Change is the name of the game in senior care and change is coming again. The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is being implemented on October 1, 2019. And, like the effects of most change in our industry, many people are worried about the implications this new system will have on therapy. First the good news. Therapy isn’t going anywhere. It’s here to stay. Like other tides of change have come and gone, we will survive just as we have with previous payment model changes in the past. The not so great news is that PDPM represents a huge change that everyone is going to have to learn about and get onboard ASAP.
Evolution in Therapy
Many changes have occurred in therapy practice and reimbursement. Change took place under the RUGs system and the prospective payment system (PPS). I once heard a leader in senior care call PPS the “Please Pay Something” system. Under PPS, providers were incentivized to adapt, balance, and focus on multiple areas including resident satisfaction and running a good therapy business.
(NOTE: Interested in CEUs for Nursing Home Administrators? Checkout my Nursing Home Administrator CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)
Over the past several years, therapy services have seen an incredible increase in usage, some say by almost 30 percent. This occurred in the Ultra-High Rehabilitation (RU) category, and with it came program development, employee training, and allowing residents as much therapy as possible. Over the last 10 to 15 years, residents with more acute and complex conditions have been the norm. To make this happen, senior care leaned heavily on therapy. The outcomes? Residents got therapy and went home safely without the need for re-hospitalization.
Enter PDPM
Therapy will evolve again with the changes taking place under the Patient-Driven Payment Model. This time, there will be a greater focus on the resident’s clinical needs and the use of technology, the employment of more therapists who have a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, and greater use of group and concurrent therapy. As in the past, this will be tied to clinically appropriate interventions and related outcomes from all treatments under therapy.
What will change will be greater incentive and focus on efficiency. It will be advantageous for therapy departments and senior care communities to concentrate on outcomes and efficiency, working as a team, training staff, and using a 72-hour post-admission meeting as a launching point for services. The bottom line is the clinically appropriate therapy needs of the resident.
Final Words on the Patient Driven Payment Model
Therapy will survive – again. If you’ve been in senior care you have become used to change. It is to be expected. The needs of the resident should always be our focus, regardless of the services being provided, and therapy is no exception. From RUGs, to PPS, and now PDPM, therapy will go on, but with greater focus on very specific areas including necessity, results, and high-level leadership. Therapy will continue to be a major part of the senior care industry after October 1, and into the future.
(NOTE: Interested in CEUs for Nursing Home Administrators? Checkout my Nursing Home Administrator CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)