*Click here for a printable brochure & registration form (PDF)

An Overview

Session I:  Establishing a Fee Schedule for Your Facility
Developing a fee schedule for your clinic/facility can be a challenging activity, particularly when the fees for services are developed by administrators or computer programs that do not fully understand the scope or the value of physical therapist services.  For many years, fee schedules were developed based on the concept of “Usual, Customary, and Reasonable,” resulting in fee schedules that reflected charges that valued modalities and procedures without any distinction in terms of how the service was actually “delivered.” The Resource Based Relative Value Scale was adopted by statute in 1989 as the method of payment for services under the Fee-For-Service (FFS) system under Medicare, and is now used by more than 80% of private payers who reimburse under a FFS methodology. Fee schedules that are not appropriately developed or do not correctly align the fees for services based on the resources required to provide them could result in payer inquiry through audit activities, including a third party to review the medical record before authorizing payment.  Additionally, most physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are not aware that the profession’s core documents (Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, and Guide to Professional Conduct) contain provisions that require the PT and PTA to be aware of the relationship between the fees charged for their professional services and the protection of the patient in a third party environment or in the increasingly popular cash pay situation. There are also legal considerations in developing fee schedules that are critical for physical therapists to understand, which can relate to issues such as price-fixing, offering of inducements, and/or violation of the anti-kickback statutes.

Although Medicare reimbursement has continued to decline due to the flawed methodology used to calculate the conversion factor, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, the use of professionally accepted relative values is widely accepted as the best methodology for determining the resources necessary in providing health care services. The Resource Based Relative Value Scale is an excellent tool for therapists to use as a philosophical basis for determining their own fee schedule for professional services. Once a reasonable fee schedule is developed, therapists will find themselves in a much stronger position to enter into contractual relationships with payers, provide discounts to those fees based on specific provider agreements, and ensure the appropriate rank order relationship of the various interventions provided in the clinic/facility.

Upon completion of Session I, you and your staff will:

• Understand the relationship between the Profession's core documents (Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, and Guide to Professional Conduct), and the establishment and application of a fee schedule for physical therapy practice in any setting;
• Describe and apply the basic components of the Resource Based Relative Value Scale in order to successfully develop a value based fee schedule and evaluate closely related payment methodologies offered within payer contracts;
• Specifically compare and contrast for the purpose of evaluating contractual payment arrangements and fee schedules as they relate to the current methodology used in payment under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule;
• Apply practice management tools related to RBRVS to further define, market and successfully negotiate on behalf of your practice;
• Understand and avoid the legal pitfalls in developing a fee schedule for your practice/facility.

Session II:  Determining Your Cost per Visit
It should not be surprising that most physical therapists have had no formal training in financial management related to their professional practice. However, knowing your cost to provide a visit is probably one of the most important pieces of information a therapist can have related to practice management, regardless of the setting where services are provided. If you are not able to ensure that your collection per visit is at least equal to your cost to provide the service, you may not be in business for long! Knowing your cost per visit (CPV) is a vital variable when determining whether or not to contract with certain health insurance companies, determining your budget, negotiating salaries and other forms of compensation with staff, and predicting the opportunity to grow your practice in the future. What is alarming is the number of therapists who do not know their cost per visit, and therefore are not able to use this information in managing their practice.

This audio conference will provide an overview of the basic financial statements necessary for healthy practice management, including the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows. Additionally, the concepts of fixed, variable, semi-fixed, and semi-variable costs will be reviewed as they relate to determining your clinic/facility cost per visit and the opportunity to predict the financial impact of contracting decisions based not only on the CPV calculation, but on the opportunity and sunk costs that are critical parts of healthy financial decision-making. A commonly accepted method for calculating your CPV will be reviewed, and an opportunity to discuss the use of this calculation in determining contracting decisions will be provided.

 Upon completion of Session II, you and your staff will:

• Learn about the basic financial statements necessary in physical therapist practice management, including the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows;
• Understand the various concepts related to calculating your cost per visit, including fixed, variable, semi-fixed, and semi-variable costs;
• Learn how to calculate your cost per visit using both the “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches;
• Understand the variables necessary in determining the appropriateness of contracting with a health insurer when payment is likely to be less than your cost per visit.

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This is how it works...      

Complete the attached Registration Form for your PT practice and return to the Colorado Chapter by the registration deadline.

By the Friday before the session, registered locations will be sent an email confirmation with dial-in information and a web link to download handout materials.

Join the call by dialing the toll-free number and giving the confirmation number.

Gather your staff and listen via speaker phone to the presentation, follow along with the handouts and participate in live, interactive Q&A.

PLEASE NOTE:  Registration fees are based on per dial-in connection; multiple call-ins from your practice will be charged. We are unable to accommodate more than one practice or department per call-in. 

CE Credit:  Certificates of attendance or CEUs will be provided by your state association after the conference as appropriate for your state.

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Save time and travel costs and include all staff members who will benefit from this timely topic!

Fees to participate in this audio-conference are based on practice size and number of PTs on staff.

Select Your Session(s) --
Register for more than one and save $$$:

One Session:

• $149 for Practices with 4 or more PTs on staff
• $139 for Practices with 2-3 PTs on staff
• $129 for Practices with only one PT on staff

Two Sessions (with discount):

• $289 for Practices with 4 or more PTs on staff
• $269 for Practices with 2-3 PTs on staff
• $249 for Practices with only one PT on staff

PLEASE NOTE: Registration fees are based per dial-in connection; multiple dial-ins from your practice will be charged. We are unable to accommodate more than one practice or department per call-in. 

Written requests for refunds received on or before the deadline for the session will receive a 50% refund, less a $50 processing fee; fees are nonrefundable after this date. There are no refunds for no shows.

You must contact us by the session deadline date if you have special needs or require additional assistance or accommodation to participate in this audio conference.

Register by the session deadline!

Please complete the Secure On-line Registration Form and submit your registration electronically to the APTA/Colorado Chapter.

Click for a printable brochure & registration form in PDF

A confirmation with dialing information and handout materials will be emailed to all registered practices by the Friday before the session.

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American Physical Therapy Association / Colorado Chapter
7400 East Arapahoe Road, Suite #211, Centennial, Colorado 80112-1821 U.S.A.
Phone 303.694-4728   Fax 303.694-4869   Email apta@assnoffice.com

Copyright 2006-2008, APTA/Colorado Chapter. All rights reserved.

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