The TEAM Model is about to transform how hospitals view therapy services – from financial burden to economic driver.
The Problem with Today’s Hospital Therapy Model
Let’s face it – right now, therapy in hospitals is seen purely as an expense. Hospitals get paid a set amount through DRGs regardless of how much therapy they provide. So, what happens? Every therapist salary cuts directly into the hospital’s profits. The more therapy services hospitals offer patients, the more it costs them with no additional revenue. That’s why so many hospitals view early mobility programs as just another expense rather than what they truly are – an investment in better outcomes.
The financial reality forces hospitals to obsess over just one metric i.e. the length of stay. Get patients out faster, that’s all that matters to hospital.
The TEAM Model Changes Everything
But here’s what gets us excited about the TEAM Model – it completely flips this backward incentive structure!
When hospital therapists help patients regain enough function to go home instead of to a nursing facility, every single day they prevent in a SNF saves roughly $500-800. That’s real money that won’t count against the hospital when CMS calculates whether the hospital exceeded our target episode costs.
Suddenly, getting patients moving early isn’t just good clinical care – it’s smart business. Those same mobility programs that were once seen as expenses transform into revenue-generating strategies.
We’ve noticed hospital executives are starting to get this. They’re beginning to track the actual return on investment from therapy interventions – not just for mobility but for all the specialized services therapists provide. The conversation is shifting from “how quickly can we discharge?” to “how can we ensure the right care transitions and prevent costly post-acute utilization?”
This isn’t some minor policy tweak – it’s a complete rethinking of how therapy contributes to hospital economics.
Smart Hospitals Are Already Adapting
The forward-thinking hospitals are already investing in several key areas:
- They’re redefining therapist roles to focus on the specialized clinical skills only licensed professionals can provide. Why have your PT doing basic mobility when their expertise is needed for complex assessments and interventions?
- Hospitals are creating advanced mobility programs where the daily work is done by CNAs and PT aides, but the program itself is designed and supervised by the therapy department. This leverages everyone’s skills efficiently.
- They’re getting much smarter about discharge planning resources – deploying the right people at the right time in the care journey.
- Hospitals are flipping the discharge question from “where should this patient go?” to “why not home?” – making home the default destination unless there’s a compelling reason for institutional care.
Finally, they’re building follow-up systems focused on smooth transitions between care settings. The “warm hand-off” has become their gold standard – ensuring critical information follows the patient.
This shift in how hospitals view therapy’s role is just beginning. The five TEAM episode types are laying the groundwork for something even bigger – a “DRG plus 30” approach where hospitals are accountable for the entire 30-day episode, not just the inpatient stay.
How Persivia Powers This Transformation:
- Comprehensive Data Infrastructure
Persivia integrates clinical and financial data to quantify therapy’s impact on post-acute utilization, creating visibility into the true ROI of therapy interventions.
2. Intelligent Risk Stratification
Our multi-layered analytics identify which patients will benefit most from enhanced therapy resources, ensuring optimal allocation of valuable therapy time.
3. Evidence-Based Care Pathways
Persivia supports structured mobility programs with digital workflows that maximize the impact of specialized therapy staff while enabling tiered implementation.
4. Performance Benchmarking
Track your therapy department’s contribution to financial performance against national standards, identifying specific improvement opportunities.
5. Care Continuity Management
As TEAM evolves toward a “DRG plus 30” structure, Persivia’s flexible platform ensures hospital stays ahead of regulatory changes, optimizing performance throughout the entire episode of care.
The Question Every Hospital Executive Should Ask
Is your rehabilitation department positioned to become a financial asset under TEAM? Most hospitals aren’t prepared for this shift, but those who adapt quickly will gain a significant competitive advantage. Persivia’s technology gives you the data infrastructure, analytics, and workflow tools to turn your therapy department into a strategic driver of both clinical outcomes and financial success in this new payment landscape.
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