Have you heard the story about the poor Chinese farmer whose work horse ran away? Hearing that the farmer’s livelihood had just disappeared over the hills, the townspeople cried, “This is horrible. What misfortune.” To which the farmer replied, “Perhaps.”
Private practice owners are all familiar with the cost containment portion of the Quadruple Aim (enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving the work life of health care providers, including clinicians and staff).1 Metrics like vacancy rate, denial rates, new patients, and units per hour all make our list of key performance indicators (KPIs).
I graduate from physical therapy school in 1997 without a laptop, smartphone, or email address. We didn’t have a single lecture on marketing and even if we had, I’m not certain it would be relevant in today’s digital world. It is safe to say that over the past 20 years, my partners and I have made plenty of mistakes when it came to marketing for our practice. In this article, I will share some of the most critical lessons learned.
In recent years, the Office of Inspector General, among other Medicare entities, has intensified review claims on physical therapists in private practice. As a practice owner, you must be aware of what to do when you open your mail and find a request for documentation. Providers who have a high percentage of patients who’ve exceeded the $3,700 threshold as of the end of 2017 may be targeted. However, there are other reasons why a request for documentation may be sent.
2018 began with a change in the value of many Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes used by physical therapists to bill the Medicare program for their services. Some increased, others diminished, but overall, the value assigned to physical therapy services by both federal and commercial payers continues to threaten the viability of the private practitioner.
