Ahead of Schedule

Chart Links improves efficiency and accuracy for busy clinicians.

By Lindie Peters, PT

Managing paperwork is one of the challenges of being a physical therapist. From documenting evaluations and treatments and completing plans of care for doctor authorizations, to tracking down patient charts, each minute spent on paperwork is one less minute spent with a client. That is one of the many reasons why our department began searching for an electronic charting solution.

Our department is affiliated with a 305-bed hospital. With 11 locations in East Central Illinois and more than 120 clinicians, we generate up to 90 care plans each day. During the last fiscal year, our department handled more than 140,000 outpatient visits. Our organization's multiple locations and high patient volume made tracking paper-based documentation a time-consuming task.

We've been using Chart Links' electronic charting solution since 2006. We selected the program because it was developed specifically for rehabilitation clinics. The rehab-specific functionality is important because the format matches our workflow, and templates within the system help us quickly enter information. For example, when I fill out a patient evaluation or progress note using the system, I can use pre-designed charts and boxes for more efficient documentation. Chart Links has also cut my documentation time in half. Work that used to take 20 to 30 minutes with our previous paper-based method now takes only 10 to 15 minutes.

An unexpected benefit is that the templates have improved the consistency of our documentation throughout the organization. The system prompts clinicians to enter specific information and serves as a reminder to provide all necessary data. In addition, the electronic documentation has eliminated legibility issues that were inherent in an organization with so many clinicians. This helps us meet legal standards.

I like using the system while I interact with clients. This allows me to finish part of my documentation during the treatment session, rather than planning time between appointments to catch up on paperwork. The time saved allows me to spend more time providing services to clients. Also, I believe that documenting my notes during the visit improves accuracy, since I don't have to recall what took place.

One of the biggest benefits of electronic charting is having access to patient charts from any location. This is especially important to me, since I specialize in aquatic therapy and our department has a pool in only one location. Prior to using Chart Links, staff had to coordinate transferring a client's information through fax or courier from one of our other locations to my facility before the session. Inevitably, information wouldn't make it, and we lost valuable time during the process. This decreased the efficiency of our staff and department.

A unique feature of the system is that therapists can be paged when their patients arrive. This is helpful for therapists who work in a gym-type setting because it lets them know when they need to be ready for their next client.

Chart Links also helps with the business side of our rehab practice by automatically tracking physician authorizations. Previously, therapists had to track all clients using a paper log as a reminder of when scripts and plans of care needed to be sent to doctors. Now the system reminds us in advance when reauthorizations are due, which allows us to fulfill legal regulations. Our staff can easily complete plans of care, and mail or fax them to physicians.

We're currently enhancing our physician authorization capabilities. And Chart Links is working with us to develop an interface with the electronic medical record system (EMR) used by our hospital physicians. Once this capability is in place, we'll be able to use Chart Links to send electronic authorization/reauthorization requests directly to physicians through the EMR. Physicians will also be able to electronically authorize the request. This capability will further reduce our reliance on paper-based processes.

Currently, 120 clinicians and 40 support staff use Chart Links to manage most aspects of our organization's operations, including registering and scheduling patients, documenting daily notes and plans of care, and handling charge entry and referrals. The transition to electronic documentation has reduced paper-based processes and allowed us to streamline daily operations. As a result, we can focus on our goal of providing skilled therapy services to the community.

Lindie Peters, PT, is a staff clinician at Carle Therapy Services in Urbana, Ill.