Tips for Handling Pediatric Therapy Attendance

To make your attendance consistent, you have to educate the parents and caregivers on how to solve any problems in the way of their attendance. What is it going to take to make their attendance consistent? 

If they’re scheduling two appointments a week and they’re coming to one, you’ve got to show them that attendance rate. Print it out, and get it on a piece of paper. Life gets busy and they don’t realize they’re only coming 60% of the time. Confront them gently in a way that says you’re teaming up with them to get their child the help they need. Tell them, “We want to make sure that we’re helping your child together. I’m going to make sure my therapist is here and well-trained. You’re going to make sure Johnny is here every visit on time, so he’s ready to go.” 

Rescheduling a Child with a Different Therapist

You also have to educate your team and help them understand how to reschedule a child with a new therapist. Develop a script for your clinic that goes something like this:

“You’re going to see Mary every week, same time, same day, every single week. If Mary’s ill, I have Sally, this other OT or this other PT, who has fantastic skills. They might have a different approach to therapy. They might be a little more assertive or a little bit more softer in how they approach therapy. They might have a different technique, and you know what? Your kiddo might respond better. It’s super cool to see another idea and a fresh perspective. Your regular therapist will appreciate hearing the different perspective from the new therapist. We need you to believe in that team and not just only want one idea, one therapist, one perspective and one approach, okay? We need to make sure we’re getting lots of opinions to make sure Johnny progresses.”

This gentle approach will help you make scheduling a child with a new therapist acceptable to the parent. This will help you maintain a better attendance rate with your families.

Get the Help You Need to Keep Your Practice Running Smoothly

This helpful advice is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what you can find in our Lemonade Library. Get registered and look for Lemonades that help you manage attendance with ease. 

About Diane Crecelius

Diane Crecelius is a physical therapist and founder of a multi-million-dollar, multi-location practice with well over 3,000 visits per week and 200 staff! In the past several years, Diane has worked tirelessly to support Peds-A-Palooza® Community & Conferences and the success of Private Practice Owners. Diane has presented at nearly every Peds-A-Palooza live and virtual conference since the first sold-out conference in 2018. Her extensive knowledge derives from her decades in practice and from being trained and consulted by Survival Strategies, Inc. She uses this training to help Private Practice Owners learn how to thrive and expand while keeping their stress low.