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The Best Physical Therapy EMR Does These 5 Things

9 September 2022

September 9, 2022

In: Therapy Documentation Resources

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Highlights  

  • An efficient physical therapy EMR is vital to streamlining your practice’s workflow and providing better patient care.
  • The best physical therapy EMR makes documentation easier with customizable templates and reporting capabilities.
  • Physical therapy EMR should also integrate billing, scheduling, reporting, and practice management on an easy-to-use platform.
  • ClinicSource checks all the boxes for physical therapy EMR with integrated features and customizable templates.

When looking for a physical therapy EMR, it’s essential to find practice management software that integrates all elements of your practice. The best physical therapy EMR has features that allow for quick, efficient documentation and integrates billing, scheduling, reporting, and practice management into one system. 

Why Efficient Physical Therapy EMR is Important

As a physical therapist, you ideally spend most of your time with your patients rather than on administrative paperwork. Unfortunately, most healthcare providers like physical therapists spend equal time on patient care and documentation due to an ineffective EMR or no EMR at all. 

A 2019 study found that healthcare workers spend an average of 3.08 hours per day with patients and 3.17 hours per day on electronic documentation. This highlights the effect an inefficient EMR system can have on your ability to give your patients the specialized attention needed to improve their mobility and well-being. 

The best physical therapy EHR addresses this problem by integrating all elements of a physical therapy practice, such as scheduling, billing, practice management, and documentation. This reduces errors and minimizes the time you spend documenting your patient visits.

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How To Find the Best Physical Therapy EMR 

When searching for a physical therapy EMR, ensure the software has features that simplify your daily practice operations. 

When choosing your therapy EMR, look for features that streamline and simplify tasks for each of the following five practice management functions:

1. Documentation

A good therapy EMR focuses on making physical therapy documentation easier for you and your staff. Look for features like the following:

  • Intuitive user-friendly platform
  • Customizable physical therapy reporting templates
  • Customizable treatment plan templates
  • Easy-to-use tests and reports such as special tests and joint mobility assessments.

With customizable templates and easily navigable features like dropdown menus and checkmark boxes, you can complete physical therapy SOAP notes faster, allowing you to spend more time face-to-face with patients who need your care.

Your EMR should also focus on compliant reporting by automatically updating it to satisfy requirements and protect you if you are audited by a third party like Medicare, Medicaid, or CMS. 

2. Scheduling 

Your physical therapy EMR should have integrated scheduling built into the platform. A 2020 article reports that the approximately 67,000 no-shows to appointments cost the healthcare system nearly $7 million. It’s vital to use an EMR practice management system that allows you to schedule your patients and staff effectively. 

When choosing an EMR, look for scheduling features like multiple view options, color-coded interfacing, and automatic appointment reminders to simplify scheduling and improve patient attendance. 

3. Billing

Billing and insurance issues can take up multiple hours of your time as a physical therapist. Manual billing using different systems gets complicated and can lead to an increase in errors and loss of reimbursement from insurance companies. 

Opt for a physical therapy EMR that integrates your billing and insurance processing into one system to minimize billing problems. Choose a system that offers customizable claims and invoicing, automatic claim tracker capabilities, and automated payment processing. The right electronic therapy billing platform is also HIPAA compliant and works with automatic clearinghouses to process claims quickly.

4. Practice Management

To simplify your daily operations, decide on a practice management system that links directly to your therapy EMR. This functionality means you don’t have to spend time and effort entering the same information into different systems. 

You also want to look for software that is HIPPA compliant and automatically updates without costly upgrades. 

Finally, opt for an EMR system that lets you customize user permissions so you can control who has access to your practice information. Your EMR should also have a reporting system that helps you track productivity, referrals, and other indicators of practice performance. 

5. Analytics 

For growing practices, an EMR with analytics capabilities is essential. Look for an EMR with analytics reporting with an easy-to-read dashboard. With this feature, you can see your appointment totals, revenue trends, and individual practitioner performance. These insights help you manage your practice and make changes to meet your patient and revenue goals. 

How ClinicSource Checks All the Boxes for Physical Therapy EMR

ClinicSource is a physical therapy EMR platform created for therapists by therapists. Our all-in-one system checks all the boxes for effective physical therapy EMR and can help you simplify your workload to treat patients and focus on growing your practice. 

Compliant, Customizable Documentation

ClinicSource focuses on making documentation easy for physical therapists. Our EMR offers customizable templates, automated updates, and a streamlined treatment log to assist therapists in documentation. It also has care plan and SOAP note templates with an intuitive interface that makes documentation a cinch. 

Streamlined Scheduling

The ClinicSource physical therapy EMR platform helps you schedule effectively to prevent no-shows and missed appointments. Our cloud-based scheduling feature lets you drag and drop appointment blocks, and color-coded features give you a visually readable schedule for your practice.

It is mobile-friendly, accessible from anywhere, and automatically prevents scheduling conflicts. It also sends patients gentle reminders via text, phone, and email so they don’t miss appointments. 

Integrated Billing

ClinicSource features integrated billing and insurance for physical therapists. Our platform ends redundant data entry by integrating with your EMR to import diagnosis, CPT codes, and patient data. 

With ClinicSource, you can customize your invoices and claims, run all payments through a payment processor, and track your claims for quicker reimbursement. 

Effective Practice Management

With ClinicSource, you can access practice management features that integrate with your EMR platform. You can set custom user permissions and rely on HIPPA-compliant reporting to protect against auditing issues. Our therapist-designed interface is easy to use and updates automatically so you won’t need to pay for expensive upgrades. 

Analytics Dashboard

Clinic Source provides therapists with an analytics dashboard where they can see practice-wide data with the push of a button. With ClinicSource, you can organize your priorities and make operational changes to benefit your practice by viewing your practice’s data, including appointments, referrals, and revenue. 

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Learn More About ClinicSource

If you’re looking for the best physical therapy EMR, you owe it to yourself and your patients to learn more about ClinicSource. Book a demo today to learn how ClinicSource can simplify your practice management and documentation, saving you time and boosting practice ROI.

 

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