Telehealth Resources Can Help Grow Your Practice

July 1, 2020

How Can Orthopedists and Physical Therapists
Make the Most of Telehealth?

What to look for in a telehealth resource for physical therapy

Before the pandemic, some responded with disbelief at the mere idea of virtual care in physical therapy. How can this be successful without interaction in-person?

What a difference a pandemic can make. Healthcare providers of all kinds frantically rushed to select a telehealth mechanism to keep them in touch with patients as stay at home orders rained down. Payers thankfully responded by changing the rules to provide coverage for virtual physical therapy care.

Is it time to evaluate what you’ve got?

So, now that you’ve had some time with the telehealth modality you may have selected in a panic, what do you think? Is it suiting your needs and helping you grow your practice? If not, it’s time to evaluate what a digital health company could be doing to strategically solve your problems.

Though there were doubters before telehealth was an absolute necessity, this technology improves access to care and can elevate the quality of care that physical therapists provide. But when evaluating providers, what benefits and features should you look for?

Ask yourself the following:

Does the technology fit in with our scheduling and documenting process?
Is the technology easy to use?
Does the telehealth provider work seamlessly with our billing platform?
Does the technology enable ongoing communication with our patients to ask follow up questions?
Does the telehealth system help patients stay compliant with their plan of care?
Does the technology allow for remote patient monitoring to ensure the plan of care is being followed?
Can you collect patient outcomes data through the technology to build on and improve the best practices you’ve established in exercise protocols?
Does the technology provide your practice with a new revenue stream?

More than just an appointment online

You may have never thought about a telehealth platform providing you with a means to keep patients compliant, collect patient outcomes data and provide your practice with additional revenue. But this technology exists and you should take advantage of it.

PT Genie is one such digital health provider that not only keeps therapists connected to patients outside the office, it provides valuable outcomes data to help you measure patient progress – and demonstrate results to stakeholders.

PT Genie is a remote patient monitoring system through which patients wear small sensors and follow a guided home exercise program on a tablet. The system measures reps, range of motion and patient-reported pain levels. The system acts as a virtual coach and results tracker. You determine their plan of care and then watch the patient’s progress in real time on your therapist dashboard.

Patient motivation

Patients stay motivated to stick with the program as they watch their progress on the patient dashboard. A study of 124 post-operative patients that used PT Genie showed that patient compliance increased from 34% to 78% using the device. Patients also recovered 60% faster than with traditional physical therapy alone. The study also demonstrated a 50% drop in pain scores and a 70% increase in overall patient satisfaction.

Additional revenue

PT Genie also helps practices increase revenue by keeping patients engaged in their prescribed plan of care. The gamification of the PT Genie system encourages patients to make it to the finish line, and that means sticking to their appointments to meet their treatment goals. The PT Genie solution can drive significant ancillary revenue for providers, in addition to their current in-office physical therapy treatments. The system can also drive significant cost savings in bundled payment or capitated plans. PT Genie automatically tracks and notifies providers when to submit claims to maximize revenue cycles.

For more information on PT Genie and how it may help your physical therapy practice, please contact sales@ptgenie.com or (240) 847-3509.