App Helps Bridge Gap For Patients Seeking In-Person Care

Press release from Atlantic Health System:

Feb. 19, 2021

As the COVID-19 virus began to arise in communities throughout New Jersey, Atlantic Health System worked quickly to adapt and implement new methods in order to continue to deliver safe, exceptional care to patients.

While the health system was able to deploy telemedicine alternatives for many situations, there were many settings that still relied on in-person care – rehabilitation services being one of them.

“As the pandemic began to take root, we were fortunate to be able to offer many services remotely, with our very versatile staff pivoting to providing therapy via telemedicine,” said Daniel Whelan, Director of outpatient rehabilitation services for Atlantic Health System. “At the same time, we were cognizant of the fact that there were some services that absolutely needed to be provided in person, and even more so, that there was a strong demand for in-person services.

The team at Atlantic Rehabilitation, which includes 17 outpatient locations throughout New Jersey, worked diligently to implement practices and protocols to continue to safely provide in-person rehabilitation, such as limiting the number of patients in its facilities at one time, strict social distancing and masking, and deep cleaning of all spaces and equipment.

But while these gargantuan efforts made it possible to hold in-person rehab services, the challenge remained of letting people know that they were available. That’s when Better PT’s value took on a whole new dimension.

Atlantic Rehabilitation had first implemented Better PT more than a year ago, following a successful pilot test in 2018. BetterPT had proven incredibly effective in linking patients seeking PT services with Atlantic Rehabilitation’s locations throughout northern and central New Jersey.

“BetterPT has been a great resource for our department,” said Stefanie Colton, manager of business development for Atlantic Rehabilitation. “It has allowed us to reach new patients who can benefit from our services, who wouldn’t otherwise have known about us. In fact, each month BetterPT has led 10 times the number of new patients to our doors than we initially estimated.”
This proved especially helpful as the pandemic led many rehabilitation providers to shut down services, leaving patients searching for in-person services. For those who had the Better PT app, a listing of providers, including Atlantic Rehabilitation, who were still up and running with in-person services, was right in the palm of their hand.

BetterPT is a technology company focused on increasing patient access to health care services and improving the patient experience. Their BetterScheduling product gives patients the convenience of online scheduling for both in-person and telehealth sessions, removing the burden of scheduling, rescheduling and intake from your office staff.

“The PT industry, and healthcare industry as a whole, continue to struggle with implementing revolutionary digital solutions that have transformed most other sectors in the twenty-first century,” said Greg Peters, CEO of BetterPT. “Through our integrated healthcare platform, we’re able to help physical therapy clinics centralize and better manage their scheduling, while also increasing patients’ access to care and saving valuable time for everyone involved.”
“While COVID continues to affect our communities, we are still seeing a very strong demand for in-person PT, and we remain prepared to continue providing these services to patients, in addition to those who prefer telemedicine services,” Whelan said.

To learn more about how Atlantic Rehabilitation is using Better PT, click here.

For more information about Atlantic Rehabilitation, click here.

This press release was produced by Atlantic Health System. The views expressed here are the author's own.