PHOENIX, Ariz. – October 2014 – Data collected from more than 500,000 patient visits to physical therapy clinics provide real-world clinical PT benchmarks that can help physician practices optimize their PT practices.
PT Management Support Systems, a leader in managing PT/OT programs for physician groups and other healthcare providers, offers its findings in the October issue of AAOS Now, the monthly publication of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
“(PT) Benchmarks can help an orthopaedic practice determine whether its PT program is operating at an optimal level, what functions need improvement, and how to make those improvements,’’ says Cary B. Edgar, PTM President and author of “Benchmarking PT Programs: Use benchmarking to measure and improve productivity.”
PTM analyzed data from more about 500,000 visits to PT clinics owned and operated by orthopaedic groups from January 2013 through June 2014. This data included procedures per work hour; visits per day; payments per visit; costs per visit; and other PT-specific metrics.
The data point the way to better practices by highlighting various clinical and administrative inefficiencies. Among other findings, the data show that therapists often under code; scheduling practices do not accommodate as many patients as possible; therapists may be spending too much time on non-billable activities; patients often self-discharge because they do not see the value of therapy; and authorization, billing, and claims denial follow-up procedures are lax.
“Orthopaedic practices can strengthen their ancillary PT practices by applying the findings of these data,” Edgar says. “Inefficiencies can typically be easily addressed with clinical and administrative changes that often improve the quality of care and patient satisfaction.”
Access Edgar’s article on benchmarking →
To learn more about PT benchmarks, contact Cary Edgar.
