5 Common Misconceptions About Business Intelligence for SNF Rehab Therapy

Without the use of accurate flight instruments, pilots simply cannot fly an airplane safely in low-visibility conditions. That’s because a pilot’s personal perceptions are in a near-constant battle with the physical realities of an aircraft’s movements and the way such motions affect them biologically.

In other words, their personal perceptions are slow to perceive present realities. This phenomenon is called spatial disorientation.

For pilots, it’s the inability to correctly interpret an aircraft’s altitude, attitude and airspeed in relation to the Earth and other points of reference.¹ They may be turning when they feel they’re straight and level, or they may inadvertently enter a stall by raising the nose of the plane too high.

But thanks to accurate, real-time flight instrumentation, pilots can prevent disorientation and make the proper corrections when needed, helping them avoid serious consequences.

The same can be said for business intelligence dashboards designed for skilled nursing facility (SNF) rehab therapy teams.

By having access to accurate “instrumentation” that measures important analytics, SNF rehab therapy teams can ensure that despite short-term perceptions, the team remains on track and oriented toward achieving their operational, clinical and financial goals.

What is Business Intelligence for SNF Rehab Therapy?

Business intelligence leverages software and services that transform relevant data into actionable insights that help to inform operational, performance and financial decisions.

In other words, it’s analytics, right? Well, not exactly.

A successful business intelligence effort involves systemic changes to a SNF rehab therapy team’s organizational culture. A buy-in to data-driven decision-making is required from therapy management as well as treating clinicians.

To support such organizational culture changes, an effective business intelligence effort includes dashboards of data showing key performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant to physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists who work in the SNF environment.

Such KPIs cover metrics involving operational, clinical and financial statistics related to productivity, scheduling, lengths of stay, outcomes, expense/revenue forecasting, payer approval/denial rates, PDPM statistics, and more.

From these metrics, SNF rehab therapy teams gain important access and insight into data, ultimately leading to an improvement in their decision-making.

Top Myths About Business Intelligence

On the surface, the theories behind business intelligence (BI) solutions are obvious. The best goals are measurable, after all, and BI is all about data.

While this is true, it’s also an oversimplification of the power behind business intelligence. In fact, BI is surrounded by plenty of myths and misconceptions, especially as it relates to healthcare and SNF rehab therapy. Below are some of the top myths about business intelligence:­­

1.  Business Intelligence Offers Little ROI

This simply isn’t true based on a number of research and studies, but let’s look at one in particular.

According to a survey conducted just last year by Unsupervised, 94% of companies that implemented a business intelligence solution saw an increase in revenue.² Of these organizations, the average increase in revenue was 14%, and this increase in revenue was realized after just six months.

Other benefits companies experienced from implementing BI within their organizations included improved customer service (38%), increased productivity (38%), increased employee satisfaction (33%), and greater customer retention (33%).

2. I’m Too Small for Business Intelligence

This myth packages together a few different misconceptions about business intelligence: that it’s expensive and unaffordable, that it takes a lot of time and manpower to implement, and that maintaining a BI solution requires an expert-level IT department.

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Yes, business intelligence was once fairly expensive to implement, but not anymore. Like so many data-based solutions, BI’s pricing has come down as the technology has become more sophisticated and its adoption has become more mainstream.

Today, businesses and healthcare clinics of any size can afford, and benefit from, the use of business intelligence solutions.  IT expertise is not required, nor does it take time or manpower to implement.

3. I Can Just Run Reports from My EHR Software

While this is 100% true, running reports is not the same as having a fully functional business intelligence solution for your SNF rehab therapy team.

To understand the difference, first consider how much time it takes to run reports. Who does this, and how often? Is the information accurate and timely, and does it offer drill-down capabilities so it’s simple to pinpoint causes for slow or sudden changes, or outliers?

With whom is this information shared? Is it being reviewed regularly, and do the findings lead to actions, improvements and corrections, as needed?

Unlike data exports, business intelligence KPIs can be viewed any time, often depicted visually so that slow or sudden changes and outliers can easily be identified and addressed without having to first crank out new reports.

4. BI is Just a Bunch of Reports and Dashboards

We can see how, from the outside, business intelligence may be construed this way. But, BI isn’t just about having a dashboard; it’s about giving your rehab therapy clinicians, directors, managers and administrative team the tools and resources it needs to get accurate information when and where they need it most.

Yes, this may involve reports and dashboards – these tools certainly help the team quickly visualize the data and notice significant changes and outliers – but BI should not be limited to time, location or device.

A quality business intelligence solution will provide you with the numbers you need, when you need them, whether you’re working at your SNF or reviewing the data at the home office.

5. With BI Software Comes BI Strategy

While business intelligence software certainly makes KPIs easier to access and track in a timely manner, having such data at your fingertips is not the same is acting on the data.

Being able to use data to “steer the plane,” so to speak – to ensure your SNF rehab therapy team remains on course toward reaching important clinical, financial, and operational goals – requires complete team buy-in. It requires a BI strategy.

The point of business intelligence, after all, is the support optimal actions and decisions, and actions and decisions are ultimately made by people. So, adopting business intelligence as a compass for driving success will likely require systemic changes in your SNF team’s culture.

This may include establishing accountability measures, celebrating data-driven successes, and so on.

Net Health Therapy for SNF Business Intelligence

For SNF rehab therapy teams, Net Health offers a business intelligence solution designed for the way you operate. Net Health Therapy for SNF Business Intelligence is an analytics solution that provides highly visual, interactive dashboards in key operational areas, while also offering actionable insights.

This BI solution was specifically created for SNF rehab therapy providers and contract therapy companies of all sizes, from single to multiple facilities.

Integrated with your Net Health Therapy for Skilled Nursing EHR, SNF Business Intelligence is ideal for teams that can benefit from analyzing operational, clinical and financial data while eliminating the time it takes to repeatedly run and compile multiple reports.

To learn more about Net Health Therapy for SNF Business Intelligence and how it can benefit your facility, contact us today to schedule a demo.

REFERENCES:
¹ SKYbrary, “Spatial Disorientation”
² Unerpervised, “Understanding BI Bottlenecks in Business,” Jan. 6, 2022