Physical Therapy Software | Choosing the right features

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physical therapy billing softwareBy Thomas Champine

In part 1 and part 2 of this series on physical therapy software and practice management we highlighted the anticipated results of the expected increase in our patient population due to baby boomers as well as some operational considerations that must be met by your physical therapy practice to manage this shift. In today’s final installment we will address the administrative side of a growing physical therapy practice–  can your current physical therapy practice management software program handle an increase in scheduling, records, and physical therapy claims processing?

While a majority of physical therapy practices have moved to some level of digital information management due to the HIT Stimulus, a similar majority still maintain some sort of records in a paper form. The increase is expected to be so significant that paper systems will become obsolete and useless.  Have you looked into a completely digital physical therapy billing and practice management solution for your physical therapy practice?  

Here are some key aspects that you should look for in a physical therapy billing software solution: 

  1. Is it accessible? -When looking for a solution you must take into consideration how you want to use it.   If you are comfortable with needing to be in the office to use the solution then a box program may be best for you.  If you want web based access then an internet solution would be best.
  2. Is the system scale-able?– No matter which solution you chose you should ask the question of weather or not the system can handle in increase in patient information, claims submission and workflow management that will be necessary to handle the influx of patients
  3. Is the system secure?– ONC Certification and HIPAA Compliance are becoming a requirement for all healthcare software for both security and accountability reasons.  The software that you chose must be ONC Certified and HIPAA Compliant so you do not have the need to change in the near future.
These are just a few of the things to look for when deciding which solution to use.  Wether you decide to keep your current solution or move on to an improved process, the plan needs to be in place to accommodate the expected increase in this demographic.