In Home Services with WebPT

Business Challenge

Documentation for the PTs at the In-Home Therapy Services Clinic previously meant hand-writing notes during sessions, then commuting back to the office frequently to electronically record the notes. This was an extremely time consuming exercise for the PTs but one that could not be avoided. The lag time between the sessions and manually entering information into the computer could also lead to notes falling between the cracks.

Jim Prussack, owner of In-Home Therapy Services found this manual system to be cumbersome, time consuming and unproductive for himself and his PTs.

 There were notes everywhere. It was hard to keep them all centralized and sometimes things got lost. Not to mention, everyone’s documentation was different and often times the legibility was poor, so it was hard to translate the notes electronically. Essentially, there was no continuity. Dealing with this really became a hassle, not to mention we used a ton of paper. All in all, this system was costly and wasteful. 

A few years ago, Jim decided it was time to search for an electronic medical record system (EMR) for the clinic. With so many EMR systems in the market, Jim was sure he’d find one that was a fit for In-Home Therapy Services. He was surprised to find that just about every EMR he looked at was actually rather difficult to use, as they didn’t take into account the flow of the PT practice. Furthermore, they were desktop based, which meant his PTs still needed to come back to the office every day to manually enter their hand-written notes. This didn’t solve a major part of the problem.

Since most of the PTs in the practice carried laptops, Jim narrowed it down to finding a solution that was totally web-based. This allowed the PTs to access the system from anywhere. But, he still had the challenge of actually using the EMR system. Even the newer, web-based systems were all complicated and physician-centric, and not intuitive at all for the PTs’ specific needs.

Solution

Two years ago Jim discovered WebPT. He recognized immediately that this was an EMR system that met all of his “must have” requirements. It’s web-based, so the PTs could use it on the road. It’s affordable, and it has a very simple user interface that takes into account the specific needs and workflow of the therapist.

Benefits

The first thing Jim and his therapists noticed was how easy WebPT is to learn and use.

 We were able to get all of our existing records transferred very quickly and without the pain you’d typically expect with this kind of file transfer. All of our PTs and office staff were up and running smoothly on the system, as if it was second nature, in a matter of weeks. 

The second thing Jim saw was a more productive PT practice overall. He and the other PTs no longer had to spend time hand writing notes, then driving to the office, and entering them electronically. They now all use laptops or iPads and enter all documentation right into the system, at the point of care and time of service. There are fewer documentation errors, it’s extremely convenient for the PTs, and it saves time.

Finally, Jim and his team now feel that all of their documentation is cohesive and organized. Everyone’s notes are the same, stored in one, secure place, thorough, and compliant.

 Having a web-based EMR system that is built just for PTs has been amazing. The capabilities of this system have made everything streamlined and seamless for our entire team. From recording to faxing notes automatically, to processing, the time and energy saved has been tremendous. 

Jim also noted that his office manager has been able to take control of all of the practices’ online information, so each PT doesn’t have to be responsible for managing their own documents. This alone has made everyone’s practice much easier, and kept information much more consistent and organized.