Prior to using FOTO, we were capturing paper-based outcomes. But with our size and scale, the lack of a risk adjustment built-in, and no way to properly aggregate the data, we had no way to make any sort of meaningful decisions off the data to drive the business forward.”

Owen M. Lennon PT, DPT, OCS, Director of Clinical Outcomes, Professional PT

The Challenge

Several years ago, Professional PT, a leading provider of outpatient physical therapy and rehabilitation services with over 200 locations in 5 states in the Northeast, saw opportunity amidst rapid growth to better leverage data to drive clinical decision making and expand upon its already robust clinical training programs. Professional PT was looking for a better, more efficient, and more effective way to make business decisions, improve patient results, and validate the great work it had been doing.

At the time, the company was tracking patient outcomes via pen and paper. The problem? This created challenges to draw meaningful conclusions and trends, especially with the size, scale, and broad demographics of patients in many subspecialties and niches of care.

FOTO’s QCDR availability of both process and outcome measures allows us to be very flexible in our measure selection for MIPS reporting.”

Owen M. Lennon PT, DPT, OCS, Director of Clinical Outcomes, Professional PT

The Solution

The solution Professional PT was seeking needed to help the company collect the right data, aggregate that data in a meaningful way, submit data for MIPS reporting, and assist in driving decision making—all while being cost-effective and seamlessly integrating with existing systems.

That solution came in the form of FOTO Patient Outcomes (FOTO), a Net Health analytics company that provides real-time information on treatment effectiveness that enables practices of all sizes to manage quality care metrics, track patient satisfaction, and market those successes.

Some of the highlights of the FOTO solution include:

  • Capturing and reporting nationally benchmarked, risk-adjusted comparisons based on data collected from more than 10 million completed patient episodes
  • Helping to compare treatment effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in real-time to improve patient care and facilitate clinician growth
  • A CMS-approved MIPS QCDR with measures that are NQF-endorsed and recognized by CMS for Medicare compliance

The Result

Professional PT was able to integrate FOTO with its existing EMR software to provide a comprehensive look at many facets of its business in a new and powerful way. The results? Many. In the past four-plus years of utilizing the FOTO data solution, Professional PT has seen:

  • Year-over-year improvements in clinical outcomes
  • Reductions in visits per episode
  • Improved clinical engagement as a result of benchmarking capabilities
  • Ability to dial in more targeted training and retraining as needed
  • Improved patient satisfaction scores

The proverbial cherry on top is that FOTO comes with a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) designation from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This has allowed Professional PT to quickly and accurately capture quality measures and improvement activities, providing a clearer picture to make decisions and drive training to support success in the MIPS program. As the industry continues its shift towards value-based care, the importance of this benefit will continue to rise.

Overall, Professional PT’s use of FOTO in over 200 locations throughout the course of 4+ years and through a global pandemic shows just how powerful and battle-tested of a solution it really is.

“The ability to provide an outstanding patient experience and exceptional clinical care with insights into limiting unwanted variation has been the best part of working with FOTO,” said Owen M. Lennon PT, DPT, OCS, Director of Clinical Outcomes.

If you’d like to see how FOTO might be able to help your physical therapy practice, we’d encourage you to schedule a free demo today!