From Billing Headaches to Peace of Mind: Horizons Physical Therapy Streamlines Revenue Cycle Management

Background

Christine Wood, PT, DPT, opened Horizons Physical Therapy—located in Waynesboro, Virginia—in 2011. She works as a full-time therapist and employs one therapist, two PTAs, and an office manager. Horizons Physical Therapy specializes in chronic pain, and its therapists use manual treatment techniques.

Challenges

While Wood feels “fortunate that [she] started her business with the WebPT EMR,” she used a different revenue cycle management (RCM) company—and that was a real challenge. “It was so bad,” she said. “I wrote them a letter to get out of my contract.” But the company convinced her that it was making necessary improvements—like outsourcing her contract to another company that promised to submit her claims properly. Unfortunately, because both companies were geared toward physicians and dentists, they couldn’t follow through. “They didn’t understand the differences,” she said. “PT has different requirements for billing…and it was always a challenge applying [that software] to a PT practice.” One of her major frustrations was “their poor understanding of the special codes used by PTs.” Another was their unresponsiveness: “[It] was a nightmare,” Wood said. “I wish I were exaggerating. Whenever I had a problem, just reaching someone was a pain. Once I made contact, sometimes days later, they would claim they had solved the issue, only I’d find it unchanged. It was maddening.”

Solution

Since making the switch to WebPT’s RCM Service, Wood has “much more time for [her] other responsibilities.” How much time? According to Wood, she’s saved several hours per week. “I don’t have to micromanage WebPT like I had to with the other company,” she said. “I have fewer worries about getting paid, and I don’t have to gather and fax notes for insurance companies—or follow up on the claims.”

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“I have recommended the WebPT RCM Service and EMR to many physical therapists—and will continue to do so."

_{Christine Wood PT, DPT
Owner}

Benefits

In addition to saving the Horizons staff a significant amount of time—and giving them a lot less to worry about—the WebPT RCM Service has helped the practice streamline its billing. “The payment cycle is more consistent,” Wood said. “The billing goes out much quicker.” Furthermore, “WebPT understands the codes that PTs use.” That’s because “it’s designed for PTs. It’s customizeable and very user friendly,” she said. Wood also appreciates the fact that her clinic’s billing is now integrated with its EMR, because the “billing department has full access to [the therapists’] notes,” which means Wood no longer has to scramble to get those notes to each insurance company. As a result of switching to the WebPT RCM Service, Horizons Physical Therapy’s average A/R is now down to less than 4%—a significant improvement. Plus, the company’s dedicated RCM team “keeps in good contact with us on a weekly basis and stays on top of things before they get out of hand.”