For small hospitals, especially those in rural or remote areas, it can be extremely challenging to manage a physical therapy and rehabilitation department. Inpatient physical therapy has unique operational needs that don't always scale with the budget, resources and talent pool available to these smaller facilities.
Yet the patients staying at these hospitals need to receive this critical piece of the recovery process just as much as the patients in larger big-city hospitals. Fortunately, there is a solution that doesn't involve referring patients to offsite care or shouldering other members of your medical staff with certain aspects of rehabilitative care that they might not be properly trained for.
By outsourcing physical therapy services to a contract provider, small hospitals can deliver the level of care their patients deserve on a budget that scales with the rest of their operational needs.
Contract physical therapy for small hospitals
Small hospitals often have an abundance of administrative hurdles to deal with for their core service lines in terms of staffing, equipment, compliance and documentation. As a result, physical therapy and rehabilitation can often feel like an afterthought. Managing a physical therapy department requires specialized administrative knowledge and leadership that can stretch a smaller staff thinner than it already is.
The primary advantage of outsourcing physical therapy is that it allows a small facility to tap into the resources and expertise of a larger organization that is wholly focused on this discipline. Doing so allows any sized hospital to provide top-tier service that is in line with their operations and budget.
Here are the benefits that contract therapy services can offer smaller hospitals:
- Improved patient satisfaction ” Outsourcing to a company with a singular focus on physical therapy leads to improved quality of care.
- Reduced labor costs ” Partnering with a contract provider frees up administrative hours that can be more efficiently used elsewhere.
- Compliance strength ” Outsourced physical therapy management has the know-how to keep up with regulatory changes and can provide tested systems for documenting care.
The right contract physical therapy partner can help your small hospital develop a physical therapy program that contributes to the success of your facility in both patient outcomes and operational efficiencies.
Alliance Physical Therapy Partners helps hospitals of all sizes
The dedicated experts at Alliance Physical Therapy Partners have decades of experience in helping small hospitals, large hospitals and every size in between streamline and improve their physical therapy offerings. We provide recruiting support to attract the best talent, workflow systems that have been tested and refined for years and proprietary rehabilitation management software that interfaces with all major electronic medical records systems.
If you're a small hospital looking to provide the best physical therapy services for your patients, we want to help. Contact us today to learn more. We can provide an assessment of your current therapy program and provide right-sized service recommendations for you.