The chief executive officer of the Texas Physical Therapy Association, James H. Quimby, presented a paper at the APTA Annual Meeting entitled "APTA Software Product Selection and Clinical Validation for a Single Software Application for Physical Therapy (SAP) Computers." In this paper, Mr. Quimby presents a study conducted by his office that compared four physical therapy software programs from four different manufacturers. The results showed that when a physical therapist used one of the four applications it improved their ability to perform more of the physical therapy interventions.

 

One of the four physical therapy software programs that was studied was MedReco. The study found that the average time it took to complete a typical intervention with this program was six minutes versus the seven minutes it took with the other two programs. Another aspect of the study was that the patients' level of pain and discomfort as measured on the CRT machine was the same in both cases. However, the test showed that the patients using the MedReco software spent more time typing in their physician contact information and inputting patient information, than they did when using the other two programs. This software was found to have some issues associated with patient care and patient information security, however.

 

The last program that was studied was Emr. The paper noted that when patients were given detailed instructions about how to use this software program, they spent less time searching for help on the Internet or on their telephone. The instructions were also effective in helping them to understand what bodily remedy procedures they needed to undergo. However, there were some concerns about the communication quality of the Emr text messages that the patients sent and received. It was also found that this type of software program did not provide for any improvement in the patient's recall of key details about their care, and the use of text messaging for medical billing was found to be more effective when compared to the use of voice mail.

 

In a release of their findings, the researchers at the Center for Information Technology Education and Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine, emphasized that the study "suggests that physical therapy software should include more customizable features." They also recommended that such features should be "designed to enable service providers to capture, manage, and transmit data in ways that are more relevant to the users." They went on to state that further research should be done to determine whether such programs can make physical therapy more effective and reduce the time it takes for physicians and physical therapist's to do their jobs. Further studies should also examine the effectiveness of such programs when it comes to actually improving the quality of patient care.

 

The researchers did find that physical therapy and health care providers who are using this type of software had higher levels of patient satisfaction and job satisfaction than those who did not use this program. The software does, however, have some drawbacks. Only those professionals who are members of the American Association for Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation may use the CPT Accreditation System, which requires that they meet certain criteria, including accreditation from an independent agency.

 

This software was developed by the American College of Physical Therapy in partnership with the American National Certification Board for Therapeutic Exercise, Inc. The program was given the green light by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies in Health and Fitness, which holds the absolute power to approve or disapprove of any CPT software program. This certification is important because it guarantees the program meets minimum ethical and professional standards. This CPT software program also has been named an A+ Best Buy, an honor recognizing its excellence. Check out this post for more details related to this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record.