To treat the complex needs of a patient — physical, behavioral and mental — providers need reliable sources of information that are available promptly, including access to insight from a multidisciplinary team of professionals. As a result, electronic health or medical records (EHR/EMR) have transformed how healthcare professionals practice their craft. 

Any therapist or provider must find the right balance between delivering quality patient care and promoting patient engagement, while also facing the unique challenges of running a business in the healthcare industry. So, in order to manage the evolving demands of the therapy and rehab market, you'll need a practice management system that streamlines clinical operations as well as fosters routine attempts to engage patients. 

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen explosive growth in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and it doesn't seem this trend shows signs of slowing down any time soon. In fact, recent market analysis predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.2% in the coming years, with potential spending on healthcare AI reaching $67.4 billion by 2027.

For decades, the therapy and rehab industry has been leveraging evidence-based research as the basis for determining best practices. However, in today's modern world of electronic medical records (EMR) and regulatory agencies requiring mandatory reporting, "big data" is still a concept that healthcare professionals have been struggling to understand since it’s about so much more than just meeting your baseline documentation needs. With business intelligence (BI) and analytics, you can unlock crucial insights from your data as well as leverage this information to make more informed decisions regarding your practice's operational or financial health. Keep reading to learn more about the difference between business intelligence and business analytics. 

Clinical documentation forms the foundation of a patient's medical record, an enduring document that details the care a patient receives. Within each patient's record, healthcare providers document critical information, including changes in the individual's medical condition, fluctuation of outcomes as well as the evolution of the care provided to meet the needs presented by the patient's diagnosis. As such, clinical documentation serves as a reference for a patient's treatment plan and provides data for quality assurance monitoring. 

Seeing a physical therapist after undergoing knee or back surgery isn't unusual, in fact most expect it; however, including physical therapy as an integral part of a breast cancer patient's post-surgery rehabilitation is relatively new. Now, physical therapists are collaborating with other medical professionals to help those suffering from breast cancer achieve their optimal quality of life, whether they've had minor surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatments or a double mastectomy.