The Role of Technology in Solving Burnout in Rehab Therapy 

The current chair of the Department of Rehab and Movement Sciences at Rutgers University, Nancy Kirsch, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, would love to see the word “burnout” retired from use when describing healthcare and rehab therapy professionals. It’s not that burnout never happens within medical professions; this label is often incorrectly assigned when describing a more nuanced condition Kirsch calls “moral injury.” 

“Burnout is like, ‘I’m not interested in following this path anymore. I want to do something else,’” she said. “Where moral injury is, ‘I want to do this, but I want to do it the way I know I should be doing it or that I feel like I could be doing it.’ Or, ‘I just can’t do it in a way that I’m getting any satisfaction from it.’ This leads to a feeling of helplessness [because you feel] you can’t make a difference in changing the way the care is delivered, but you truly want to still be delivering that care.”  

As outlined in the previous chapter, “Defining and Identifying Burnout in Rehab Therapy,” this feeling of moral injury has grown throughout the rehab therapy community. From staffing shortages, increased caseloads, and productivity pressures to lowering payer reimbursements, tedious documentation workflows, and insufficient resources and support, up to nearly three-quarters of physical therapists practicing today experience moral injury and, yes, burnout. 

Combined, these issues lead to feelings of detachment, emotional exhaustion, and low personal accomplishment among rehab therapy professionals. This can lead to depersonalization of services and an overall decline in patient care. 

“They’re disengaged, they’re unmotivated, and they’re unable to focus. That’s dangerous,” Kirsch said. “It’s why this is such a regulatory issue. These are not people who are incompetent in terms of their skillset. These people are not competent in terms of where they are in the moment. They really can’t treat patients safely and effectively — both components that need to be met with every single patient.” 

In other words, addressing the causes of moral injury and burnout is a critical step that must be taken to strengthen the rehab therapy profession. But where do we begin? 

Many of the challenges faced by rehab therapists are deeply rooted in compliance, communication, and workflow, making them difficult to solve through traditional processes. Thankfully, modern technology now offers some of the most promising solutions. Tools like artificial intelligence (AI), smart documentation, and remote patient and therapeutic monitoring (RPM/RTM) are helping streamline workflows and ease administrative burdens. 

As we enter a new era of healthcare innovation, these advancements arrive just in time, allowing therapists to focus more on delivering better patient care while addressing many of the root causes of burnout. 

“[Burned-out rehab therapists] are disengaged, they’re unmotivated, and they’re unable to focus. That’s dangerous. It’s why this is such a regulatory issue.”

Nancy Kirsch, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, Department of Rehab and Movement Sciences Chair, Rutgers University 

The Promise of Tech in Reducing Burnout 

When Drew Contreras, PT, DPT, considers how technology can improve burnout in rehab therapy, he focuses on how current innovations can harness and employ data that heightens practitioners’ sense of accomplishment and purpose. 

“The one thing that really excites me is the ability to leverage technology to use data so that I’m making better clinical decisions,” said Contreras, Vice President of Clinical Integration and Innovation with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). “So, whatever the system is — whether it’s a motion-capture system, a force plate system, some sort of dynamometer — it gives me actual numbers that are tangible and reproducible that I can then use to make better clinical decisions. I think that is what will change our approach as a profession.” 

Such tools are complex, combining hardware, software, data management, elements of AI, and interoperability with other systems (i.e., electronic health records, or EHR software) to yield greater precision and success in care. They’re also representative of emerging solutions that enable rehab therapists to focus less on technician and administrative work and more on clinical and patient care — a key in reducing burnout. 

In today’s healthcare environment, where burnout rates are rising and there’s an increasing emphasis on value-based care, healthcare innovators are turning their attention to solutions like these that help practitioners spend less time on administrative tasks and more time doing what they are passionate about: treating patients. 

Documentation, billing and coding, scheduling, and outcomes management have historically been time-consuming aspects of a therapist’s day, often leading to frustration and a sense of detachment from patient care. By streamlining these processes through technology, rehab therapists can refocus on their clinical work and regain a sense of purpose and fulfillment. 

This shift is crucial for outpatient and private practice therapists and those working in hospital settings and post-acute care facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). These environments, with their fast-paced demands, extensive administrative requirements, and an emphasis on interprofessional team collaboration, can be particularly prone to burnout. 

Why Turn to Technology When Feeling Burned Out? 

Technology-driven tools — like integrated EHR systems, smart documentation, and AI-driven scheduling solutions — offer a way to ease these burdens and allow therapists to spend more time with their patients. By minimizing the time spent on non-clinical tasks, these innovations help restore the balance between administrative duties and hands-on care, which is essential for easing the emotional and cognitive toll of burnout. 

Some of the key benefits of utilizing technology to combat burnout in rehab therapy include: 

Streamlining Administrative Tasks 
Technologies like smart documentation tools, automated billing systems, and AI-driven scheduling significantly reduce the time rehab therapists and front-desk teams spend on tedious administrative work. This allows more focus on patient care and helps them spend less time bogged down by “paperwork.” 

Reducing Emotional Exhaustion 
By automating repetitive tasks and simplifying workflows, technology can reduce the mental strain therapists experience when faced with everyday tedium. This helps prevent some of the mental exhaustion that can lead to burnout. 

Reducing Workload 
Automated systems for scheduling, documentation, billing/coding, and outcomes management reduce the overall workload. This allows therapists to manage their time more efficiently and focus on delivering higher-quality care without feeling overwhelmed. 

Improving Clinical Decision-Making 
AI and data-driven tools can provide rehab therapists with real-time insights, predictions, and evidence-based recommendations for patient care and interventions. This can enhance decision-making, reduce cognitive load, and allow rehab therapists to deliver more effective, personalized treatments. 

Increasing Job Satisfaction 
With less time spent on non-clinical tasks and more time engaging in patient care, therapists experience greater job satisfaction. The ability to focus on their core mission — helping patients recover — restores a sense of purpose and fulfillment. 

Improving Access for More Patients 
Technologies like telehealth and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) allow physical, occupational, and speech therapists to reach a broader range of patients, including those in remote or underserved areas. This increases patient access to care, reduces therapists’ need for extensive travel, and allows more efficient use of their time, contributing to less burnout, a more balanced workload, and greater professional satisfaction. 

Fostering Better Work-Life Balance 
With streamlined workflows and reduced administrative burdens, therapists are more likely to complete tasks within working hours, minimizing after-hours work and promoting a healthier work-life balance. 

Enhancing Team Collaboration 
Technologies like cloud-based EHRs and collaboration tools like digital whiteboards, secure direct messaging, and patient portals can facilitate better communication among therapy teams and between patients, nurses, physicians, specialists, and other caregivers. This helps reduce isolation, improve team dynamics, and drive positive patient outcomes and experiences. 

Improving Patient Outcomes 
Technology directly contributes to better patient outcomes by allowing therapists to spend more time focusing on patients and utilizing predictive analytics for better care planning. This further reduces professional stress. 

Innovative Tech Solutions for Easing Burnout in Rehab Therapy 

As the previous section indicated, technology is more than just a tool. Technology is a lifeline for rehab therapists facing increasing workloads, administrative pressures, and the risk of burnout. The rise of smart, tech-driven solutions has brought relief by automating routine tasks, improving clinical decision-making, and streamlining workflows. 

In this section, we’ll explore specific technological solutions and their profound impact on reducing burnout in rehab therapy. From EHR solutions and smart documentation systems that save time and reduce clerical burdens to AI and machine learning tools that assist in diagnostics and treatment planning, each innovation plays a pivotal role in making healthcare more efficient. 

Such innovations are also helping reconnect practitioners to their purpose, said Alan Lee, PT, PhD, DPT, CSW, GCS. Lee is the president of the Tech Special Interest Group (SIG) with the APTA, a professor of physical therapy at Mount Sait Mary’s University in Los Angeles, and a practicing rehab therapist at Wicks Mercy Hospital in San Diego. 

“I guess when we feel like we’re detached from what our sense of purpose is, that’s when you begin to feel overwhelmed and you just don’t feel like you’re accomplishing the goals that you set out for your day,” he said. “I’m in a hospital setting, and so I want to get through my workload and be productive. But I want to also feel like I’m accomplishing helping others. That’s what I got into this profession to do. Tech helps with that. 

Technology is truly reshaping how rehab therapists work, ultimately serving as a foundational source for alleviating burnout within the profession. Let’s take a closer look at these advancements and their tangible benefits in practice. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning  

AI is revolutionizing how we live, do business, and care for one another. AI-driven automation is already increasing worker productivity, leading to significant economic expansion — gains experts anticipate will increase exponentially, contributing more than $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.  

In rehab therapy, AI is used to automate routine tasks, such as scheduling, billing, and even documentation, freeing up valuable time for therapists to focus on patient care. AI tools also assist with data analysis, identifying patterns in patient records, and suggesting optimal care pathways. 

For example, AI-driven tools can analyze patient data to recommend the best treatment options, reducing therapists’ time on manual data review and administrative work. This automation significantly tempers repetitive tasks, enabling therapists to prioritize clinical care. 

In addition, Lee said that AI is particularly powerful in optimizing and securing payer reimbursement. 

“AI can help ensure your interaction [with the patient] captures the best payment or the models that could predict what would potentially be the ideal payment for working with insurers,” he said. “I think insurers are already using AI to do this, so I think as a therapist, you want to not fight it but make sure that your program is doing similar types of critiques — that you are not only getting the best capture payment, but doing so while preventing fraud and abuse.” 

Predictive analytics, another application of AI, can forecast patient outcomes, identifying those at risk of complications or non-compliance. This allows therapists to intervene proactively, improving patient outcomes and reducing the likelihood of adverse events. 

By integrating AI and machine learning into rehab therapy, therapists can reduce their cognitive load. These tools handle data-heavy tasks, enhance decision-making accuracy, and ensure therapists remain focused on patient interaction rather than administrative work. As a result, AI contributes to improved efficiency, better patient outcomes, and greater job satisfaction for therapists, all of which help alleviate burnout in the profession. 

“I would say that the potential for AI is unlimited,” Contreras said. “There’s so many great things that it can do, but the problem isn’t what it can do. It’s going to be how we choose to implement it and what we allow it to do. So for example, if you allow AI to do things without a check on it, you’re going to get varied results, which isn’t good enough for healthcare.” 

Currently, healthcare is number one in the AI technologies market share at 15.7%  Around one-quarter of all businesses have adopted AI to address labor shortages, one of the top challenges currently facing rehab therapy.  

Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Smart Documentation 

EHR systems have become essential tools in modern healthcare, streamlining how patient data is recorded, stored, and accessed. For rehab therapists, EHRs help centralize patient records, enabling easy retrieval of medical histories, therapy plans, and progress notes. 

While traditional documentation could be time-consuming and inefficient, modern EHR systems are designed with intuitive interfaces and automated features, making it easier to input data and reduce clerical burden. This improvement allows therapists to focus more on clinical care rather than documentation, which three-quarters of healthcare professionals say hampers patient care. 

Smart documentation, including ambient documentation tools, can take EHR systems a step further by automating the data-entry process. Ambient documentation, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), can record patient-therapist conversations during sessions and automatically transcribe them into structured clinical notes. This eliminates the need for therapists to manually input session details after appointments, saving significant time.  

“The ideal scenario is if we could get it where the EHR works for the clinician and now the clinician is doing their job and then working to translate that into the EHR so [the visit is] properly documented for reimbursement,” Contreras said. “We’ve got to find a way for that to be a better workflow so that clinicians are supported. Then they can spend more time in their best use, which is patient intervention, diagnosing, making decisions, making treatment plans … and not so much clicking dropdowns.” 

By leveraging such documentation technologies emerging within the market as EHR features or add-ons, rehab therapists can experience less administrative overload. This leads to improved workflows and a more manageable workload, freeing up time for improving patient care and work-life balance.  

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) and Telehealth 

Telehealth and RTM have become vital in modern rehab therapy, allowing rehab therapists to track patient progress and provide care remotely. This provides access to care for patients who can’t always come to the clinic and offers a level of work flexibility for providers who are not always able to work in person. 

Telehealth, of course, enables rehab therapists to conduct virtual appointments with patients through video calls or secure digital platforms. This eliminates the geographical barriers preventing patients from receiving timely care, especially those in rural or underserved areas. Telehealth helps rehab professionals stay connected to patients without the added burden of travel or logistical constraints. 

“We want patients to be able to access us, and the frustration of logistics (to visit the clinic) can just overwhelm people,” said Kirsch. “So, having an opportunity — especially as costs keep coming down on a lot of these [remote tools] — to be able to get see patients in a much more efficient way … just gives therapists a much broader perspective on what they can do for patients. We’re trending toward, ‘Let’s meet patients where they are.’” 

Along these lines, RTM involves using digital health tools that monitor patient adherence to home exercise programs (HEP) and other therapeutic activities. These tools allow therapists to gather data on patient performance outside the clinic, ensuring that exercises are performed correctly and consistently. 

This consistent monitoring reduces the need for frequent in-person visits while giving therapists valuable insights into patient progress between sessions. 

Both RTM and telehealth streamline patient management by allowing therapists to monitor progress and intervene as needed without always requiring in-person appointments. These technologies help rehab professionals manage larger caseloads more efficiently, improving access to care while reducing the physical and emotional strain of a packed schedule. 

Workflow and Operational Management Tools 

At a time when around half of U.S. healthcare providers believe they spend an excessive amount of time on clerical tasks, workflow and operational management tools play essential roles in optimizing daily rehab therapy operations by improving resource allocation and overall efficiency. 

By streamlining processes like patient scheduling and therapist assignments, these technologies help reduce administrative bottlenecks and increase productivity. 

Automating routine tasks such as appointment reminders or alerting other care team members to important patient changes can further enable therapists to focus more on patient care and less on managing logistics. The result is a significant reduction in the stress that often contributes to burnout. 

“If [patient] data comes in and I’m able to see a dashboard where here’s my 15 patients today, and I know immediately — boom, boom, boom — these three guys right here I have to spend time on. And these other guys … they’re looking good, so I can spend less time with them, and I can focus my energy on the folks that need it most. That just makes me a better clinician because it allowed me to put my attention where it can best be used.” 

In addition to workflow systems, business intelligence (BI) tools can be used to collect and analyze large amounts of operational data, often providing relevant, real-time insights that help directors and administrators better manage their rehab teams. This data includes information on scheduling efficiency, resource utilization, patient flow, and other key performance indicators (KPIs). 

With BI tools, managers can quickly spot inefficiencies, provide necessary resources, and optimize staffing based on past performance and trends. This helps enhance the overall performance of a rehab therapy clinic or department. 

In practice, these tools can significantly reduce the administrative burden on therapists and clinic staff. By using integrated workflow and BI tools that are either built in or seamlessly connected into your EHR, managers can make more informed decisions that impact the mental and emotional health of the rehab staff. 

Outcomes Tracking and Predictive Analytics 

Outcomes tracking and predictive analytics tools are reshaping how rehab therapists monitor patient progress and refine treatment plans. 

By analyzing data such as patient history and health metrics, these tools forecast recovery outcomes, enabling therapists to make informed, proactive decisions. This reduces the uncertainty in care and allows for early intervention, improving both efficiency and patient outcomes. 

Specific solutions exist that track patient progress and provide predictive insights. Often, these tools analyze patient-reported outcomes and compare them to larger datasets, helping therapists personalize treatment and adjust plans in real time. This data-driven approach ensures more targeted care and better overall performance. 

The benefits of predictive analytics are clear: improved patient outcomes, reduced cognitive load for therapists, and greater confidence in clinical decisions. By enhancing the accuracy and personalization of care, these tools help reduce stress and improve job satisfaction, making it easier for therapists to focus on their primary mission: helping patients. 

Wearable Technologies 

Wearable technologies are becoming invaluable in rehab therapy, providing real-time data on a patient’s physical activity, movement, and overall health. Devices like fitness trackers, smartwatches, and specialized rehab wearables help therapists monitor their patients’ progress outside the clinic. These tools track key metrics (i.e., range of motion, heart rate, and step count), offering insights into how patients adhere to their therapy programs. 

The data collected through these wearables can often be integrated with platforms (i.e., EHR solutions) that therapists can access. This allows them to monitor patient progress remotely, offer guidance, and ensure that patients remain on track with their home exercise programs. 

The use of wearable technologies enhances patient outcomes by keeping patients and therapists more engaged in the recovery process, which, according to Contreras, is a critical aspect of care. 

“It gives the patient information that really just helps the therapeutic alliance and really gives them some ownership and control of it,” he said. “And I think that we underestimate how powerful that is because it’s just like if you were being honest, when you get a patient who’s actually doing all their rehab exercises and starts owning it, they do fantastic as opposed to the patient who kind of sort does it goes through the motions and isn’t as invested in it, you get better outcomes.” 

These devices reduce the need for frequent in-person visits, as therapists can monitor progress remotely, saving time for both parties. By providing objective data, wearables reduce the guesswork in patient care, alleviating the cognitive load on therapists and helping to prevent burnout by making patient management more efficient and effective. 

The Double-Edged Sword of Technology 

In this chapter, we explored how technology — from smart documentation and EHRs to AI and wearable devices — can play a critical role in reducing burnout among rehab therapists. 

These tools streamline administrative tasks, enhance clinical decision-making, and allow therapists to spend more time on patient care, ultimately leading to better outcomes and increased job satisfaction. By implementing tech solutions thoughtfully and with clear goals, rehab therapy teams can significantly reduce the stress and emotional exhaustion that often lead to burnout. 

But, while technology offers tremendous potential to improve healthcare delivery and ease burnout, it’s not without its challenges. In fact, tech has a dark side: poorly implemented solutions and an overreliance on technology can actually make burnout worse. 

In the next (and final) chapter, we’ll explore the risks of depersonalization, tech overload, and what happens when systems fail to integrate seamlessly. And, most importantly, we’ll discuss how to mitigate these risks to ensure that technology truly supports therapists rather than becoming another obstacle.