Running a pediatric physical therapy clinic can be complicated. There’s more on your plate than patient care and, most of the time, onboarding more staff simply isn’t an option. Not to worry. Here are a few pediatric physical therapy practice management dos and don’ts.
Do: Automate Administrative Functions
There’s more to running a physical, speech, or occupational therapy clinic than excellent patient care. Administrative burdens are a huge pain point for practitioners of all specialties. When a clinic’s focus is split between assessments, treatment plans, intake, scheduling, billing, reporting, and more, clinic staff can end up running themselves ragged. Perhaps one of the most important practice management tips we can share is to entrust your EMR with these tasks. Look for practice management software that allows you to effortlessly manage schedules, securely stores documents for easy access, and provides insights to help you make decisions about your clinic.
Do: Analyze What’s Working and What Isn’t
How will you be able to improve the tomorrow of your clinic without knowing what is and isn’t working today? Reporting and insights should be an essential part of any clinic’s functional planning. Form better hypotheses and answer important questions like “What percent of my scheduled appointments end up being no-shows?” and “What CPT codes are generating the most revenue?” With an understanding of what propels your clinic forward and what is holding it back, you can optimize your activities to streamline your organization, build a more profitable practice, and more.
Do: Offer Teletherapy
The COVID pandemic catapulted telehealth from nifty tech to an absolute necessity. This need, however, does not disappear when the pandemic does. As a pediatric physical therapist, you may serve patients who struggle to meet with you in person due to mobility or developmental issues. So, continuing to offer teletherapy allows you to better treat these patients in a way that is inclusive and accommodating. Teletherapy sessions also allow you to broaden your reach, allowing you to serve patients and their families you may not have been able to treat before.
Don’t: Forget about Billing
Insurance billing may not come as easily to you as patient care. And that’s okay, but even if you’re seeing a steady flow of patients, your clinic could still be suffering financially from ineffective revenue cycle management (RCM). RCM is the process of creating charges, submitting claims to insurance companies, and the following those reimbursements through. Unfortunately, claim management is complicated and insurance companies aren’t making it any easier. Each has different requirements for claim processing, and it can be impossible for you to keep track of all of that on top of your patient care.
Denied claims are rampant in the physical therapy world and could be costing your clinic revenue. When you onboard a billing tool like Assisted Billing with revenue cycle management, you can trust that your EMR is at the ready to make sure you’re maximizing your insurance reimbursements.
Don’t: Spread Your Clinic Across Too Many Tools
You wouldn’t see a carpenter carry identical hammers onto a roof, so why would you use more software than you need? In our modern digital world, we are inundated with promising miracle platforms, but having too many systems can easily get out of hand. Each new practice management tool brings with it new passwords, new security and interoperability concerns, more staff trainings, etc. Consolidate your tools to a single software suite where telehealth, documentation, billing, and anything else you may need are only a click away.
Don’t: Wait to Onboard an EMR
As a medical professional, everywhere you turn you see the changes happening in the health IT landscape. Regardless of what legislature is most up-to-date and how it affects you as a physical, speech, or occupational therapist, it’s time to either start thinking about onboarding practice management tools like EMRs or, if you already work with one, evaluating if it is going to best serve your clinic and your patients for the long haul. Meaningful use and interoperability may seem like a lot to digest, especially when patient care is your passion, and partnering with a trusted EMR can lay a clear path through the health IT revolution.
Practice Management Done Right
You know how to best treat your patients, make sure you have what you need to best take care of your clinic. If you’re interested in learning more about an EMR designed specifically for your specialty that is intuitive, advanced, and stays out of the way, schedule a demo with Fusion Web Clinic today.