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A New Online Learning Tool On How to Reduce ICD-10 Transition Pain for Physical Therapy Practice Owners

September 29, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Compliance, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Dream Practice /by bestPT

ICD-10 GEMs PLUS Solution Is Now Available with bestPT Billing and EHR Software

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

bestPT Billing and EHR Software helps their clients make a smooth transition to ICD-10. Their 5 part strategy called bestPT GEMs Plus ensures that Physical Therapists make the best ICD-10 code selection. bestPT’s code selection tool remains effective beyond the transition helping practice owners to keep up with continuous changes inflicted by insurance companies. Click here to learn more.

According to Dr. Eldad De-Medonsa, bestPTs’ President and PhD in Artificial Intelligence, the effects of the transition to ICD-10 will remain unknown for some time. “The only thing that is certain about the transition to ICD-10 is that insurance companies leverage its challenges and uncertainties to delay longer and underpay more insurance claims. Because of a huge increase in the number of codes, a simple one-to-one mapping between the old and the new codes does not exist, as demonstrated in the standard GEMs tool. We leverage the cloud, billing experts, and Artificial Intelligence to analyze millions of insurance claims and generate effective transition rules,” says De-Medonsa.

Click here to learn more.

About BestPT and Billing Dynamix, LLC.:
BestPT by Billing Dynamix is a comprehensive cloud-based Physical Therapy Practice Management system that includes intuitive EMR, industry-leading billing, scheduling, and powerful yet simple workflow management. Save documentation time and keep legible and compliant documents. Automate claims and leverage over 2.5 million coding rules spanning 2,500 practice-years of experience. Reduce administrative overhead and foster staff teamwork. bestPT is the ONLY Physical Therapy clinic solution that reduces administrative time by 70% compared to industry averages – GUARANTEED. Complete practice management consulting and a rich array of integrated products and services round out bestPT product and service packages. Register for a private Demo+, and review our industry-leading guarantee.

A New Online Learning Tool On How to Accelerate Physical Therapy Practice Growth Using Checklists

September 22, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Compliance, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Dream Practice /by bestPT

Checklist Technology Is Now Available in bestPT Billing and EHR Software

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA (PRWEB) JULY 22, 2015

Practice owners fail to control and scale up patient visit experience when they rely exclusively on their memory and do not measure their practice performance. Without measuring, practice owners do not know that they have a revenue or a patient retention problem. Learn about it here.

According to Jason Barnes, COO for bestPT Billing and EHR Software, the first step in building any repeatable and scalable process is to define process performance and uniformity metrics. “The tasks are grouped together in a category for tracking purposes. The tasks can then be measured using the Task Manager Console across all patients or filtered down to a patient, to measure the success of the process across the practice or with an individual,” says Barnes. “For instance, the patient intake process might have 10 steps. If one of the steps is neglected, the problem would be manifested by the Task Manager Console reading a completion rate of 90%. The tasks can be sorted and the offending task can be rooted out and either changed or have additional staff training to achieve better results.”

Learn about bestPT Billing and EMR Software checklist technology here.

About BestPT and Billing Dynamix, LLC.:
BestPT by Billing Dynamix is a comprehensive cloud-based Physical Therapy Practice Management system that includes intuitive EMR, industry-leading billing, scheduling, and powerful yet simple workflow management. Save documentation time and keep legible and compliant documents. Automate claims and leverage over 2.5 million coding rules spanning 2,500 practice-years of experience. Reduce administrative overhead and foster staff teamwork. bestPT is the ONLY Physical Therapy clinic solution that reduces administrative time by 70% compared to industry averages – GUARANTEED. Complete practice management consulting and a rich array of integrated products and services round out bestPT product and service packages. Register for a private Demo+, and review our industry-leading guarantee.

Physical Therapists Now Use bestPT’s Workflow System to Manage Revenue Cycle and Improve Billing Processes

September 17, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Compliance, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Dream Practice /by bestPT

bestPT adds powerful new reporting features to its revenue cycle workflow control software to help practice owners improve collections and profitability

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA (PRWEB) JUNE 21, 2015

bestPT simplifies revenue cycle management through the use of it’s revolutionary workflow management process. More money to the practice creates financial stability for the owner and the employees and results in a stronger practice that is able to grow and serve more patients. Transparent reporting includes real-time automated alerts to notify process owners and participants about any problems or delays. This system enables practice owners to keep track of their claims, along with all other relevant work, in a single location. bestPT helps practice owners create a systematic revenue cycle management improvement process while providing them complete quality monitoring and control. View our free webinar here to learn more.

See exactly which claims were underpaid or delayed, and what needs to be done to fix that.

According to David Alben, the princial consultant at Genco Healthcare Management, the efficiency of bestPT system is the reason why their reimbursements are paid in full and on time. “Which claims have been paid and which claims haven’t been paid? Who owes you the money? How long have they owed you the money? The whole issue between insurance approved amount and usual and customary charges. All of those things are confusing. Insurance companies have placed barriers to payments because it’s in their interest to do that.”

According to Tom Jorno, PT Excellence Center Director at Billing Dynamix, bestPT’s Revenue Cycle Workflow automates the process of claim submission, follow up, and control. “Claims are automatically created with a preselected fee schedule and scrubbed against millions of rules prior to submission,” says Jorno. “The software allows them to see exactly which claims were underpaid or delayed, and what needs to be done to fix that.”

At the end of the day, bestPT summarizes all of this information into a single metric that can be monitored helping ensure that no claim is left behind and every underpayment or delay has been followed up on. The practice only has to clear one backlog a day with specifically worded instructions to maximize revenue. Any claim not addressed is easily identified by both practice stakeholder and practice success coach to locate the breakdown in process or ownership. Click here to sign up for the free webinar about bestPT’s workflow.

About BestPT and Billing Dynamix, LLC
BestPT by Billing Dynamix is a comprehensive cloud-based Physical Therapy Practice Management system that includes intuitive EMR, industry-leading billing, scheduling, and powerful yet simple workflow management. Save documentation time and keep legible and compliant documents. Automate claims and leverage over 2.5 million coding rules spanning 2,500 practice-years of experience. Reduce administrative overhead and foster staff teamwork. BestPT is the ONLY Physical Therapy clinic solution that reduces administrative time by 70% compared to industry averages – GUARANTEED. Complete practice management consulting and a rich array of integrated products and services round out bestPT product and service packages. Register for a private Demo+, and review our industry-leading guarantee.

Automate Your Complex Patient Care Plans

August 20, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing Webinars, Physical Therapy practice management, Physical Therapy Software /by bestPT

With Browser Pop-up Messages You Will Love!

Physical Therapy Practices repeat the same list of tasks for each patient and are all of those steps getting done? How do you and your staff remember all of the steps to do for each patient, multiplied by hundreds of patients? If each patient generates 10 things to do multiplied by just 100 patients this week, that’s 1,000 steps to remember and to actually do.

Imagine a system that automatically alerts your staff with a pop-up message that reminds them to do this, this and this for that patient. Imagine a tool that tells your staff exactly what needs to be done today and they actually get it done. Imagine a practice owner having 100% follow-up with every task for every patient. Imagine automated care plans that incorporate automatic reminders. Imagine the increased revenue for your Physical Therapy Practice and the happy staff who know what to do each day without being told specifically by you.

Well, imagine no more. The tool is called bestPT’s Alerts and Notifications and you can learn about it in this 20 minute webinar. It will be time well spent!

physical therapy billing and patient scheduling

Physical Therapists Now Use bestPT’s Scheduling Workflow to Manage Patient Relationships

August 4, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Compliance, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Dream Practice /by bestPT

bestPT’s software adds patient appointment quality control to help practice owners improve patient experience

(PRWEB) MAY 12, 2015

bestPT simplifies scheduling and patient relationship management through the use of it’s revolutionary workflow management process. This system enables practice owners to keep track of their patient visits, along with all other relevant work, in a single location. bestPT helps practice owners create a systematic patient relationship management process while providing them complete quality monitoring and control.

According to Nick Roselli, OTR/L, CHT, owner of NR-OT network of Occupational Therapy practices, the efficiency of bestPT system is the reason why their reimbursements are paid in full and on time. “Do I take this insurance patient and lose money or do I turn them away and risk losing a referral source? That’s everything. You talk about efficiency? That’s efficiency with bestPT.”

According to Tom Jorno, PT Excellence Center Director at Billing Dynamix, bestPT’s Scheduling Workflow automates the process of patient appointment scheduling, follow up, and control. “…it allows the practice owner and their staff to see precisely which patients require attention on any given day. The software allows them to see exactly which patients missed their appointments, which ones don’t have a future appointment scheduled, and what needs to be done to fix that,” says Jorno.

That’s everything. You talk about efficiency? That’s efficiency with bestPT

At the end of the day, bestPT summarizes all of this information into a single metric that can be monitored helping ensure that every missed appointment and every patient without future appointments has been followed up on. Click here to sign up for the free webinar about bestPT’s patient no-show workflow management.

About BestPT and Billing Dynamix, LLC
BestPT by Billing Dynamix is a comprehensive cloud-based Physical Therapy Practice Management system that includes intuitive EMR, industry-leading billing, scheduling, and powerful yet simple workflow management. Save documentation time and keep legible and compliant documents. Automate claims and leverage over 2.5 million coding rules spanning 2,500 practice-years of experience. Reduce administrative overhead and foster staff teamwork. BestPT is the ONLY Physical Therapy clinic solution that reduces administrative time by 70% compared to industry averages – GUARANTEED. Complete practice management consulting and a rich array of integrated products and services round out bestPT product and service packages. Register for a private Demo+, and review our industry-leading guarantee at https://bestptbilling.com/

Grow Your Practice With Task Checklists

July 2, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing Webinars, Physical Therapy practice management, Physical Therapy Software /by bestPT

How Do You Track Every Task in Your Physical Therapy Practice?

Physical Therapy Practices repeat the same list of tasks for each patient and for other processes in the office as well. Are all of those tasks getting done? How do you assign tasks to various staff members? Post-it-Notes? How do you know if your staff has completed all of their work today? Do you have a system in place to track it?

Imagine a system that automatically assigns tasks to your staff with a few clicks. Imagine a tool that tells your staff exactly what needs to be done today and they actually get it done. Imagine a practice owner having 100% follow-up with every task for every patient. Imagine the increased revenue for your Physical Therapy Practice and the happy staff who know what to do each day without being told.

Well, imagine no more. The tool is called bestPT Task Checklists and you can learn about it in this 15 minute webinar. It will be time well spent.

Revenue: Workflow Dictates the Money

June 4, 2015/2 Comments/in Physical Therapy Billing Webinars, Physical Therapy practice management, Physical Therapy Software /by bestPT

How Do You Track Unpaid Insurance Claims in Your Physical Therapy Practice?

Physical Therapy Practices rely on separate reports to keep track of Insurance Claims that are either paid, rejected or unprocessed. Are all of your claims being paid as they should be? How do you detect if the insurance companies are deliberately underpaying your claims?

Imagine never using a report to find out which claims are paid and which are not. Imagine a tool that tells your billing staff exactly which claim is unpaid and for what reason. Imagine that this process was automatic. Imagine 100% follow-up with every insurance claim. Imagine the increased revenue for your Physical Therapy Practice when you correct and submit every insurance claim.

Well, imagine no more. The tool is called bestPT Workflow and you can learn about it in this 18 minute webinar. It will be time well spent.

Put a Stop to Memory Management and Missed Visits For Good!

April 29, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing Webinars, Physical Therapy practice management, Physical Therapy Software /by bestPT

How Do You Keep Track of No Shows for Your Physical Therapy Practice?

Physical Therapy Practices rely on separate reports and paper notes for following up on patient no shows. Who’s responsible to call the patient when they miss their appointment. Do they call right away or do they put it off? Who follows up with that person to make sure that they did it?

Imagine never using a report to find out who missed their appointment. Imagine a tool that tells your staff exactly who to call and for what reason. Imagine that this process was automatic. Imagine 100% follow-up with every patient. Imagine the increased revenue for your Physical Therapy Practice when you re-schedule every no show.

Well, imagine no more. The tool is called bestPT Workflow and you can learn about it in this 20 minute webinar. It will be time well spent.

Falls, Exercise and Evidence in Physical Therapy

April 20, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy patient care, Physical Therapy Software /by bestPT

Does exercise really help reduce falls? As physical therapists, we educate our clients in the importance of exercise daily. Of course, we know that exercise truly does reduce fall risk. Some clients are eager to exercise, experiencing an increase in energy and improved confidence with their mobility and walking. However, others need some convincing to jump on the exercise bandwagon. As a physical therapist, I love to educate my clients in strategies to keep them as independent and active as possible. Utilizing medical research studies provides great evidence to support exercise for independence. Here we will review the correlation between older adults, falls, healthcare and exercise.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 3 adults over age 65 years falls each year, in the United States. Almost half of individuals over age 80 fall each year. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death in this age group. Falls not only impact the independence and quality of life of individuals as they age, but they also are very costly to the healthcare system. According to the CDC, the direct medical costs of falls among older adults in 2013, was $34 billion. Because of an aging population, this figure is likely to continue increasing. The direct costs are calculated by insurance reimbursements for treating fall-related injuries. This does not include the long term costs for future disability, dependence on others, lost work time and lower quality of life. It is estimated that the average hospitalization cost for a fall injury is over $35,000. As therapists, we know that conservative treatment through physical therapy can reduce healthcare costs drastically. It is much less expensive for insurance companies to pay for 12 visits of physical therapy, than to pay for a hip replacement and all the aftercare necessary.

Those staggering statistics can be a bit discouraging for older adults. By educating clients in the modifiable risk factors, they can take an active role in reducing their own fall risk. Research shows that risk factors highly associated with fall risk include: history of falls, balance problems, leg muscle weakness, vision problems, taking more than 4 medications, and difficulty walking. Many of these factors can be significantly reduced through exercise. Exercises should focus on leg strengthening, balance training and flexibility. There are many published medical research studies to support this claim.

In a study systematic review of literature performed by Gillespie et al.(1), 111 clinical trials were reviewed to analyze the efficacy of exercise in reducing fall risk. The authors concluded that exercise interventions reduce both the risk and rate of falling in older adults. In another review of literature, Powers et al.(2) examined what type of exercise has the greatest impact on reducing falls. They found that a program of muscle strengthening and balance training that was individualized to a person’s need (one prescribed by a trained health professional, such as a physical therapist) was highly beneficial. In addition, they found that Tai Chi group exercise was shown to reduce risk of falls, as was participation in a home hazard assessment and modification session. Group exercise classes were beneficial, but not as beneficial as individualized exercise programs. As therapists, we should consider incorporating Tai Chi as part of home exercise programs. Also, we should educate our patients in home safety strategies to reduce environmental hazards.

In another systematic review of the published literature, 54 trials were analyzed by Sherrington et al.(3), and found that exercise was the single best intervention to prevent falls. This study noted that the exercise program must challenge the balance and improve muscle strength through resistance training. The exercise program should be progressive and individualized to the client’s needs and limitations.

The main learning points of these research reviews are that the exercise programs must be tailored to individual limitations. If the client has limited strength in their hip flexors and trunk, then they will not be able to properly elicit a hip strategy to maintain balance. Therefore, the exercise program should focus on strengthening those areas of weakness. In addition, the client’s balance improves, you will need to progress the difficulty of the exercise for continued improvement. These strategies all seem like common sense to an experienced clinician. However, sometimes patient’s need to see the proof that therapy can improve their safety and independence as they age.

As therapists, we must be our own advocates. The physical therapist is a vital component of the healthcare team. We are the most capable healthcare experts to reduce the risk of falls in aging adults, through a thorough evaluation and treatment plan. We should empower our clients with a comprehensive and easy to follow home exercise program, in order to further improve their confidence and independence after completion of physical therapy. So, next time you have a client that is not a believer, show him the evidence that exercise truly does reduce fall risk.

Utilization of outcome measurement tools, functional mobility tasks and simple examination components such as single leg balance, and tandem stance are excellent means of demonstrating improvement in physical performance and reduced fall risk. Through utilization of bestPT software, we can easily document objective measures and compare pre and post intervention outcomes. These improvements can be easily faxed, printed and shared with our clients and their other healthcare providers. You will be able to turn skeptics into therapy believers.

Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.

Gillespie LD, Robertson MC, Gillespie WJ, Lamb SE, Gates S, Cumming RG, Rowe BH. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Apr 15;(2): CD007146.
Powers C, Farrokhi S, Moreno J. Can exercise reduce the incidence of falls in the elderly, and, if so, what form of exercise is most effective? Physical Therapy. 2002 Nov vol 82; no 11; 1124-1130.
Sherrington C, Tiedemann A, Fairhall N, Close JC, Lord SR. Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated meta-analysis and best practice recommendations. N S W Public Health Bull. 2011 Jun;22(3-4): 78-83.

Dr. Amy Vant, DPT

Caring for the Complex Pelvic Patient Part III: Outcome and Reflection

March 31, 2015/in Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Compliance, Physical Therapy Documentation /by bestPT

In the third and final installment of this three part series: Caring for the complex patient, we will review the patient’s presentation and discuss the outcomes following treatment and how documentation using bestPT supported the treatment.

The patient was a 34 year old female referred to physical therapy (PT) by her obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) for evaluation of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). The patient presented to physical therapy para 2 grava 2 (P2G2) indicating 2 pregnancies and 2 live births. On the day of evaluation she was 5.5 weeks post vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) of her second child. Her primary concern was a feeling of heaviness and a sense that her organs were falling out, especially during standing and lifting tasks. Her physician had not yet performed a complete six week post-delivery examination, though this appointment was scheduled for three days after physical therapy evaluation.

The patient reported neither pain nor unintentional loss of urine (incontinence), though she felt weak throughout the abdominals and pelvic floor. Pertinent past medical history consisted of cesarean section 11/19/12 (almost two years prior to PT evaluation date) with subsequent hematoma at the surgical site which resolved with use of an abdominal binder. She is otherwise a very healthy woman with no comorbidities. The patient lived at home with her husband and two children, works as a physician assistant specializing in hospital based gastroenterology which requires prolonged standing during procedures and patient rounds. She is an avid runner and aerobics instructor. Her primary goal was to be able to safely lift each of her children without the sense of heaviness in the pelvis. Secondary goals were to return to running and teaching aerobics classes which are her primary sources of recreation and stress reduction.

Physical therapy examination revealed abdominal strength to be 3+/5 on the Kendall scale. The Pelvic Floor Impact Questionaire (PFIQ-7) was utilized as standardized outcome tool. This patient received a score total of 0 on the bladder and rectum subsets, and a score of 19 on the pelvis subset for a total score of 19 on the scale. Internal examination and musculoskeletal physical therapy differential diagnosis included pelvic floor dysfunction resulting in prolapse, and increased abdominal pressure due to visceral adhesions from previous c-section.

Treatment technique can be reviewed in the previous post, Caring for the Complex Patient Part II: Treatment Techniques. The patient received manual therapy to the pfannensteil incision including scar mobilization, myofascial release to the abdominal muscles, psoas, hip girdle, and pelvic musculature. She received a progressive pelvic floor muscle and abdominal strengthening program for in clinic and at home. She was progressed from supine position to finally a dynamic co-ordinated exercise program to prepare her for more strenuous activities of daily living and running. Additionally, she received a post-partum educational packet from the APTA and she was educated in safe lifting mechanics for the back and pelvis, as well as self scar tissue management.

The patient attended six physical therapy visits. According to the American Physical Therapy Associations’s “Guide to Physical Therapy”, a clinician can expect a treatment duration of anywhere from 6-36 visits. Her initial sensation of falling out in the pelvic floor subsided significantly. She was able to conduct household activities, lift her toddler or infant with minimal symptoms, and gradually returned to running after approximately two and a half months of physical therapy (approximately three and half months post-partum). She was independent in her home exercises and felt prepared to manage her symptoms independently at the end of the sixth visit. Her goals had been met, and she appeared to understand the importance of maintaining her home exercise program.

The Pfannenstiel incision improved in mobility, and scored a 7/10 on the Vancouver Scar Scale, which was down from her initial score of 10/13. Her final PFIQ score was 5, down from 19. Upon discharge, the prolapse was graded as follows: in supine hooklying Grade I anterior wall, Grade II posterior wall, with bearing down Grade II anterior wall, Grade III posterior wall. In standing the anterior wall was graded I and posterior wall II, and with bearing down the anterior wall was graded II, and posterior wall a grade III.

Upon reflection, this patient had great outcomes which can be attributed to the patient’s motivation and overall adherence to her program. All things considered she may have benefited from the use of Electromyograph (EMG) biofeedback for enhanced learning of pelvic floor muscle isolation. While currently no literature demonstrates benefits of biofeedback specifically for pelvic organ prolapse, there is evidence in support use of biofeedback training for under active pelvic floor muscles associated with urinary incontinence. One may extrapolate that biofeedback may be beneficial in the provision of visual and proprioceptive feedback to enhance pelvic floor muscle strengthening. The patient presented with very good control of the pelvic floor muscles to begin with, thus biofeeedback was not deemed emergent.

Furthernmore, the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/ Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire (PSIQ-12), or the Pelvic Organ Prolapse symptom scale (POP-SS) may have been utilized as an outcome measure, though due to her post-natal status it seemed more pressing to determine the nature of disability across all pelvic floor conditions in relation to her activities of daily living.

Vaginal birth after cesarean is a growing trend, though is still quite rare in some regions of the United States. Understanding the complex nature of the interactions between the impaired pelvic floor following vaginal birth coupled with pre-existing scarring and soft tissue adhesions from prior abdominal or gynecological surgery is necessary in order to address a Pelvic Organ Prolapse. In the event that the patient did not progress with reduction of prolapse symptoms, she would have then been referred to a gynecologist for fitting of a pessary. In this case this was not necessary.

Documentation supported the treatment of this patient throughout. Thankfully, bestPT allows for input of unique characteristics of the patient, and documentation for each treatment session was efficient.

-Amanda Olson, DPT

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