Physical Therapy Products  recently spoke with Gerry Stone, president of the Rehab Documentation Co (ReDoc), Nashville, Tenn, about his company’s product offerings and the benefits of implementing documentation software.

How did the ReDoc get started?

Gerry Stone

In 1995, after 20 years of doing physical therapy, I was getting burned out dealing with all of the documentation paperwork and had an idea to automate the flow of patient and clinical information through the patient's episode of care. I took the design to a software developer in Nashville, and in 1996 the first ReDoc product was released. In 1998, ReDoc was formally endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association and then in 2002 by the American Occupational Therapy Association.

How much user input has there been in developing the current version of ReDoc software?

The product has been evolving by direct feedback, suggestions, and ideas from treating therapists for the past 11 years. ReDoc is such a clinically mature and proven product as a result. There are now more than 8,000 licensed therapists using ReDoc. Requests for modifications, more specialized clinical information, and new technical features continue to be built into each new upgrade.

How easy is it for a clinic to implement ReDoc?

The process to get up and running with ReDoc has become extremely efficient and easy. As a result of more than 1,200 health care organizations—large and small—having successfully implemented ReDoc, the possible problems and difficulties are identified up front. There is a short learning curve and adjustment, but ReDoc employs therapists as "client advocates" to help new customers manage the training, implementation, and interfacing with existing billing and electronic medical record applications.

Are most users that adopt ReDoc just entering digitized documentation, or are they switching from other providers?

Unbelievably, over 75% of therapists working today are still handwriting on multiple paper forms or using expensive and inefficient transcription services. ReDoc also gets many customers who are frustrated with their current so-called "documentation system." With so many new applications hitting the market, therapists need to be careful and get as many happy references from each vendor as possible. It is important to go with a road-tested product and avoid the heartache.

What does ReDoc offer users that makes it a "road-tested" product?

A solid, robust, and mature product and company that is dedicated to the workflow needs of private-practice and hospital physical therapy clinics, without disrupting their current billing systems.

What do you think physical therapy practices will face in the coming years, and how will you be providing them aid?

Physical therapy practices will continue to face competitive challenges from chiropractors, certified athletic trainers, and other professionals encroaching on our traditional territory. Automating clinical documentation to be efficient, productive, and help stay compliant with the ever-changing reporting regulations, outcomes requirements, and reimbursement structures is essential. The sooner a clinic adopts digitized documentation and interfaces with their current billing and outcomes applications, the better.