It's Time to Take Off All Those Hats! Take Advantage of Physical Therapy Technology and Resources
For those of you with small children, you may be familiar with the “Do you like my hat?” line from P.D. Eastman’s Go, Dog. Go! Throughout the story, a dog asks another dog if he likes her hat, to which he responds, “I do not like that hat.” Finally, at the end of the story, when she asks the same question wearing a hat with an abundance of non-sensical accessories, the other dog replies that he likes that party hat!
Unfortunately, as a Physical Therapy clinic owner or manager, wearing too many hats is a recipe for disaster. There really has never been a better time to take advantage of amazing new resources and technology for PTs that can limit the number of hats you have to wear to run your clinic.
PTs are already at a breaking point in terms of survival as illustrated by the May 2023 APTA report on COVID-19’s impact on the PT profession. If you have not had a chance to read this report, please do (or at least read Appendix B: Timeline, which reminds us how overwhelming that period was). Even though PTs faced immense pressure in this period, the report highlights the resounding message that PTs impact our communities and the overall health of society. PTs were quick to get vaccinated (and take responsibility for the safety of their patients) and fast to adapt telehealth technology into their practice since only 4% were offering this service pre-COVID. As we can see, despite the challenges faced during the COVID-19 epidemic, PTs were able to adapt and transform.
Even with the positive strides taken by the profession during such a tumultuous period, there was clear evidence of heightened stress and anxiety amongst PTs, the very people who understand how to overcome cognitive barriers in the attainment of healthy forward movement. About 60% of therapists reported that they made lifestyle changes during COVID and 55% are still suffering from decreased revenue. Now include the staffing shortages and increased operating fees… and what your likely feeling is more than just a migraine.
Leveraging newly available resources and technology for PTs is the clear solution for the profession. As skilled therapists, we evaluate each individual patient and determine what is needed in order to improve and help return the patient to their prior or optimal level of function. We select the type of therapy, services, techniques, and modality parameters by using our clinical judgement when we create a unique plan of care.
Why then, don’t we apply this exact same strategy for our own success inside the clinic? How can we recover from these past few years and thrive without the risk of burnout?
Answer: Stop wearing all the hats by taking advantage of readily available physical therapy technology and resources!
We all want to provide outstanding evidenced-based patient care, but how do you keep up with constantly changing payor rules (on 3/1/2024 Aetna just applied the 15% PTA payment reduction) and a massive cyber-attack on February 21st limiting claim submissions nationwide. The APTA does a great job of trying to communicate this information, but interpretating and implementing the necessary changes is where the rubber meets the road. Action is required, but 99% of the time it makes little sense to physically re-create the wheel when tools and resources have already been developed to help save you time, energy, and money.
As a doctorate level profession, we pride ourselves on knowing where to look for quality references and content. It’s time to look again at what’s available on the market and what can help bring success to you and your practice. Click below to learn how affordable it is to access the benefits of becoming a member of the Risk & Compliance Analytics website. Stop wearing all those hats and focus on what’s truly important: providing excellent patient care and maintaining a healthy business.
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