The first quarter of 2009 was introduced to our practices, and our patients, as “The worst economic crisis in our lifetimes”. Deflating housing values, the Dow Jones dropped 50% from historic highs and report after report of corporate layoffs – many of which affected our patients – were the norm. How did we, in outpatient rehabilitation, fare?
Systems4PT has permission from our customers to aggregate data, in macro, for use in statistical analysis. We are proud to share this HIPAA compliant research with our customers.
Systems4PT practices saw a 1% decline in patient visits in the January – March ’09 quarter. This movement is within the margin of error. On face value, flat volume in today’s market sounds pretty good. But there’s an interesting side bar hidden in the data.
54% of our practices’ patient volume declined in Q1, an average of 11%. 46% of our practices grew in Q1, averaging 15% visit growth. These trends are void of geography and local economic circumstances (we see growth in snowy markets, and even in depressed manufacturing markets).
This discrepancy is not coincidence, nor is it luck.
Our analysis confirms that those practices that are growing, are led by savvy executives who are very focused on driving volume. We can tell you that these practice owners are investing a significant amount of leadership and sweat in order to gain these results.
Those practices who are down exhibit more of the ‘float along with the market’ type of thinking.
Talk to other practice owners…Share ideas…Find out what works. Don’t let the evening news get you down – About half of Systems4PT practices are growing double digit – You want to be part of this club!
One of the most pervasive mindsets that we come across is that, “Patients just can not afford to pay their copays”. Our nation wide Analysis tells a different story:
Copay collected increased from 92% in Q1, ’08 to 94% in ’09.
The tried and true rules still apply:
Finally, Systems4PT practices’ collection cycle was flat with Q1, ’08. 72% of our practices improved their collection cycle by more than 10% from one year ago. 28% of our practices have seen their DSO’s increase double digit. Let’s stop and reflect: ¾’s of practices improving, ¼ of them deteriorating – Practice cash flow is not governed by external factors (the economy).
DSO quality is a clear reflection of whether or not practices are managing the basics and following protocols. If your DSO’s are growing, call us and ask how S4PT can help increase your cash flow.
