“Asking a therapist to concern themselves with analytics can be a little like asking an engineer to focus on their feelings…it doesn’t always come naturally.”
Having co-owned a large therapy practice for nearly 13 years, I know how hard it is to remain competitive in an ever-changing market. The good news is there are many things practices can do to ensure viability over the long haul.. One of the most important steps a practice can take is to make sure they have great products/services. Of course, they will also need to maintain ethical standards, monitor costs, and possibly even do some marketing. That should be enough, right? Well, in my experience, no. While these are critical components of any successful practice, they are not exhaustive. With rising costs and an increasingly tight market, one cannot simply rely on the “build it and they will come” model. Instead, to thrive in today’s market, practice owners increasingly need to know DATA.
What does DATA have to do with helping people?
I’m gonna let you in on a dirty little secret..Your practice is a business. This means that theoretically, the healthier your business, the better equipped you will be to help others. The inverse is true as well, if your business is not healthy, it is reasonable to assume that you may not have the resources to help people in the way that you otherwise could have. In fact, you may even struggle to keep the doors open. By reviewing data, or analytics, you can gain insight into aspects of your business that are normally obscured. For example, you might find that your admin is overstaffed during the slowest parts of the day and taking lunch breaks during the rush. Or maybe you learn that when your client’s churn, they most often do so after the first session. Is that useful or actionable information? Of course it is! These small details have compounding effects on your bottom line and the health of your business.
Ok, but aren’t your clinicians resistant to being “all about numbers”?
First, let me clarify by saying that valuing analytics is not equivalent to devaluing people-they are not mutually exclusive! We actually think it’s just the opposite. We feel a strong responsibility to our staff and the community to be wise and prudent with our business decisions. After all, if we cannot remain viable, we cannot help anyone. This concept is actually widely accepted in our field already. That is, we intuitively know that a healthy clinician is better suited to help a client than one that is unhealthy. However, when we view this concept at the organizational level (i.e. a healthy business is better equipped to help a client than an unhealthy business), we tend to be a little more hesitant.
So, back to the original question…yes therapists often “push back” on the use of analytics. Some of the reasons for this include:
-Limited understanding of their utility
We have found that many clinicians come to value analytics when they are given the proper context for understanding their purpose and utility. Showing numbers without answering the “why” can produce anxiety and frustration.
-Feeling like valuing numbers means devaluing people
We think this is a misconception. See explanation above.
-Concern for that the numbers won’t tell the whole story
One of the most common concerns expressed by therapists is the fear that analytics will misrepresent their efforts. This is generally due to a misunderstanding of how the data are utilized. While there are many examples where context is needed to understand a number, our focus is generally on long-term patterns or abrupt changes in productivity. Maintaining this “broad view” prevents us from getting hung up on any one number.
-It doesn’t come natural…”I’m not a numbers person”
This is a valid criticism, after all, therapists like to think of themselves as ‘right brained’ individuals, right? In our experience, asking a therapist to concern themselves with analytics can be a little like asking an engineer to focus on their feelings…it doesn’t always come naturally, but it can (and should) be done. It is a skill and appreciation that can grow over time.
-Accountability
Few therapists would admit it, but some clinicians don’t like analytics because of the accountability that comes with them. With analytics, a clinician can no longer hide the fact that they are churning through new clients or being less intentional about filling appointments. All of their strengths and weaknesses are there for viewing. A good manager finds productive ways to share the data with his/her therapists to encourage them to become the best versions of themselves rather than scolding them for shortcomings.
I’m sold. How do I get started improving my practice using analytics?
Welcome aboard. We knew you could do it. The good news is there is no shortage of tools out there to help give you insight into your practice. Many EMRs have some reporting functionality that can be useful, although it is typically sparse. Practices that want to take their analytics to the next level should probably look at more robust tools like PracticeVital.com. We recently started using this tool in our practice and have found it to be very thorough.
Another tool we use in our practice is Checkin360.com. (In the spirit of transparency, we also happen to also be the creators of this app). Checkin360 is an intuitive check in app that reduces front desk traffic by allowing the clients to check themselves in on a tablet. The client taps their therapist’s picture and the therapist receives a simple text message notifying them of the client’s arrival. We recently rebuilt the app from the ground up to offer exciting new features like custom questions, analytics, and multiple location support.
Regarding analytics specifically, admin users can view the total number of check ins over a selected period as well as the daily average.
Checkin360 also provides charts that display the total number of check-ins for specific days and specific hours, which can be helpful when scheduling staff or lunch breaks.
Do you want to know which clinicians have been the most active within a specific time period? Checkin360 can do that too. You can also view a log for a specific day or specific week. It’s all right there.
While I think all of that data is really interesting. This next chart is my favorite. It merges the days of the week with specific hours to create a volume “heat map”. Before looking at this chart, I honestly had no idea that Tuesday was our busiest day or that 2pm averaged the highest volume of clients. This has provided us valuable insights to make scheduling and hiring decisions.
In summary, I want to encourage you to begin using data to better understand your practice. Start small and build momentum so you don’t become overwhelmed. Provide adequate context and education to your therapists so they can appreciate the “why” of the analytics rather than seeing them as just an avenue for critique. In the end, by developing healthier businesses, we are better equipped to help more people…and isn’t that the ultimate goal?