Exceeding Demands

Planetrehab practice management software is good for business.

By Rodney Goble, PT, and Amy Goble, PTA

At Michigan Rehabilitation Specialists (MRS), one key to our success is maintaining a close patient-therapist relationship and communicating with referring physicians through concise documentation. But things weren't always this way.

In 1999, we opened our first physical therapy clinic in Hamburg, Mich., and began servicing the community with a personable, hands-on approach. Despite a positive community response, we spent most of our time trying to keep up with documentation and billing. As a result, we outsourced billing to spend more time treating patients.

But there were disadvantages to outsourced billing. For example, we had trouble finding out where the business stood. We asked for reports and received them 2 weeks later. In addition, we were reluctant to expand MRS' services to additional cities because of inherent issues with billing and communication between multiple locations. Still, we didn't want to abandon our dreams of growth and knew there must be a way to use technology to make the process easier.

After an exhaustive search, we discovered Planetrehab. Planetrehab contains the features we need to run our business–scheduling, automated documentation, patient and physician tracking, reporting and billing. The company's services have enabled us to outsource billing and utilize software to run the business, and still keep our fingers on the heartbeat of MRS.

The software uses the Internet to consolidate information in one place without having to re-enter data, or fax treatment and billing sheets to a billing office. This gave us the confidence to grow our practice to accommodate four additional locations. MRS offices enter data every day, which we can access immediately at our main location. This keeps us up to date on financial progress, employee productivity and patient care schedules of our clinics.

An added convenience is that the system doesn't require a constant Internet connection. Even if we lose Internet access for an hour or even a week, we can still view schedules, enter charges and document treatment sessions.

Shortly after implementing the Planetrehab system, we realized we made the right decision. From the beginning, the software was easy to use and detail oriented. And now we don't have to worry about collections. MRS is more profitable without the staffing issues that come with a billing and collections department. Instead of hiring staff to send patient statements, decipher EOBs and call insurance companies for claim status, we can offer our clients a low patient-to-physical therapist ratio for personalized, comprehensive quality care.

In addition, we're saving money. Before, the amount we were paying for a billing service was more than Planetrehab's billing service and software combined. However, the hidden value is that we know Planetrehab is following through on our company's claims and collections. This trust is invaluable. Our standard billing service didn't give us a way to monitor their performance, which made us hesitant to justify the expense.

We're passionate about healing people and helping them achieve their health goals. Since we started using Planetrehab, MRS has grown to five clinics staffed by more than 30 therapists and assistants, and has experienced a 400 percent increase in business. We've also been able to diversify our offerings and specialize in manual therapy, orthopedic, sports and aquatic physical therapy, occupational medicine, therapy house calls and massage.

Planetrehab exceeds our demands and makes our company more efficient.

Rodney Goble, PT, and Amy Goble, PTA, are the founders and owners of Michigan Rehabilitation Specialists, based in Hamburg, Mich.