Want to know a little secret? A patient’s experience on their first day of physical therapy will determine whether they drop out of therapy, complete HEPs, reach a better outcome or become a patient for life. Shocking, right? All that, from just the evaluation.

If you’ve been a private practice physical therapist for more than a few years, you likely know all the usual complaints from patients, but do you know the best solutions for those complaints? If you’re not actively resolving these issues, you’re running the risk of more patients dropping out of therapy.

Even though you prescribe the best care that will help your patients heal better and faster, it can still be difficult to get patients to actually follow their plan of care. Unfortunately, 35% of patients don’t strictly adhere to their care plans even though it’s in their best interest to do so.

Just like in our “Burned-out PT” blog, it’s not uncommon for your other team members to lose motivation at one point or another. Everyone experiences good days and bad, but it’s important to keep your team spirit and culture positive and uplifting so those bad days don’t stick around.

Take a look at your schedule for the week, for the month. Do you have gaps? If you do, those gaps may become more frequent as time goes on—unless you find a way to fill them immediately.