Physical Therapy Business Tips
August 24, 2024
Being a great physical therapist in today’s world can be a challenge, especially in the ever-changing landscape of the physical therapy profession. While patients can be difficult from time to time, one of the biggest challenges that physical therapists face is actually their physical therapy practice management software, which can make or break a healthy practice.
But what exactly is physical therapy practice management software, and how can you capitalize on it to accelerate your practice? Keep reading to find out why good software matters, what to look for in today’s options, and how to leverage PT software in your career more effectively.
At this point you might be wondering: wait, what is practice management software?
Physical therapy practice management software is a collection of tools that can be used to manage your physical therapy practice from your computer, including things like appointment booking, documentation, and billing, all of which are considered essential to a healthy physical therapy practice in today’s world.
Electronic medical records (EMR) are a digital version of documents and information related to a patient’s episode of care, including treatment notes, provider communication, and test results. Most healthcare providers should use EMR as a means to provide official, accurate, and personalized care to their patients.
While EMR used to be considered a competitive edge for some healthcare providers, EMR software is now considered standard and necessary for all practices.
The biggest benefits of using an effective electronic medical record (EMR) software in your practice include improving patient care and outcomes, reducing errors in your documentation process, making your work responsibilities easier to perform, and helping you remain compliant with important legal and insurance requirements.
In today’s world, there’s not denying the effectiveness of EMR software. But what exactly makes an EMR worth your time, and your money?
The best physical therapy software options available today are rich in features to boost the success of your PT practice. But there are a few features that stand above the rest in terms of overall value, most notably things like intuitive scheduling and accurate invoicing.
To help you better understand where to dedicate your software budget, let’s break down each of these top PT software features to consider for your practice one by one.
Charting (also called documenting) is undeniably one of the most draining responsibilities for a physical therapy practice, and with charting requirements becoming more robust and specific in recent years, it isn’t getting any easier to finish your daily SOAP notes.
For this reason, having flexible and customizable charting templates for your SOAP notes can not only save you time on each note, but can help you get more valuable information into your notes for better treatments down the road.
Your SOAP notes are only one part of the equation, and complete documentation should include everything from patient intake forms to progress reports. Unfortunately, most physical therapy practices are still shuffling around paper forms that are difficult to scan and organize.
PT practice management software like ClinicSense offers customizable online forms for patient assessments, consent to treat, outcome measures, and patient satisfaction, all of which are majorly important in giving your patient a seamless experience with your practice.
You might be lucky enough to have a front office staff who schedules patient appointments for you, but many therapists are expected to schedule appointments for their own patients. Without the right software to do this efficiently, it’s easy to fall behind on your day and make mistakes when scheduling appointments for your patients.
Software that allows for one-click online scheduling with easily adjustable appointment types and lengths can be the difference between getting your patient scheduled quickly and falling behind for your next appointment of the day. Don’t sleep on this one!
Of course, even if you schedule all of your patient appointments perfectly, your patients might still forget they had an appointment scheduled in the first place. Even the best patients miss appointments sometimes, but consistent problems with missed appointments can lead to lost revenue and compromised patient satisfaction.
With built-in appointment reminder software, your patients can get reminders at predetermined intervals leading up to their appointments to increase their likelihood of showing up. Even if your patient realizes they can’t make their appointment, an earlier canceled or rescheduled appointment means that you can open that spot up for another patient in need, saving lost time and revenue.
Have you ever gotten a medical bill in the mail, months after receiving care, with the expectation to pay over the phone? What a hassle! In today’s world, patients expect to be billed for their care in the most timely and convenient way possible, otherwise they’ll take their business elsewhere.
Timely invoicing and payments means more consistent revenue from your customers, and that’s important for keeping your practice running in the long term. Look for software that automates and optimizes your invoicing process to boost your annual earning and patient retention.
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Patient privacy is one of the most important components of care in just about any healthcare profession, and violating regulations like HIPAA can seriously hurt your physical therapy practice. Although serious violations aren’t that common, you shouldn’t have to live in constant worry of breaking the rules or compromising your patient’s personal information.
Having a physical therapy practice management software with built-in compliance features is a must for any PT practice that wants to treat patients with peace of mind. Better yet, it protects your patients’ personal information and helps maintain your practice’s reputation.
A good physical therapy practice owner can make money but a great practice owner takes the time to understand where their earnings are coming from, how they can improve, and what steps need to be taken next to grow their practice to the next level. This is where financial reports and analytics come in!
Luckily, good physical therapy practice management software can help you take charge of your cash flow and plan for the future. For example, ClinicSense gives you a birds-eye view of your business with a suite of reports to help you feel confident about numbers, making tax season a lot simpler.
More engaged clients are happier clients, and intelligent outreach strategies can help set your practice apart from all of the noise and competition. Engagement can mean a lot of different things, but great physical therapy practice management software should help you create more meaningful touch points with your patients.
Whether it’s email newsletters or appointment follow-ups, a well-designed physical therapy practice management software like ClinicSense can help you build stronger client relationships, while also increasing client retention, all at no extra cost to your practice.
Although great PT practice software is vital for keeping your practice healthy, there are plenty of other software options to enhance your patient care and improve your bottom line. Some examples of these include home exercise program builders, health system databases, and financial management platforms.
For example, if you use Square to process payments from your clients, you can integrate that software into ClinicSense for a cohesive one-stop experience instead of juggling multiple windows and login sessions, saving your precious time and energy.
One of the big themes in physical therapy practice management software over the last few years is automating tedious or time-sensitive tasks that can be handled through less laborious means. Tired of calling your patients with appointment reminders or manually sending appointment forms? There’s a way to automate that!
Good PT software should have a robust selection of automation functions. For example, ClinicSense offers automated sending of appointment reminders, patient forms, follow-up emails, and marketing materials to help you save time and effort.
You’ve probably noticed that we’ve mentioned ClinicSense more than a few times in this guide, and for good reason. In a world of lackluster PT software, ClinicSense sets itself apart with all of the features mentioned above and more!
With a long list of valuable features spanning from customizable SOAP note templates, to simplified patient invoicing, to effortless software integrations, ClinicSense tops the list of physical therapy practice management software and is an easy choice for physical therapists who want to take their practice to the next level.
Need to try it for yourself first? You can book a free trial of ClinicSense today and start enjoying the benefits of innovative physical therapy practice management software right now.
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