Initial Evaluations KPI

Initial Evaluations are extremely important because they represent the number of patients—new or returning—beginning an episode of care. This number, coupled with Visits per Discharge, can help you forecast future revenue and treatment capacity. Additionally, this metric is used to calculate the Referral Conversion Rate, so changes here could have a large impact on that KPI.

Click on this chart to open the By Clinic comparison chart for Initial Evaluations. You’ll be able to see a breakdown of this data by clinic and export the results.

What is an Initial Evaluation?

Initial Evaluations: the total number of finalized initial evaluation notes for the date range. Excludes no-charge visits. This includes finalized notes for both SOAP 1.0 and 2.0 Data.

Strategies for Management

From predicting future workload to managing your referral streams, the number of new initial evaluations tells you how you’re doing as an organization presently—and how you’ll be doing in the future.

Use past initial evaluation numbers combined with an examination of past schedules to assess current capacity and set specific initial evaluation goals that make sense for your clinic.
Track your referrals. Understanding where the patient came from can help you learn about the value of each of your referral streams—and help you choose where you invest your funds and time in the future.
Catch trends early. Not only do decreasing IEs represent less revenue today, but they also represent lost visits for weeks down the road.

Data Requirements

There are a few things to remember about the Initial Evaluation data. In order for Analytics to include data, each of the following must be true:

The note type must be an Initial Evaluation. (Other evaluative note types [i.e., progress notes] will not count toward this metric.)
The initial evaluation must be billable (excludes no-charge visits). This means you must include a daily note.
The initial evaluation must be finalized (not in draft form).
The initial evaluation must be active.
The case status must be active or discharged (cannot be inactive or deleted).

Therapist Attribution

The therapist who forwards the note—this is the Documenting Therapist in Analytics—will be allocated the Initial Evaluation. This really only matters in scenarios where the note was forwarded to another provider, which typically occurs when the person who forwards the note is an assistant. If the note was never forwarded, the individual who finalizes the note is also the Documenting Therapist.

Data Best Practices

Follow the link for all recommended Analytics Data Collection Best Practices.

Do not reopen discharged cases to continue patient documentation. Always begin with a new case and an initial examination.
Track all referral sources, not just physicians.