studies have shown that one-third of patients who suffer from chronic illnesses often lead to them underusing their prescription medications due to a lack of funds and cost concerns that they do not share with their physician. The patient is often embarrassed to reveal financial concerns, or they simply do not feel comfortable discussing the problems with their healthcare provider. Often, they simply don’t feel like their physician will care if they cannot afford the prescribed medication.
Research showed that only half of all patients who have been hospitalized can identify the name of their medical diagnosis or the medications they are supposed to use upon discharge due to a failure in communication with their physician.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Health Professions and Training carried out a study that showed that physicians and other healthcare professionals often have inadequate training in patient communication.

Core Communication Skills

IOM has made a strong push for licensing organizations and educators to bolster their professional training regarding patient communication. The outline of a strong patient-centered care model that shows the foundation of healthcare communication should be founded on core communication skills such as the following:

Open-ended inquiry
Reflective listening
Empathy

Successful patient communication should focus on working together to develop a plan that meets the emotional, physical, social, and economic needs of the patient. The patient should have a solid understanding of the plan and feel comfortable asking questions or voicing concerns or fears. A healthcare provider should always take the time to examine the patient’s understanding of the plan, especially if the patient is being discharged because you’ll want to ensure that they will remain home care compliant to decrease any readmission and ensure the success of their treatment plan.

Common Reasons Why a Treatment Plan Fails

A Health Care Quality Survey was carried out which found that 25% of Americans failed to follow their treatment plan due to the following reasons:

39% stated that they did not agree with what the physician wanted or recommended as a treatment plan.
27% worried about finances.
25% felt that the instructions were too difficult.
20% believed that the treatment plan went against their personal beliefs.
7% did not understand exactly how to conduct the treatment plan.

How to Foster Patient Satisfaction

Below are the following ways to better foster patient satisfaction to ensure treatment plan success:

Expectations: Always provide the patient with sufficient time to explain their story and goals with the treatment plan.
Communication: Physicians need to take the concerns and satisfaction of the patient seriously by explaining everything clearly and taking the time to understand how the patient feels.
Control: Let the patient take control of their own treatment plan by welcoming their concerns, ideas, and expectations during a conversation.
Decision: Patient satisfaction always increases when the patient’s physical, mental, and social functions are acknowledged.
Time: Physicians who take the time to address all issues increase patient satisfaction.
Referrals: Most patients prefer the healthcare team to manage all referrals.
Continued Care: Patients feel more satisfied when they continue to receive ongoing care from the practice and physician instead of having to go to a multitude of healthcare providers.
Ongoing Clinical Team: A patient’s satisfaction with the clinical team creates a positive treatment experience.
Dignity: A patient expects and deserves respect throughout the entire treatment process and with any healthcare decisions.

Patient Safety and Treatment Plan Success

When a treatment plan fails, it often occurs as a result of human and system errors. Studies carried out over 10 years (1995 to 2005) showed that ineffective communication causes 66% of all medical errors. If a healthcare team or physician fails to effectively communicate then all aspects of patient care start to falter and fail.

Malpractice Risk and Treatment Success

Research conducted by Huntington and Kuhn has revealed that the root cause of most malpractice claims stems from a breakdown between the patient and the physician.

Feeling supported, understood, valued, and listened to all matter when it comes to effective patient communication. It was found that 71% of all malpractice claims arose from a breakdown in the physician and patient relationship. Most patients believed that their physician simply did not care.

Conclusion

Practice management should always focus on fostering positive relationships between the patient and the healthcare team with open communication. When collaborating with a patient on a treatment plan, everyone needs to focus on taking the time for effective communication.

To better optimize your practice to ensure a positive patient experience, we invite you to contact us to learn more about Fusion Software. Our proactive management software focuses on making a positive impact on everyone involved. The goal is to ensure exceptional clinical and financial outcomes to pave the way for treatment success.

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A growing therapy practice is something to celebrate! However, every clinic, at some point in its growth, encounters aches and pains that can hinder further or even current success. Here are some process improvements you can make to mitigate growing pains -even as your patient list grows.

Implement Smart Scheduling and Waitlists

The foundation of any successful clinic is scheduling that runs like a well-oiled machine. Your scheduling software should make this as easy as possible for your office staff. That means more than keeping provider calendars at their fingertips, it means being able to categorize appointment types and using tools that automatically find open appointment slots.

Smarter scheduling also includes implementing a waitlist that’s integrated into your scheduling tools, so you’re not missing out on revenue from patients who you don’t have the capacity to see now.

Don’t Skimp on Documentation

Like scheduling, documentation is an essential therapy function that is more likely to trip you up the more patients you have. Your EHR should have built-in documentation tools and evaluations that mirror the natural workflows of a therapy office. These notes should be easily accessible from any point in a patient’s treatment and track progress and show object mastery. Plus, these should be super easy to share with patients and insurance companies.

Open Your (Metaphorical) Doors

Regardless of what the future holds for COVID, telehealth has become an expectation for many patients and their caretakers. And who can blame them? With busy schedules to accommodate, possible mobility issues, lack of transportation, anxiety, or even rising gas prices, there are tons of reasons that get in the way of making in-office appointments. And we all know how detrimental missed appointments can be for outcomes and retention. So, take advantage of telehealth. By offering a secure and convenient treatment option, you can see more patients than ever before.

Get a Handle on Billing

You know the saying. More money. More problems. Well, you’ve increased your billings, so you’re likely running into more revenue red flags. These likely include:

More delinquent payments or bounced checks
Troubles with insurance companies
An overtaxed billing team
Denied and rejected claims
Coding concerns
Need we say more?

One of the best things you can do for your clinic to make sure you’re capturing all the revenue you should in order to maintain your growth is revenue cycle management. Revenue cycle management is the process of drafting accurate claims, following up promptly, correcting denials and rejections, and following through to make sure you receive payment. Make sure the software you’re using to run your practice has billing tools or even offers revenue cycle management services, so you can unload that burden from your billing team.

Another way to streamline your billing is to consider onboarding credit card processing if you haven’t already. Allowing patients to pay conveniently online allows you to see an immediate improvement in your cash flow and reduces the likelihood that a patient won’t fulfill their financial responsibility.

Know What’s Working and What Needs Work

How can you possibly know what’s working, what’s not, and where you can grow without data to guide the way? If reporting isn’t on your wishlist as a growing therapy practice, it should be. Having key insights available at-a-glance in dashboards allows you to manage the performance of your clinic and understand and prioritize improvements that need to be made. Insights can also help inform creative solutions to problems your clinic is facing and identify new opportunities for growth.

Software that Empowers Growth (and Scales with You)

We promise, we don’t read minds. We’ve just worked with so many therapists (and did we mention we were built by some) who have encountered these growing pains. Let’s help you get a jump on your growth, so the sky truly can be the limit. Schedule a demo of Therapy Brands’ Fusion PT/OT/SLP EMR today.

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As speech therapists, we set out to improve how our patients communicate. Whether working post-accident or alongside developmental challenges, we are masters of the art and science that takes bodily cognition, combine it with stronger muscles, and generates a robust voice for our patients. But our interventions not only help someone speak, in fact here are some life-changing impacts of speech therapy.

Short-Term Effects of Speech Therapy

Improved Literacy -Whether creating a plan for a patient with aphasia, apraxia, or anything in between, it’s important to understand the link between reading and writing. Speech therapy considers the cognitive and mechanical strengths someone needs to be able to gather ideas, interpret them, and then share their own out with the world -both orally and on the page. This is especially important in pre-school and school-age children who are in the midst of their most formative years. Speech therapists can also recommend adaptive devices to help further bridge gaps.
Greater Self-Esteem -When we’re struggling against our own bodies, our self-esteem and self-efficacy plummet. Our patients are likely to experience hopelessness and other feelings of self-doubt. However, improvements thanks to speech intervention, even small ones, can help reignite hope for patients, inspiring them to keep pushing forward and proving they are capable of more than they realize.
Stronger Communication -Humans are reliant on one another for more than may seem immediately obvious. Whether ordering coffee at a drive-through, trying to understand the care your doctor is prescribing, attending class at a university, or telling someone dear how much they mean to you, clear and strong communication is absolutely essential for a successful life. And, with speech therapy, it’s more attainable than it would otherwise be to so many who are struggling.
Social Belonging -As much as we wish it weren’t so, society is not kind to those who are different. Articulation disorders leave someone prone to bullying from their classmates, a lower perceived intelligence as adults, and even blatant disregard into old age. By improving articulation and bringing clarity to someone’s speech, we are able to protect them from these unjust stigmas and help them feel like they belong.

Long-Term Effect of Speech Therapy

More Independence -As mentioned earlier, we rely on each other for so much, however, when we have a clear, strong voice, we can also maintain more independence, relying less on caretakers and being better able to express our wants and needs. This can help us live fuller, healthier lives, while simultaneously reducing caretaker burnout.
Improved Physical Health -Those living with speech disorders or who may be recovering from debilitating medical instances such as a stroke may have trouble mastering their motor skills. This includes swallowing and breathing, and we don’t need to tell you how critical these are for everyday life. With speech therapy interventions, patients can become less likely to choke and can quite literally breathe easier. Furthermore, the more capable an individual is of speaking, the more they can advocate for themselves and speak up when it comes to their medical care.
Decreased Anxiety -When living with a speech disorder or impairment of any kind, the world suddenly presents far more obstacles and opportunities for things to go wrong. Over time, a state of anxiety can shroud one’s perception of the world. Besides the emotional effects, prolonged anxiety can also contribute to other health factors. But with a vocal quality that can make it over life’s hurdles, we are able to circumvent many of these issues.
Stronger Understanding -The benefits of speech therapy go way beyond the in-the-moment comprehension of words, sounds, and ideas. But interventions can, in the long-term, help patients understand larger-scale concepts and ideas that may have been unattainable to them before.

Solutions that Help You Make a Difference

The work speech and language pathologists are doing may not seem all that eventful and often goes unsung, however, it is speech therapists who are making significant improvements in their patients’ lives every day. Fusion, which is now equipped for adult treatments, is here to help you continue to do the work you do. Designed by SLPs for SLPs, this intuitive EHR is full of features to streamline your workflows and note-taking, so you can get back to care-taking. Schedule a demo today.

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Whether you are operating a physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy practice, a key component of success remains referrals. Patients are still the lifeblood of any clinic so the best way to ensure long-term success and growth remains increasing traffic through successful referral strategies.

Strong practice management involves focusing on marketing as an integral part of your medical practice. Referred patients are ideal because they are a low-cost acquisition. However, there are other techniques that you can use to increase your referrals to scale your practice.

The first focus of marketing is the development of relationships and networks that will drive referrals. The process takes time and may not become at once fruitful. However, with perseverance and dedication, your referral program will grow and expand.

1. Reach Out to Physicians with Marketing Materials

Although most physicians have generalized knowledge of your practice, they still need to understand your services to inspire referrals.

Supply materials and articles that outline the conditions you regularly treat.
Share your success and testimonials.
Collaborate closely on patient care.
Offer data that shows your practice’s success.
Always thank the referring physician both publican and via private direct mail.
Take time to carry out in-person visits to get to know the referring physicians and establish a firm relationship foundation.

2. Focus on Your Practice’s Specialties

What makes your practice stand out from the competition? Focus on the differentiator that makes your practice stand out from the crown. If you are a physical therapist, you focus on balance rehabilitation or pediatric physical therapy. Pinpoint those specialties and then highlight them. Operating a speech therapy practice, you might focus on communication modalities or articulation. An occupational therapy clinic may focus on hand therapy or environmental modification. Use the specialties as opportunities with which you can market.

If you simply do not have a specialty that your practice focuses on, then maybe it’s time to try to branch out and find something that makes you stand out from the competition.

3. Take a Proactive Referral Approach

Yes, you want physicians to refer patients to your practice, but you can also use a take-charge approach by learning about physicians in your area for patient referral. Maintain a list of doctors and their specialties alongside the condition that you treat to decide why physicians to refer your client to.

At this point, you should start to track your referrals. Starting the referral process inspires great and longstanding relationships with local physicians that help everyone involved.

Invite a partnership with a local physician by creating a personalized letter inviting them to work with you by overseeing the patient’s progress. Keep everything very concise when drafting the letter and include business cards to encourage the physician to distribute them to patients.

4. Create a Strong Online Presence

Focus your practice management on maintaining best practices. Optimize your clinic’s website so that your practice is easy to find online. Most patients will carry out an online search and then choose a clinic based on a physician’s recommendations and reviews.

Invest in a leading website design coupled with an SEO-rich blog. The website and blogs should all hold crucial keywords that list your services and location.

Always ensure that your clinic’s name, physician’s name, address, and phone number are all prominently displayed so visitors can quickly find you. Always ask your patients to take a few moments to leave a positive review. Online testimonials tend to have an enormous impact on would-be patients picking your practice.

Staying active on social media supplies a great marketing strategy for any therapist. It creates a visible presence and helps your practice stay at the forefront of your patient’s minds.

Use your social media profile to share essential information about your practice, promote services, offer interesting content, and inspire engagement which leads to referrals.

5. Targeting Patients

The most important strategy to inspire referrals involves targeting patients through effective marketing. Many patients do not understand what differentiates an occupational therapy office from a physical therapy office. Even patients searching for a speech therapist will want to know how the speech therapy office stands out from the competition. Highlight your services and foster strong brand awareness by being clear about what your practice offers. Also, let would-be patients know that they don’t need a doctor’s referral to visit your practice.

An effective way to target patients involves creating a paid ad strategy. If you are working on a tight budget, then you might drag your feet at investing in digital marketing, but paid ads can increase revenue. Figure out your budget and then work within it. Think about what you want to use to entice patience such as a discount or some other perk then give them the option to schedule a consultation.

Email marketing is also a wonderful way to reach out to patients and gain referrals. You’ll stay in the forefront of the patient’s mind and encourage them to act. Email marketing is highly cost-effective and a great tool to educate patients about your services or any upcoming changes or events at the practice.

Focus on creating a marketing campaign at every stage of the patient’s journey. You’ll have the opportunity to inspire trust and foster satisfaction. Even if your patient has finished their course of care, you want them to know you remain available to meet any future needs and to meet the needs of any referrals from past patients.

Conclusion

Fusion Solutions supplies effective practice management for all aspects of your clinic. Our software solutions function as your healthcare technology partners in all aspects of your practice’s data and billing management. You can use the reports generated to measure how effective your marketing efforts are proving. At Therapy Brands, we want to help you continue to grow your organization with strong patient referrals and leading marketing efforts.

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Healthcare workers enter the industry with the drive to help people. They care deeply about how people feel and want to make their lives better. Unfortunately, patients are not always satisfied with the care they receive. Providers can try to guess what improvements they can make or use the best tool to determine what needs improvement, a patient satisfaction survey.

These surveys will help determine what areas of the practice exceed expectations and which areas to focus on. Of course, not all patient surveys are the same. It is essential to ask the right questions so that the patients can provide meaningful guidance.

1. Was the appointment process smooth and efficient?

Having the process of making an appointment easy is vital to patients. Everyone has a busy life, and finding time for appointments can be difficult. Today there are a lot of options for methods of booking appointments. Many practices offer patients the ability to schedule appointments online, through apps, or even text messages. If only a phone appointment booking system is available, having a receptionist who quickly and efficiently schedules the appointments is preferred. Patients do not want to spend long hours on the phone. They also do not want to wait months to receive an appointment, so having appointments available sooner rather than later will increase satisfaction.

2. How was the cleanliness and ambiance of the office?

Having a clean and welcoming in your practice is pivotal. Cleanliness helps patients feel like everything is safe and clean, so their health is in good hands. Beyond cleanliness, the general ambiance of the office is also essential. Having an inviting, warm environment helps patients feel at ease. The more comfortable they feel with the office, the better the tone is for the whole visit.

3. How would you rate your wait time?

Clinics are notorious for running behind schedule. Patients have busy lives that they rearrange to make appointments feasible. If a patient is left waiting for too long, their satisfaction will go down. If they feel the wait is consistently long, they might shop for a different practice.

4. Were you satisfied with your interactions with the office staff?

Everyone a patient encounter is important. If the patient set the appointment on the phone, the person who assisted was the first impression. After the patient walks in the door, the receptionist’s demeanor sets the tone and first impression. Making sure a patient is comfortable and informed from beginning to end is essential in customer satisfaction.

5. How was the care provider?

The actual doctor makes a significant impact on a patient’s satisfaction. Multiple characteristics affect the overall impression. Having a warm, friendly doctor will help a patient feel calm and comfortable. If the doctor rushes, it has a negative impact. Patients appreciate a doctor who takes the time to answer questions and concerns. It also helps the patient feel that the doctor is knowledgeable and delivering quality, knowledgeable care.

6. How was the care you received?

Even if a facility is inviting and a doctor is warm, the care provided is the ultimate indicator of customer satisfaction. A doctor can be knowledgeable and kind, but if a patient doesn’t feel the care they received was the best, they will not leave happy.

7. How efficient and comprehensive was the billing process?

The cost of care is a considerable concern for patients. Having upfront answers to billing questions will remove stress considerably. Patients will want to determine whether the practice accepts their insurance situation easily and quickly. They will also want to know what the out-of-pocket costs will be in addition to insurance coverage or if the patient is paying cash. In addition to how much everything will cost, the ease of setting billing up is another factor in satisfaction. If a patient has to spend hours on the phone addressing insurance and billing, they will be dissatisfied.

8. How well were evaluation and treatment explained?

If a patient has a condition that requires treatment, having a thorough understanding of the plan of action is essential. Whether a patient needs medication, a procedure, or other care, knowledge is power. Having a sense of what to expect will reduce the patient’s stress and anxiety. All the patient’s questions and concerns should be addressed without them feeling rushed. Everyone should feel confident that the plan of action is clear and correct for the situation.

9. Would you recommend our facility to family and friends?

An excellent indicator of a patient’s satisfaction is whether they would recommend someone they know. A patient who is unsure of their satisfaction might continue going until they decide, but they will not risk telling others to go there. If a patient recommends a doctor or practice, it shows they are proud and satisfied with the care they received. It is fair in that case to assume the level of the clinic is meeting or exceeding their expectations.

10. Do you have any other recommendations or concerns?

Having an open-ended question helps to find improvements that might otherwise go overlooked. Sometimes a simple survey doesn’t cover everything a patient has to say. Having the ability to communicate additional feedback is beneficial to the practice and helps patients feel they are heard.

The success of a practice depends on the satisfaction of the patients. Practices need to have a thorough understanding of where they are exceeding expectations and where they need to focus on improvement. A patient satisfaction survey is the best tool available to analyze a clinic’s strengths and weaknesses.

Having a satisfaction survey isn’t enough, however. It needs to ask the right questions. For more guidance or information, Fusion can help. Fusion specializes in organizing and optimizing the flow of pediatric physical, speech, and occupational therapy clinics. We assist in everything from scheduling to billing, ensuring a smooth patient experience from beginning to end. For more information or a personalized game plan, contact us today.