Last month, my company, WebPT, held its fourth-annual Ascend event, the ultimate business summit for rehab therapists. And we had quite an amazing turnout, both in terms of attendees and speakers. Over the course of two days in Washington, DC, we came together to discuss the current status of our industry as well as where we’re heading, and how to thrive at every step along the way. To be clear, in order to be successful in this new healthcare environment, we’re going to need to work together to bolster our professional reputation, break through the boundaries we’re currently playing within, and ultimately, change the way we think about not only health care, but also business. With that in mind, here are three major takeaways from this inspiration-filled weekend that you can put into action now, whether or not you attended the conference.

1. Embrace patient-centered care.

It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the healthcare industry, on the whole, is becoming more patient-centric, and quickly. After all, things have been moving in this direction for a while now. And I’d lay a wager that most rehab therapists believe that’s the way it should have been from the beginning. But, because we’ve been off course for so long now, it’s going to take some effort to realign expectations, those of our patients as well as our fellow medical professionals.

Direct access is now available across the country.

Case in point: For the past several decades, big medicine has been shoving patients who present with neuromusculoskeletal issues toward surgery or opioid pain medication. That essentially took us out of the care equation, or at least relegated us to an adjunct or post-surgical care provider role. Furthermore, up until recently, we weren’t legally allowed to see and treat patients first, something we all know is often more effective and cost-efficient than other, more invasive treatment protocols. Well, that’s all changing, because with some form of direct access now available across the country, rehab therapists can finally begin to step into their role as primary care coordinators for patients with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, something we are uniquely qualified to do.

The branding problem remains to be solved.

That being said, we have a couple of hurdles to overcome first, including our branding problem. As Barton N. Bishop, DPT, SCS, TPI CGFI-MP2, CSCS, told the crowd during his expert panel on partnering with other care providers to boost revenue, most consumers aren’t sure “what the true value of physical therapy is.” Thus, we can’t truly take advantage of direct access, and thus empower our patients to make their own well-informed care decisions, until we can provide patients and other medical professionals with clear insight into the value of the services that we provide. With today’s patients doing their own research to identify the treatment options that best suit their needs, both in terms of efficacy and cost, we have a wonderful opportunity to educate a broader audience and thus, help more people.

It’s on us to get the word out.

As I’ve said before, about 92% of the patients who could benefit from seeing a rehab therapist never make it to our clinics. And that’s tragic. If there’s anything we can do, anything at all, to decrease this number and ensure that more patients who could use our help end up receiving it, then I say let’s do it. It’s on us to get the word out. It’s on us to up our marketing efforts and ensure that we’re not only discoverable where patients are looking for information about their health care (i.e., online), but also providing top-notch content that educates and conveys our value. That is putting patients first.

2. Focus on communication and collaboration.

Healthcare providers and organizations have operated in silos for far too long, and providers aren’t the only ones who want to break them down; patients do, too. After all, it makes sense for patients who are taking greater ownership of their healthcare decisions to want their providers to communicate with one another, collaborate, and share information, even if those providers are from different disciplines or networks. And for providers, the opportunity to learn from others outside of their profession is huge. In fact, it’s well known that cross-pollination of ideas between individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives produces meaningful innovation, something the healthcare industry is ripe for. While the entire industry is feeling the pressure to connect, true collaboration is going to require a shift in mindset and technology.

We’re moving to a free-data model.

We’ve been talking about the importance of interoperability for several years now, and it’s become quite the buzzword in the overall healthcare space. But, as Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSC, the former Assistant Secretary of Health for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), told WebPT CEO Nancy Ham during their fireside chat, even that notion has become outdated. Traditionally, conversations about interoperability have focused on forging point-to-point connections, essentially, connecting each individual care silo to another (e.g., hospital to hospital, hospital to outpatient care providers, and outpatient care providers to home health agencies). According to DeSalvo, however, we should really be focusing on a free-data model: “What you really want is for the data to be free, to have a routing system,” she said. “We’re on the cusp of that world.” And that, she explained, opens up all sorts of possibilities in terms of preemptive behavioral pattern analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), genetics-based prescriptions, and widespread patient (and provider) access to personal health data.

There are inherent risks in dependence on technology.

That being said, the entire industry is working to reduce spending, and beef up cybersecurity measures. One of the biggest barriers to creating the type of interoperability we all need to truly transcend the silos of the past is reliable cybersecurity. Unfortunately, as a result of recent hacking attacks and security breaches, many professionals are wary of relying so heavily on technology. With that in mind, it’s up to us to demand that technology providers and security companies up their game and continue to innovate. We absolutely cannot let a few bad actors prevent us from reaping all the benefits that this type of data access and exchange can afford us and our patients.

3. Think beyond the “care” in health care.

There are a number of factors that impact one’s overall health and wellbeing, and only one of those factors is health care. During her talk, DeSalvo presented a chart illustrating the distribution of factors that influence health outcomes, and according to that graphic, health care only accounts for about 20% of one’s overall health. Other factors include genetics (also 20%) and social, environmental, and behavioral factors (which, together, make up 60%).

It’s time to widen our lens on health and wellbeing.

Her point was that we as an industry, especially those on the regulatory front lines, may not be focusing on the right factors to improve population health: “There’s a big mismatch in how we are spending our dollars,” she said. “We’re spending way more on the care itself, and less [on the other contributing factors].” To support her argument, DeSalvo explained that for some people, where they live, and thus, their socioeconomic situation and access to safe housing and reliable transportation, can majorly impact their health. In some areas, “zip code affects our health more than our genetic code,” she said. In fact, individuals can experience a difference in life expectancy of as much as 25 years from one zip code to the next.

We’re all in this together.

There’s a huge opportunity for all of us to step up and create meaningful change in our communities. Of course, ensuring access to quality care is important, but so is ensuring access to the social, environmental, and behavioral factors that we know contribute to quality of life. And while that’s an important perspective to maintain at all times, it’s especially fitting right now as people across the country work to rebuild their communities in the wake of recent hurricanes and wildfires. (On a side note, I hope you will all consider supporting Rehab Therapists Give Back, a new charitable giving initiative that unifies our profession in an effort to effect meaningful change in areas impacted by these natural disasters.) As DeSalvo so poignantly expressed, “It’s not just someone else’s problem. We all have to be in this together.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

This year’s Ascend was phenomenal, and I came home even more excited, inspired, and passionate about making a positive difference in our industry, and the world. Hopefully, these great tidbits provide you with a similar charge. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I have no doubt that we can accomplish it all, together.

For even more great takeaways from Ascend, including the importance of committing to one change at a time, measuring what matters to your patients, and mastering the basics, check out this post. Then, be sure to get your tickets to Ascend 2018, which will take place in WebPT’s very own backyard, Phoenix. Not only will we be providing great educational and networking opportunities, but we’ll also be celebrating WebPT’s 10-year anniversary. It’s sure to be our best summit yet.

About the Author

Heidi Jannenga PT, DPT, ATC/L is the president and co-founder of WebPT, the leading practice management solution for physical, occupational, and speech therapists. Heidi leads WebPT’s product vision, company culture, and branding efforts, while advocating for the physical therapy profession on a national scale. She co-founded WebPT after recognizing the need for a more sophisticated industry-specific EMR platform and has since guided the company through exponential growth, while garnering national recognition. Heidi brings with her more than 15 years of experience as a physical therapist and multi-clinic site director as well as a passion for healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

An active member of the sports and private practice sections of the APTA, Heidi advocates for independent rehab therapy businesses, speaks as a subject-matter expert at industry conferences and events, and participates in local and national technology, entrepreneurship, and women-in-leadership seminars. In 2014, Heidi was appointed to the PT-PAC Board of Trustees. She also serves as a mentor to physical therapy students and local entrepreneurs and leverages her platform to promote the importance of diversity, company culture, and overall business acumen for private practice rehab therapy professionals.

Heidi was a collegiate basketball player at the University of California, Davis, and remains a lifelong fan of the Aggies. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and exercise physiology, went on to earn her master’s degree in physical therapy at the Institute of Physical Therapy in St. Augustine, Florida, and obtained her doctorate of physical therapy through Evidence In Motion. When she’s not enjoying time with her daughter Ava, Heidi is perfecting her Spanish, practicing yoga, or hiking one of her favorite Phoenix trails.