How do you set up an RTM Program that's actually profitable in an outpatient clinic?

Well, it's been 3 years since remote therapeutic monitoring, or RTM codes, were introduced by CMS to allow clinicians to monitor patients outside of the clinic. Many clinics rushed to implement RTM Programs in the months following these new codes going live. And many clinics stopped delivering RTM services almost as quickly as they started. But why?

The main reason many of these RTM Programs failed stems from the fact that many were thrown together as "add-ons" to treatment rather than a legitimate program. As a result, clinicians tasked with implementing RTM lacked processes and an understanding of the reasoning behind implementing RTM in the first place. Even now, when I talk with RTM platforms and practice owners, I hear the same thing: Initial sign-ups and patient enrollment were high, then trickled off, and are now almost nonexistent.

So, this week, I sit down with a previous guest, Matt Juke, CPT, to talk about how to set up and implement an RTM program that is not only sustainable, but profitable for the clinic and a value add for patients.

What we cover in this Episode:

-The benefits of RTM Programs in outpatient therapy clinics
-Challenges of implementing & billing for RTM Programs
-The importance of understanding workflows for RTM
-How to select a platform for RTM
-Communicating the value of RTM to all stakeholders

Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-149

Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com

If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!

Can AI Healthcare Phone Services Increase Patient Access & Improve Engagement?

You know what frustrates many patients (including yours truly)? Phone trees. "Press one to select scheduling" (Presses 1) "By pressing 1 you have indicated that you would like to connect to scheduling. Is this correct? Press 1 to confirm or 2 to cancel". It drives many patients to hand up the phone, drop off the schedule, or go find another healthcare provider. But what if there was a way that automated phone messages could increase access, patient engagement, and experience? Enter an AI Healthcare Phone Service.

If implemented well, AI has the ability to greatly increase practice efficiency and allow clinicians to actually spend more time delivering care. The same holds true for the administrative process of care. Healthcare workers, including office managers and patient access personnel who manage scheduling, struggle with the overwhelm of more phone calls and requests than they can manage. And, despite the fact that many healthcare providers offer an online patient portal, only around 30% of patients actually use those portals. Patients still want to talk on the phone with their providers. So, this week, I speak with Ada Andruszkiewicz from Talking.ai about how implementing AI into processor care can actually increase patient access and improve human connection in healthcare.

What we cover in this Episode:

-The winding road from tech development to the healthcare SaaS market
-Burnout in Healthcare
-Understanding Value in Healthcare Technology
-Challenges in running independent healthcare practices
-How implementing technology can actually increase human connection in -healthcare
-Thoughtful implementation of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare
-Deploying an AI Healthcare Phone Service in a practice

Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-148

Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com

If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!

Is Value-Based Care Too Much for Independent Healthcare Practices?

I've talked about the consolidation in the healthcare market before. I recently sat down with the folks at StrataPT to talk about PE firms buying up healthcare practices and how small, independent healthcare practices are beginning to feel the pressure. But one thing I haven't discussed on the show is what exactly has caused the consolidation in healthcare (big players buying up little players). Over the years, many independent healthcare practices have been purchased by either private equity firms or health systems/hospitals. But why?

Part of the drive for this consolidation stems from economies of scale. Big healthcare systems and hospitals leverage their size to combat rising overhead costs, declining reimbursement, and even compliance and the ability to participate in alternative payment models. That last one is an interesting take that I hadn't considered before. But, over the holidays I read an article entitled Value-Based Payment and Vanishing Small Independent Practices. In this article, the authors argue that one driving factor for the consolidation in the healthcare market stems from the fact that value-based payment models require a lot of administrative work & data management that independent healthcare practices struggle to manage. So, this week, I take a dive into this idea and discuss some ways that independent healthcare practices can maintain viability in the world of big healthcare.

What we cover in this Episode:

-Understanding how Big Healthcare benefits from value-based payment models
-How economies of scale help improve data exchange and combat decreasing reimbursement in healthcare
-Understanding Value in Healthcare
-Challenges in running independent healthcare practices
-Independent Healthcare practice as a business
-Some strategies that independent healthcare practices can employ to remain competitive
-How to create an effective healthcare positioning strategy to thrive in the current healthcare landscape

Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-147

Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com

If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!