A pediatric therapist finished their shift for the day, however, they weren’t done when they got home. Instead, they continued to work for another two hours. They double-checked against their scribbled written notes to ensure that everything was recorded correctly in the EMR assessment for each patient. In addition, they uploaded completed evaluations and tests into the software. Manually scanning and uploading the evaluations and tests in the software created an unnecessary extra step for the pediatric therapy professional, reducing the notes’ ability to stand on their own.
The therapist worked for the software, shouldn’t it be the other way around?
In this article, we will go over the different types of pediatric therapies, the importance of having efficient software to help your agency’s therapists provide, and document the level of care you expect.
Different Types of Pediatric Therapy
The three major types of Pediatric Therapy are:
Physical Therapy:
Helps children with medical, neurological, developmental, chronic, or recovery conditions. The therapists help children refine their motor skills, motion, balance strength, coordination, functional mobility, flexibility, and endurance.
Occupational Therapy:
Assist children in everyday life. These obstacles could be due to a physical or mental illness. Therapists help with fine motor skills (drawing or tying a shoe), self-care routines, sensory integration, range of motion, and daily life activities.
Speech Therapy
Aid children with speech and language problems. Therapists can also help with feeding, swallowing, hearing, and word processing. They focus on getting the children to work on cognitive, social deficits, articulation, communication, fluency, and voice projection.
It’s noteworthy to know the different types of pediatric therapies. It’s also significant to discuss how the software should work with agencies to support the provision of the best care to their patients.
Challenges in Pediatric Therapy
Three obstacles that some pediatric therapists face with their software are:
- Manually grading and uploading the Therapy Standardized Tests
- Tracking and trending vital signs
- Frequent review of the Plan of Care and submitted change orders
All therapies, not just pediatrics, are primarily hands-on care, and that makes it difficult to document properly if the software doesn’t contain all the tools necessary to do so. Therapists that have to manually grade, upload tests, and research any changes to the plan of care, or submitted orders are detracted from patient care.
Therefore, having software that works WITH therapists to provide them the right tools to perform the best patient care is essential.
KanTime and Pediatrics
In KanTime, many standardized tests, vital sign tracking, and trending are already in the system. Therapists are able to work with the software. No more late nights uploading tests and vital signs.
Below are three ways that KanTime brings efficiency to pediatric therapists.
Standardized Tests
Standardized Tests allow therapists during their visits with the patient to monitor progress towards their goals.
They are able to log in to KanTime and access the test types that the agency has already standardized in the software. They are able to access it from within their visit note instead of having to navigate out of it. Agency standardization allows them to better predict how the patient is progressing while documenting their needs.
These are a few tests that therapists can perform inside KanTime without leaving their note:
- Get up and Go Test (TUG)
- Developmental Motor Scales Test
- Feeding Behaviors
- Chair Rise Test
- Child Oral and Motor Proficiency Scale (ChOMPS)
- Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL)
- Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF)
- Children’s Communication Checklist
- Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC)
- Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP)
- Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT)
- Fine Motor Test
- Swallowing Ability and Function Evaluation (SAFE)
As care progresses and tests are completed and auto-graded, therapists can monitor the patients’ progress toward achievement of the stated goals in the POC.
Tracking and Graphing Vital Signs
KanTime tracks and graphs the vital signs of the patient inside the visit note and provides trending from previous visits. A few examples of the vitals that can be tracked are:
- Blood pressure
- Temperature
- Respirations
- O2 SATS
- Blood sugar
- Pain
- Weight
- Height
- Abdominal Girth
Case management can also track the patient’s progress using this resource.
Therapist Notes
When using KanTime, therapists can complete their documentation in the home, rather than after the visit.
Below are a few of the features that KanTime provides that support efficiency:
In KanTime, all the required treatments in the POC, as well as any submitted change orders during the episode, are automatically transferred to the follow-up visit notes. If the care is required, it’s in their note.
Therapists can look at visit note comments, journal notes, client notes, etc., and see how the patient is improving in other categories. They are all working towards one goal: to help the patient improve.
Why It Matters
Customers have stated that KanTime sets the gold standard for pediatric therapy software and as well report zero finding regulatory audits
At KanTime, there are two core values: Do It Right the First Time, and Manage by Exception. When therapists implement these core principles while using KanTime, the quality of care for their patient’s soar.
To see why our customers state that we set the gold standard, check out our website or request a demo today.
