Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 Many good posts on this topic. We've seen the crunch, as many of you, where reimbursement continues to decline (both per visit and visits per referral) based on insurance. Salaries continue to rise because of the current employment market/shortage (at least in our area). How do hospital-based therapy departments survive? In our situation it's quite easy. They have a built-in referral base from staff physicians, ER, admissions, etc., they get reimbursed considerably more per modality by most insurers AND they get more, and often, unlimited visits per referral by many insurers and without a Medicare cap. They can afford to be much, much less efficient/productive and still do fine. Couple that with working a little bit on productivity and you have a situation where they are doing quite well for themselves. Now I'm pretty sure that the salary issues and reimbursement is not isolated to my region however, perhaps, the hospital advantages are. ph Distel, PT, DPT The Opti-Health Group RE: Productivity : You make a lot of sense as you have the same ideas as many of us who are small private practise owners. I have been a PT in practise since 1985 and have seen all types of new grads. I am hoping that our state assoc approach each school and let them know the reality of reimbusement situation. I do not know how hospital based practises make money. In CA my reimbusements have consistently gone down throughout the years and PT salary expectations have consistently gone up...there seems to be no match. I had to finally let go many of my staff PTs and consolidate my practises and work myself. With this economy I am certainly learning to live slightly below my means. Hiten Dave' PT --------- Productivity > > Dear Group, > I have been asked by a lot of Physical Therapists during interview's > as to how many patients they are expected to see in a day (8hrs). > Would the members here be kind enough to share their thoughts? Also > what would be a good productivity standard to follow? > Thank you > B. Chacko > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 I think our biggest hurdle with reimbursement is the lack of clout our field posseses. Individuals seeking insurance or business groups seeking a large group plan have no interest in what PT benefits are. They want to know deductibles, emergency room copays, MD visit copays etc. Most wouldn't even know to ask about PT benefits. Insurances, knowing this, can skimp on our coverage all they want, charge ridiculous copays to deter patients from attending etc. The consumer doesn't care until they need PT. Our field has to become a bigger part of the picture, big enough for a large companies' group plan to care if the PT benefits are awful. This goes back to the old argument, the APTA needs to market our field to the public more. Bisesi MPT COMT Winter Haven, FL > > From: Jordan > Subject: RE: Productivity > To: PTManager@yahoogrou ps.com > Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 9:21 AM > > I think this discussion of productivity is an excellent one. An 80% > efficient therapist is a great valuable member of the team. I might add > that productivity needs to be linked to therapist's pay. Every new hire > needs to understand that, as an employer, I want them to be the highest paid > therapist in the area. But, if they want a high salary, they need to > produce. 3.2 procedures per hour in upstate New York (the lowest > reimbursement in the country) would not be viable. The same productivity in > Texas might be appropriate. A therapist needs to produce approximately 3.8 > to 4.5 times their own salary (including benefits) to cover the overhead and > the payroll of administrative staff. Using this formula, the employer can > work backwards from the production the therapist is willing/able to produce > to offer a salary consistent with that production. This prevents the > employer from setting productivity standards based upon units per hour > (which has been controversial on this posting site) and allows the employer > to intelligently set salary based upon production. Some PTs and PTAs are > production machines, others are not. The producers should be paid more than > the loafers. > > Rob Jordan, PT > > _____ > > From: PTManager@yahoogrou ps.com [mailto:PTManager@ yahoogrou ps.com] On > Behalf > Of Dr. Muller > Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:59 AM > To: PTManager@yahoogrou ps.com > Subject: RE: Productivity > > We ask our therapists for an average of 80% productivity which equates to > 3.2 procedures per hour worked. An evaluation would count as 2 procedures.. > > E. Muller, PhD, PT > > Director of Outpatient Rehab > > Stuart, FL. > > _____ > > From: PTManager@yahoogrou ps.com > [mailto:PTManager@ yahoogrou ps.com] > On > Behalf > Of bchacko71 > Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:08 PM > To: PTManager@yahoogrou ps.com > Subject: Productivity > > Dear Group, > I have been asked by a lot of Physical Therapists during interview's > as to how many patients they are expected to see in a day (8hrs). > Would the members here be kind enough to share their thoughts? Also > what would be a good productivity standard to follow? > Thank you > B. Chacko > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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