The WebPT EMR goes back to 2006, when a physical therapist, Heidi Janneng, a director of a multi-site practice determined that two of her costs - dictation fees, and document management - were affecting her bottom line. While she looked for an electronic solution, the search was not fruitful as the EMR software at the time were not focused on the PT market. She then had Brad Jannenga, who had experience with development of multiple SaaS platforms create WebPT based on him shadowing her in the office, and the product launched in 2008.
Today, from downtown Phoenix, WebPT has been listed on Inc magazine’s 5,000 fastest-growing companies. This company impressively claims to serve over 90,000 members, from over 20,000 clinics, with an incredibly high 99% retention rate. In addition to the EMR, it also offers related software for billing, scheduling, outcomes and several other related areas.
WebPT EMR: Features
WebPT remains niche-focused on the EMR needs of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists. Therefore, it is designed to optimize rehab therapy workflows, incorporating custom evaluation profiles, with auto-scored outcome measurement tools. There is also an emphasis on compliance, with prompts for the latest Medicare rules, such as NCCI edits, and the 8 minute rule for MIPS and the therapy threshold.
The clinical record is also robust, as be uploaded with prior notes, diagnostic images, and patient consent forms. Faxing is also included, which is useful when a chart needs to be sent to a referring physician to assess a patient’s progress. Don’t like fax machines? It can also be emailed, complete with the clinic’s logo.
Patient Portal
WebPT puts the patient portal into a separate program, under the Digital Patient Intake module. The process is that when a patient gets referred for PT, they get contacted via email or text, and can then complete the intake forms ahead of time- with automated reminders if they forgot to complete it. This then frees up the front office from data entry, with patients spending less time in the waiting room. The additional benefit is that a clinician’s note can then pull in this intake info, such as a medical history or a pain scale rating to get pulled into a note and pre populate it reducing the clinician’s time.
However, while this Digital Patient Intake piece is quite purpose built for the intake process of a new patient, it leaves out some other aspects out of a more robust patient portal. This includes being able to schedule an appointment directly, and also contacting the clinician with a question, comment or request.
Mobile
We went through the WebPT website, and both the Google Play and iOS app stores, and did not find any mobile apps for either platform. While the markets they serve, including physical therapists are less likely to encounter an emergency after hours, it is still convenient to have access to patient records via a mobile app, especially when on call, or even more so, covering for another provider for patients that you have not had direct contact with.
However, in their defense, they do state that as the software is web browser based, that it can be used on a mobile browser, and an app is not required. While this may be true, this does beg the question why there are even mobile apps, and in many cases are better optimized for a mobile device’s screen.
WebPT EMR: Support
The support for WebPT is better than some, but still missing some of the options. More specifically for direct options, there is a physical address, a phone number (not for the lowest tier), a fax number and a support portal. The missing aspects include a chat box and a direct email address; we also did not find the hours and days of operation.
The self-help options are also decent, and we liked the blog, guides and library of webinars as well.
WebPT EMR: Pricing
We appreciate that WebPT provides transparent pricing for most of its offerings, making it easier to build a plan. It is essentially a three tier structure, with a choice of add ons that can customize the plan.
At the bottom is the Lite plan, which costs $3/day (yes, annoyingly by the day, most plans charge for the month or year) for each provider, with an unlimited amount of clerical staff. This includes unlimited support via the support portal, unlimited faxing, SOAP notes that can be customized for content including clinic branding, and authorization tracking. It also has basic reporting, along with integrated outcome measurement tools.
Moving up a tier is the Standard plan, which increases the cost to $6/day for a provider, along with unlimited clerical staff. This adds unlimited phone support, external document storage, scheduling and appointment reminders.
The top plan is the Enterprise one, with a custom price depending on the size of the practice and specifics. It adds a dedicated account manager, priority support, custom setup and enhanced onboarding and training.
There are additional modules available, such as Billing for $99/month for each therapist, CEU for $169/year for each therapist, and Local, for $29/month for each clinic location to improve the online presence. The Digital Patient Intake patient portal, and Revenue Cycle Management are both listed as addons, but no pricing is provided.
WebPT EMR: Final verdict
The WebPT has plenty to offer for PT, OT and SLP practices. High points make it easy to choose, such as the unlimited faxing, the intake forms that then pre populate clinic notes, the mostly transparent pricing, and the choice of support options. Some low points hold it back, such as pricing by the day, the lack of a free trial, no phone support on the lowest tier, and that the patient portal does not have many features, and is also an additional charge. Overall, we can see how so many practices in this area of medicine end up choosing WebPT to support their clinic.
