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Honest self-reflection opens the mind to reprogramming, change, success and freedom -Unknown
One thing a lot of PT owners have in common? Feeling stuck. Stuck dealing with the same challenges quarter after quarter, year after year. Stuck feeling at the mercy of outside forces: consolidation, the Affordable Care Act, market competition.
I think of this as the hamster wheel model of running a business. You’re scrambling all the time. You’re reacting only to what’s happening RIGHT NOW, with no time to plan, reflect, or strategize. You’re never getting a break. It’s exhausting, and almost impossible to get ahead.
Something else that many practice owners have in common? They don’t consistently track and analyze performance metrics.
Teddy Roosevelt said: Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.
That’s what performance metrics do. They ground you in specific, objective data about your business. When you take a detailed, objective look back at the year, you can set bigger goals—and you’ll have better chance of achieving them. Tracking key metrics delivers you:
Insight. Objective data about your business gives you a real-world framework for setting goals. (At Practice Freedom U, we like to call them milestones.)  When you build milestones with metrics in mind, your goals have solid roots—your feet are on the ground. With that kind of footing, you can set goals as big and audacious as you can dream up.
Confidence. PT owners are trained clinicians who are now also business leaders. That means lots of time spent outside our comfort zone. The knowledge that metrics deliver can help you avoid emotionally-reactive decision making. That knowledge also builds confidence. Looking back, you’ll see things in your numbers that aren’t the way you’ll want them to be, yet. You’ll also see success and accomplishment. Celebrate those wins.  
Clarity. You need the information that metrics deliver. So does your team. When you measure and report objective data about your practice, it keeps everyone on the same page about what’s working and what needs improvement. Together, you can strategize about how to reach your next milestones.  
Use these essential metrics to measure backwards RIGHT NOW:
Referrals: The number of patients who contact your practice.
New Patients: The number of patients who come into your clinic for evaluations.
Visits: The number of patients your clinic treats and bills.
Visits/New Patients: The average number of visits a new patient is seen in your practice.
Cancellation percentage: The number of patients seen compared to the number of patients scheduled to be seen. A healthy cancellation percentage is typically under 8 percent.
Utilization: A key metric for measuring efficiency and productivity. Utilization equals visits divided by total capacity. (If your clinic can see 100 patients in a week, and you see 80, your utilization is 80 percent.) I like to see utilization at 85 percent or higher. When utilization is running very high—say, 95 percent or higher—that’s often a sign it’s time to consider expanding your clinical staff.
Expenses: The costs to keep your clinic running.
Net Revenue: The amount of money your practice collects.
Cost/Visit: A great indicator of profitability. Costs per visit is expenses divided by visits.  
PROFIT: What remains after expenses are subtracted from revenue. I’ve seen it time and again: the practice of tracking metrics makes can increase profits all on its own.  
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