Increased staff productivity and organization efficiency is the goal of all PT practice owners. Every aspect of the business has opportunities to improve process and, while this can be an overwhelming thought, by focusing on one business area at a time, you can start making valuable and noticeable changes.

One area of business that makes a major impact, starting with the first impression, is the front desk. An efficiently run front desk of your practice can ease a patient's experience from beginning to end, and consequently make scheduling, documentation, and reporting easier for you.

ELECTRONIC APPOINTMENTS

The right appointment-scheduling software has a lot to do with making this aspect of your business a success. Appointment schedulers monitor and track missed appointments so staff cannot forget them. Pop-up reminders ensure that nothing is forgotten so the office becomes more productive, more efficient, and more profitable.

How do you choose from the variety of available software products on the market? There isn't one perfect system; just find the one that works best for your practice needs. If you are coordinating among multiple locations—each with its own front-office staff and team of therapists—it can be an overwhelming task for the administrators who are keeping tabs on everything. A software package that makes it possible for management to monitor schedules to be handled from a remote location—even if a front-office staffer at one location is out of the office for the day—is optimal. In addition to making off-site scheduling a possibility, if the practice-management software brings with it an extensive amount of additional functionality, improvements are sure to take place in other business areas. One such additional functionality is intraoffice messaging, through which therapists can perform online consultations with one another instantly.

RIPPLE EFFECT OF SOFTWARE BENEFITS

Software can improve the overhead costs, staffing, and return on investment of running a practice. Computer and office software should, by its inherent design, improve the quality of production and decrease the time required to enter or obtain specific information. Billing and management software should be simple, intuitive, and provide all the necessary reports and tracking requirements of a productive clinic. It should include a flexible narrative report-writing technology—this feature is a must in any business-management software.

Good software really does a number on expenses and substantially increases income. Electronic billing, done through a specific program, is free. The right software makes the office as paper-free as possible so that time spent in a filing cabinet is eliminated. The staff can concentrate on recalls, reactivation, collections, and marketing. Fully integrated programs need only one entry; redundant entries are gone. A smaller staff accomplishes much more with the right tools.

Electronic claims substantially reduce payment turnaround. Good software can help pinpoint staff members who repeatedly make errors during data entry that slow claim processing and affect scheduling.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SYSTEM

Finding a practice-management system that decreases denials and integrates well into a physical therapy practice's existing workflow also is very important. Many practice owners have realized that workflow-management capability is an essential emerging feature that can further streamline operations and ultimately help them manage costs.

Find the program that fits your needs. Factors that are important are ease of use, training, functional ability, reliability, and comprehensiveness. An integrated program is intuitive and gives you freedom to operate the way you want. Does the software do what you need? Reliability is determined by the age and stability of the company. Comprehensive programs involve a suite that covers each aspect of practice.

Here are a few key items to focus on as you make your purchasing decisions:

1. Choose software that is designed for PTs—the unique needs of a physical therapy practice can't be met with software designed by those outside our profession.
2. Think about the future—make sure the software is designed to hold a large volume of records.
3. Make sure the software program exceeds federal Medicare and third-party-payor standards.
4. Research how long the company has been around and how many systems it has in place. You want a stable company that has longevity and has many installations.
5. Affordable and versatile—select a system that grows with your practice, from start-up to multidisciplinary.
6. While it is important that a system is easy to learn, you do not want to purchase a system that you have completely mastered in a short period of time. Things that look difficult at first glance become easy with practice, and then you will be looking for more advanced capabilities. You want a system that allows you to grow and meet more sophisticated requirements as you and your staff learn more about computerizing your practice.
7. Can you customize the software to how you practice? Select a system so you can pick and choose features that fit your style of practice.

Ken Reed, PT, owns Performance Physical Therapy in Dallas. He can be reached at .