Hospitals and Health Systems

We draw upon our diverse experience and expertise to help hospitals and health systems manage day-to-day rehab operations and long-term strategic growth.

PTM’s rehab management support includes:

• Benchmarking – Using our database of over 5 million outpatient physical therapy and hand therapy visits and key financial and productivity metrics, we compare your outpatient rehab program to similar programs to identify strengths and weaknesses, improve productivity and maximize contributions.
• Human Resources/Recruiting – To deliver exemplary care while controlling staffing costs, PTM helps hospitals and health systems determine the optimal number and skill mix of therapists, assistants and aides and, more importantly, recruit the best candidates. To build a more effective team, we work with management to develop and implement incentive compensation and professional development programs designed to reward increased productivity and bolster staff satisfaction and retention.
• Strategic Planning – PTM helps rehab departments determine if and how they can benefit from adding specialized therapy programs.
• Compliance – PTM helps rehab departments navigate federal, state and local laws and regulations, making sure documentation, coding and billing consistently meet Medicare, Medicaid and other regulatory requirements.
• Education/Training – To help increase productivity, optimize outcomes and boost revenue, PTM provides regular onsite training to rehab providers and support staff. Communication and customer service training helps promote teamwork and improve the patient experience and documentation training helps clinicians minimize documentation time while remaining compliant.

Hospitals and health systems of all sizes and types have engaged us to conduct comprehensive assessments of their outpatient rehab finances, operations and regulatory compliance.

Financial – PTM uses national benchmarks to determine whether you are maximizing rehab income and, if not, where to focus improvement efforts. Other financial assessment services include:

• Determining benchmarked therapy revenue and profit based on your rehab caseload and payment rates.
• Ascertaining if therapy providers are submitting the appropriate amount of charges per patient visit.
• Evaluating provider base and incentive compensation packages to determine if they are competitive and effective.
• Assessing productivity expectations to determine if they should be modified, and if so, how.
• Providing concrete recommendations on how to improve financial performance of your rehab department.

Clinical Operations – Taking rehab caseload and other factors into consideration, PTM can help you determine the appropriate number of providers and support staff. Other operational assessment services include:

• Determining whether therapists are appropriately and efficiently utilizing assistants, aides and other support staff.
• Reviewing scheduling and authorization processes to increase patient access and minimize cancellations/no shows.
• Assessing whether and how your documentation process can be streamlined to both ensure compliance and increase provider productivity.
• Measuring and improving patient and physician satisfaction.
• Determining whether the amount of provider time spent on tasks other than direct patient care is appropriate.
• Evaluating the benefits and costs ROI of adding satellite locations and PT/OT specialty programs.

Compliance – PTM also performs documentation and compliance audits for rehab departments that include:

• Determining whether documentation complies with Medicare and other applicable payer requirements.
• Assessing whether therapists are correctly coding treatments and submitting all appropriate charges.
• Assessing the need for additional clinical, documentation or other types of training to help ensure compliance.
• Ascertaining if staff members are appropriately differentiating rules/regulations for coverage on specific units (inpatient/outpatient/IRF/SNU).
• Determining if staff appropriately differentiates supervision regulations per rehab designation.
• Determining whether your rehab department is prepared for the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits.

Rehab departments often generate lower than average profit contributions. PTM offers a full range of proven solutions to improve financial, operational and clinical performance. We work hand-in-hand with management and therapy staff to refocus efforts and create a formula for success that is tailored to the specific needs of your organization.

To revitalize a health system’s outpatient rehab department, we provide full, customized management support services. By focusing on the following tasks, our consulting assistance results in increased revenue and enhanced clinical outcomes.

• Staffing – By determining and reaching the appropriate number and skill mix of therapists, assistants and support staff, rewarding increased productivity and addressing under performance, we help create a stronger team with improved morale.
• Education/Training – Upgrading the skills of current clinical and support staff - including technical skills such as documentation and coding, soft skills such as communications and leadership, and clinical competencies - elevates the skills of team members and the rehab department as a whole, increasing physician confidence, patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes.
• Finance and Operations – Focusing on ensuring submission of all appropriate charges, proper submission processes, and follow-up on claims increases revenue and contribution margins.
• Customer Satisfaction – Setting ambitious patient and physician satisfaction goals and closely monitoring progress to ensure that targets are reached helps to promote continuous improvement.

By teaming with PTM physical therapy consultants to use our proven financial, operational, clinical and regulatory expertise, hospitals and health systems can turn their rehab department into thriving, profitable operations that organizations and rehab staff throughout the continuum of care can be proud of.