{"id":7958,"date":"2020-07-16T09:24:28","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T13:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/systems4pt.com\/staging\/?p=7958"},"modified":"2020-07-16T12:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T16:05:04","slug":"treatment-rate-analysis-recovering-markets-vs-covid-spike-areas%e2%80%8b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/systems4pt.com\/staging\/treatment-rate-analysis-recovering-markets-vs-covid-spike-areas%e2%80%8b\/","title":{"rendered":"Treatment Rate Analysis: Recovering Markets vs. COVID Spike Areas\u200b"},"content":{"rendered":"

Treatment Rate Analysis <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Recovering <\/strong>Markets vs. COVID Spike Areas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

RECOVERING MARKETS<\/span><\/b>\u200b<\/p>\n

The graph below shows outpatient rehab treatment rates vs. prior norms for areas of the country that are \u201cin <\/span>COVID recovery mode\u201d.\u00a0 Overall, patient treatment rates are back up to 71% of normal with an increasing number <\/span>of practices reporting a return to full capacity.\u00a0<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n

Practices are reporting\u00a0 that older, Medicare patients <\/span>are the last to return.\u00a0\u00a0 They\u2019re also telling us that <\/span>patients clearly prefer hands-on therapy vs. telehealth.\u00a0 <\/span>In fact, for most practices in recovering markets <\/span>telehealth treatments are between 0% and 10% of total.<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The continued increase in on-site treatments is great <\/span>news for both patients and practice owners.\u00a0 During the <\/span>slowdown a record number of practices changed EMR <\/span>and billing systems.\u00a0 These therapists are thrilled that as <\/span>treatment volumes increase, there is no documentation <\/span>homework because their new EMR takes about half the <\/span>time.<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n

Other practices are enjoying an increase in <\/span>\u200bcollections per claim of nearly 10%, as their new billing systems deliver first pass claim acceptance rates of over <\/span>99.8%, vs. the previous 92% to 95%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n

COVID SPIKE MARKETS<\/span><\/b>\u200b<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all aware of the regions that are battling huge COVID spikes.\u00a0 The red line on the graph below shows the <\/span>impact on patient treatment rates.\u00a0 While most of rehab is increasing, COVID spike markets are once again declining, <\/span>and may continue to for some time.<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n

These practices are reporting much higher on-site <\/span><\/span>treatment rates than we experienced during the <\/span><\/span>shutdown in March and April. But telehealth is a <\/span><\/span>necessity and represents over 30% of treatment volume <\/span><\/span>for many practices in COVID spike markets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Treatment rates are extremely sensitive to where the <\/span>COVID Spikes are happening, geographically.\u00a0 While a <\/span>Miami practice struggles and relies mostly on <\/span>telehealth, elsewhere on the west coast of Florida, <\/span>practices are actually increasing their on-site patient <\/span>visits.<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n

Practices caught up in a COVID spike are wise to apply\u00a0<\/span>\u200bthe lessons already learned from previous hot spot markets.<\/span>\u200b<\/p>\n