{"id":7089,"date":"2019-08-08T11:02:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T15:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/systems4pt.com\/staging\/?p=7089"},"modified":"2020-02-21T09:36:50","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T14:36:50","slug":"therapist-burnout-is-skyrocketing-in-outpatient-rehab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/systems4pt.com\/staging\/therapist-burnout-is-skyrocketing-in-outpatient-rehab\/","title":{"rendered":"Therapist burnout is skyrocketing in Outpatient Rehab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Therapist Burnout \u2013 Bad Advice vs. The Obvious Solution<\/h1>\n

Outpatient rehab is at a crossroads.<\/h2>\n

One path resolves therapist burnout.<\/h3>\n

The other path will put our industry in even greater peril.\u00a0 During a recent webinar,\u00a0 the CEO of another leading EMR advised that therapists should address burnout by negotiating shorter days or more vacation time.\u00a0 She summarized with the statement,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power belongs to those who negotiate.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This advice deserves a reality check:\u00a0 The therapist\u2019s patient load is being increased because the practice is tighter on cash than ever before.\u00a0 If the therapist then takes more time off (and treats fewer patients), cash will decline even further.<\/p>\n

The answer is to eliminate the factors that are causing therapist burnout.<\/p>\n

The Obvious Solution:<\/h3>\n

If therapists are able to document their notes at work,<\/span><\/h3>\n

and then relax enjoy their nights and weekends, without documentation homework<\/span><\/h3>\n

our industry won\u2019t be talking about therapist burnout!<\/span><\/h3>\n

Both of the following recent conversations validate the right approach to addressing therapist burnout:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lisa interviewed a DPT to join her practice.\u00a0 The fit was great, and Lisa offered the position to the therapist.\u00a0 The DPT responded, \u201cI\u2019ll take it.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll only treat patients for six hours per day, because I need the other two hours to catch up on documentation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lisa was stunned.<\/p>\n

Lisa asked, \u201cWhat experience do you have that would require two hours of protected documentation time per day?\u00a0 What EMR were you using?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The therapist answered that she\u2019d been using a well-known, Web-based PT EMR.<\/p>\n

Without saying a word, Lisa documented an evaluation on Systems 4PT, real time, in front of the job candidate.\u00a0 Minutes later, the DPT accepted the position, agreeing to treat patients 8 hours per day, and confident that her documentation would be complete, without homework.<\/p>\n

Another anecdote:<\/h3>\n

On a Sunday afternoon, the owner of a clinic who had recently joined S4PT called Dan Alloway (VP of Development).\u00a0 \u201cI had to call you. \u00a0I just said to my husband, it\u2019s Sunday and, believe it or not, I\u2019m not documenting notes!\u00a0 As you know, with our old EMR I spent EVERY Sunday catching up on notes!\u00a0 I\u2019m sooo thrilled, I had to call you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBurnout\u201d is not a factor when therapists document with an efficient EMR that enables them to enjoy their evenings and weekends.\u00a0 It\u2019s no more complex than that.<\/p>\n

The Obvious Solution:<\/h3>\n