SOMA PT Blog

As you know, SOMA Physical Therapy (SPT) has been using Tx Xchange’s telehealth software as an integral part of patient care. Every patient at SPT simply logs into their secure web-based patient portal to:

o Send secure email or video-chat
o View personalized video-based treatment plans
o Track progress using standardized outcome measures
o Read customized health information
o Receive clinical reminders
o Focus on treatment goals

We recently reported on a case study on SPT and Tx Xchange demonstrating the efficacy of using Tx Xchange’s telehealth software at SOMA PT. Here were the results:

o 21% reduction in visits per episode compared to network average
o 75% patient participation (vs. 35% for clinic-based care alone)
o 92% greater patient satisfaction (vs. clinic-based care alone)

We recently completed an outcomes study looking at the efficacy of our telehealth low back pain program TeleSpine compared to traditional office-based care alone. Here are the key points and results:

o Outcomes data collected by SOMA Physical Therapy Jan-May 2011
o Outcomes data compared to recent LBP research
o TeleSpine used as a standard part of all patient treatment plans for LBP
o Subjects with mechanical low back pain syndrome only
o 50.7% improvement in functional status (compared to only a 23% improvement with traditional office-based PT care alone 1)

We are continually innovating care at SOMA PT to provide the best possible quality of care and outcomes to your patients!

Our Contact Information for Referrals:
T: 303-440-3359
A: 2400 Spruce St. Suite 201
Boulder Colorado, 80302

1. Di Fabio, R. Physical therapy Outcomes for Patients Receiving Workers’ Compensation Following Treatment for Herniated Lumbar Disc and Mechanical Low Back Pain Syndrome. JOSPT, vol. 23 n. 3 March 1996.

Recently, Jonathan Epstein made a blog post on Tx Xchange.com entitled Telehealth for the Independent Health, Wellness, or Fitness Providers. My practice is a perfect example of how telehealth has helped me weather the negative changes in healthcare (less pay more work) and not only sustain but thrive in a difficult market. I have used Tx Xchange to deliver superior customer care and become profitable. Also, differentiating the practice and services from others using a modern care delivery platform compared to the traditional models of office visit care only.

Hello. Tx Xchange has a blog that will discuss, among other things, the intimate and necessary relationship between clinical and business practices in rehab and the use of online, web-based technology.

The topic is telemedicine: www.txxchange.wordpress.com

At SOMA PT, we use Tx Xchange to clinically manage all of our patients. Their clinical experience and outcomes are improved, our providers collaborate in care, and we have the opportunity to clearly differentiate our PT services from other clinics in Boulder. From a business perspective, because Tx Xchange acts as a patient management tool, we have a dynamic data base for marketing our PT services and also cash-based services like our Yoga classes and the SOMA Online Care Program (powered by Tx Xchange).

I think the new Tx Xchange blog will be interesting and a great resource for rehab owners, clinic managers, and clinicians to learn more about telemedicine, the benefits of delivering care at a distance, and how to use online technology to take control of our success. The undercurrent to the health of our country’’s healthcare system is the necessary improvement of efficacy and efficiency of care delivery. Visit www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemid=133787 to learn more about telemedicine.

Tx Xchange’’s co-founder and COO wrote our first post: excerpt

“we need to evolve the delivery of our services, address factors that impact the efficacy of our services (65% of our patients are partially or non-compliant with their plan), and distance ourselves from other professions that do not have the training we do.  Let’s bring evidence closer to the point of care and make it more usable for the therapist”

Check it out.

Mark Barnes DPT

Offer your patients the best care possible all the way to fitness

Tx Xchange will give it’’s third Webinar: Cash-based Programs. It will cover owning the patient relationship and creating e-rehab programs that allow your patients to continue care with you online- when their in-office care is DC”d.

Email Jonathan @ jepstein@txxchange.com for more information and sign-up

www.txxchange.com

A few years ago I rarely worried about where patients were coming from or fee schedules. There were fewer clinics and reimbursements were much higher. Today, there are many more clinics to choose from, it’’s increasingly becoming an outcome/data driven market, and reimbursements are trending down in the form of per diems.

A year and a half ago I realized something had to change. There were too many things out of my control as a practice owner that were impacting my success and frankly, the enjoyment of owning my practice of 15 years. I had developed long standing relationships with referring physicians, but they needed constant attention especially with new clinics vying for their referrals. Marketing and differentiating my clinic in an attempt to increase patient volume was proving to be an ongoing challenge.

In addition to my clinical ‘expertise’, the most important and valuable asset my practice has are the patients whom I”ve develop a relationship with while helping them return to a healthier state. I started to question how I was I leveraging my patient assets, or as is generally the case today, not leveraging them, especially once they had been discharged. I realized that if I could establish a new type of connection with them I could more readily bring them back into the clinic when they had a reoccurrence of symptoms or a new injury. I also knew that after my patients are discharged, whether because they ran out of benefits, were refused additional authorizations, or had achieved an acceptable functional level, many of them still wanted access to my expertise, guidance, and oversight.

To address these problems I realized I had to truly evolve the way I deliver care and run my practice. I did not want to hire more staff, lease more space, or buy more equipment. As little as I knew about technology (and I mean little), I wondered if software could provide help. My patients are online everyday in every other aspect of their lives, why not for their rehab?

I developed, along with a team of technical experts, web-based software to do the following:

• Better communicate with and market to my patients to increase patient volume and reduce attrition.

• Deliver better care and get better outcomes while improving my patient’’s rehab experience.

• Give my patients the services (highly profitable) they are willing to pay for out-of-pocket in form of cash-based programs (e.g. e-maintenance programs)

I have been using Tx Xchange for the last 6 months. Patient volume is up by 23%, physician referrals are up by 270%, and the e-maintenance program is generating $375/hr per therapist.

Practice owners do not have to sit idly by while insurance companies and other professions (e.g. gym-based personal trainers) weaken our valuable patient relationship. We own that relationship and it’’s up to us to strengthen it and leverage it so our businesses can thrive and prosper in a challenging healthcare environment.
Here is an example of a treatment photo provided by Tx Xchange

Mark Barnes, DPT
For more information visit txxchange.com