While you are still making callbacks using the telephone, making declarations manually, and making use of referrals that would have your calendar empty after the next huisarts retires, that is definitely not a business strategy. That is a risk factor. This is precisely why the AtheosTech platform was created: to reverse this trend for Dutch independent fysiotherapeuten. We have come up with our five-pillared Smart Growth Framework to combat the digitalization challenge that the Dutch fysiotherapie sector faces structurally.
We shall be blunt. The 2024 study by Nivel regarding the 543 eerstelijns fysiotherapiepraktijken and 1,162,545 patiënten does not depict an industry going through a smooth transition phase. It is depicting an industry that is under mounting pressure due to vergrijzing, due to zorgverzekeraar fees, due to a shortage of personeel and fysiotherapeuten who will leave 22% of the work force within the next ten years, and lastly due to patients who have gone digital. For Dutch physiotherapy practices, the shift toward digital is no longer optional.
Eighty-five percent of patients carry out an internet search before choosing their fysiotherapeut. All in all, there are more than four million people in Nederland without aanvullende verzekering for fysiotherapie; thus, you will be responsible for all efforts aimed at attracting new clients. Also, studies conducted at Hogeschool Utrecht show that digital interventions increase therapietrouw by 30-40% compared to conventional therapy methods.
The meaning of Digitale Transformatie GGZ Nederland and the broader fysiotherapie sector in the Netherlands can hardly be more practical than the contrast between the praktijk being vol geboekt and the praktijk's complete invisibility. The contrast between the praktijk that retains patients and the praktijk that loses patients in-between appointments. The difference between the praktijk that flourishes and the praktijk that does not move forward. Smart Growth Framework is how it all comes about.
Pillar One: Digital Infrastructure That Actually Works for You
The EPD, on the other hand, plays an important role in ensuring the proper functioning of the fysiotherapiepraktijk, on the condition that the EPD will be built based on your situation, rather than building your entire system based on the EPD. Good examples of EPD integration and API integrations can be seen through the top EPD providers such as Intramed (with more than 10,000 fysiotherapeuten using it), FysioRoadmap, and Fysiomanager.
The reality is that EPD is hardly being used by most independent praktijken, is poorly integrated, and is resulting in administration costs despite the fact that its main goal is to cut down on such costs. Our EPD process utilizes the principles from the KNGF Richtlijn Fysiotherapeutische Dossiervoering, such as documentation of your fysiotherapeutische diagnose, your SMART doelstellingen, and your behandelresultaten. It won't get any easier than that!
The issue with digital transformation that independent fysiotherapeuten tend to consistently overlook is the concept of Directe Toegankelijkheid Fysiotherapie (DTF). This means that a patient no longer needs to go through a huisarts to see you for treatment. This opens up great opportunities for you, but only if you're easy to find. Besides, 70% of Nederlanders do online research about their disease long before contacting a zorgverlener.
Lokale SEO is not an approach that one adopts for marketing. Rather, it is the backbone through which the acquisitions of patients are achieved in today's fysiotherapiepraktijk. The road map that has been developed by AtheosTech for maximum visibility online has three different levels. They are Technical SEO (website speed, core web vitals, mobile site), Content SEO (page for each specialization such as bekkenfysiotherapie, manuele therapie, sportfysiotherapie, kinderfysiotherapie, and geriatriefysiotherapie), and Lokale SEO (optimization of Google Bedrijfsprofiel).
In scenarios where there is an urgent need for instroom of pacientes within the first week, when SEO takes up 3 to 6 months to generate results, the Google Ad campagne targeting geographic locations within a 1 km range of your praktijk will make sure you have your results as soon as week one. With hyper-lokal Facebook Ad campagne within a 1-5 km range, combined with herhalingsbezoekens from email marketing, this digital marketing solution should be your digital transformation solutions stack.
Pillar Three: Patient Engagement That Drives Therapietrouw
The facts in the scientific literature concerning the medical aspect are beyond doubt: digital therapy solutions guarantee a 30 to 40 percent improvement in therapietrouw. This is certainly not an insignificant outcome. For a physiotherapiepraktijk, the benefits are obvious: improved behandelresultaten and patient satisfaction, and therefore increased referral traffic. One example of such a solution, Physitrack, enables fysiotherapeuten to provide customized thuisoefenprogramma's through digital media that work smoothly within the context of FysioRoadmap and Intramed.
Teleconsulting cannot be viewed merely as a temporary solution because of the pandemic; rather, it is a reimbursable mode of providing healthcare services that certain zorgverzekeraars have recognized as such. For example, in COPD, the KNGF richtlijnen recommend that patients make use of an activity tracker. When it comes to bekkenfysiotherapie, the utilization of digital intake forms and teleconsulting applications cannot just be viewed as convenient practices anymore, as they are now necessary to overcome the most significant barrier. Our team at AtheosTech develops custom eHealth modules and patiënten apps for your EPD, according to your protocol and standards, and in line with AVG/NTA7516.
The landscape of compliance in Dutch fysiotherapie is rather tricky. The AVG regulates any patient-related data that comes into your praktijk whether it comes in through your contact form from your website, your EPD, or through your email campaigns. NTA7516 obligates you to use versleuteld berichtenverkeer for all patiënt communication. The KNGF sets standards for documenting all of this in every single dossier. You need proof of kwaliteitsborging in accordance with the Wkkgz. Finally, the GUPZ (Gegevensuitwisseling in de Paramedische Zorg), KNGF initiative to standardize cross-professional data exchange, has transformed the process of referrals.
Rather than choosing to be non-compliant, most of the stand-alone praktijken are non-compliant because of the basic truth that the changing nature of the environment surrounding compliance is more rapid than what can be kept up by one particular praktijkhouder, and moreover, the third-party vendors who provide software do not design the programs with the quirks of the Dutch physiotherapy system in mind. The AtheosTech solution, however, considers compliance right from the start. AVG readiness, NTA7516 message compliant, KNGF dossier management compatible, and GUPZ readiness are all part of this solution.
Pillar Five: Data and Analytics - Your Praktijk Should Tell You Where to Grow
'To measure is to know.' Independent practice owners continue to suffer from a lack of insight into the metrics that form the basis for strategic decision-making: occupancy rates per therapist and location, patient revenue broken down by marketing channel, turnover rates by treatment type and insurance provider, no-show rates and associated costs, and real-time billing data.
Through AtheosTech, praktijk analytics are developed that integrate data gathered from the EPD system, digital marketing tools, and financial management to produce one single tool for strategic insight generation. This is what the big zorgketens invest heavily in trying to acquire, but what the small praktijken cannot afford only due to their size. However, that does not necessarily have to be the case.
Consider a mid-sized eerstelijns fysiotherapiepraktijk offering manuele therapie and sportfysiotherapie within a competitive Dutch stad. Prior to implementing Smart Growth Strategy: Outdated website ranking third on Google search; inability to book appointments online; manual processing of declaratie taking between eight and more hours per week, and complete dependence on huisarts verwijzingen to attract new customers. A gamble that could have been disastrous due to even one huisarts closing shop.Once all five pillars have been put into place: A well-designed website with custom made specialisatie-pagina's on page one within five months for the keywords "sportfysiotherapie [city]" and "manuele therapie [city]." An automated declaratie process resulting in a reduction in administrative workload of 60%.
Thuisoefenprogramma with Physitrack software generating better results with the therapietrouw test. Google Ads marketing campaign bringing in a steady flow of nieuwe patiënten. Along with a praktijk analysis system tracking the bezettingsgraad and revenue per behandeltype.Here, we have seen a digital transformation case study rather than just a technological endeavor that allowed the business to move away from relying on recommendations, ensure a regular and varied patiënteninstroom, and create the necessary base for growing the second vestigingsplaats.
One of the major concerns that the fysiotherapie sector in the Netherlands would face during the process of digital transformation is the low level of behavioral preparedness. The percentage of the zorgwerkers who lack the right digital skills in order to use the digital services provided by the praktijk falls between 10% and 30%. Failure to follow the right protocols of digital transformation would lead to failure of the most effective EPD solution.
Implementing AtheosTech isn't only an implementation of technology. Implementation at AtheosTech is also a matter of implementation of people. We implement technology through phases of deployment and training of the staff involved. This is because implementation of technology which ends up in a technology being left out or underused by the staff involved cannot be of any good to anyone. We develop technology around the real-world processes that your staff use. Our custom healthcare CRM solutions are built to fit the way your team already works, not the other way around.
The specialities that have been recognized by the CKR include a large spectrum of clinical and experiential fields of expertise including such specialities as Pelvic Physiotherapy, Pediatric Physiotherapy, Oncology Physiotherapy, Lymphedema Physiotherapy, and Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Physiotherapy among others, and each speciality is unique in its requirements.
The Sportfysiotherapiepraktijken require wearables, real-time performance monitoring software, and website content for sports injuries that require highly specific treatment options. The bekkentherapeut, which is an NVFB affiliate, requires very strict security and privacy in its online intake and consultation services due to the nature of its patients. There is also another specialization that exists in fysiotherapiepraktijken, which is called kinderfysiotherapiepraktijken, and these are under the auspices of NVFK. This specialization also has its unique demands when it comes to designing a user-friendly website. Geriatrie fysiotherapiepraktijken has unique requirements as well because of its target audience.
It may not be the ones which were the biggest that make all the difference in the market of the Netherlands when it comes to fysiotherapie within the next five years. They will be those who had the right strategy of digital transformation in place from the very beginning and who were able to implement it with the help of a proper partner.This does not mean that you must immediately implement everything at once. The model of Smart Growth has been created for you to implement it step by step at your own discretion, from that particular element of the model that will bring you the greatest immediate benefit. With each passing month, you will fall further behind your competitors, who will make progress in their SEO optimization, their afsprakensystemen will continue filling, and their eHealth applications will enhance their patients' therapietrouw.
Our company, AtheosTech, provides you with all the necessary skill sets as far as IT architectural design, digital marketing, digital transformation consulting, and health compliance are concerned, making your practice digital. Having built an effective base, your practice will operate effectively not only today but also tomorrow, no matter what challenges may arise in the rapidly changing healthcare environment.
