Rehab Therapy Industry Challenged by Employee Retention and High Clinician Burnout, Says WebPT Report

According to the report, there are several trends impacting the industry, including declining employee retention, clinician burnout, and high patient volumes. Notably, more than two-thirds of the rehab therapy respondents are currently considering a career move, and nearly 35% of rehab therapy organizations saw an increase in patient volume over the past year compared to previous years.

“Over the past six years, The State of Rehab Therapy report has provided valuable insights into both the challenges and opportunities our industry is facing,” said Dr. Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT, ATC, WebPT co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer. “This year, we are seeing that clinically focused providers and younger leaders are leaving the industry at a rate faster than in most other healthcare professions. I implore our industry to take a deep look at how we can strengthen the culture of our practices, provide sustainable career pathways, elevate our advocacy voice with impactful data, and adapt to the digital transformation of our industry.”

The report offers further data on these topics as well as demographics, business and financials, staffing and employment, salaries, and technology use. Compelling takeaways include:

• More than a third of the industry workforce reports employee burnout with high patient workloads and long work hours cited as the top reasons.
• Student debt remains disproportionately high with 8% of rehab therapy organizations offering some sort of student loan payback option.
• Women have made gains in executive leadership representation, with 46% of C-level positions being held by women, up six percentage points from 2021.
• Technology adoption for remote care has increased, with more than one-third of respondents implementing new video conferencing software in the past year. Telehealth, home exercise program (HEP), and patient-engagement software top the list of sought-after technologies.

WebPT will be hosting a live webinar discussion about the report on Thursday, August 18 at 9:00 AM PDT (12:00 PM EDT). Host Heidi Jannenga, and panelists TaVona Boggs, Owner of Thrive Network, Larry Benz, President and CEO of Confluent Health, and Keaton Ray, Co-Founder and COO of MovementX, will cover the impact of the report findings and answer questions.

Learn more and download the full survey report here.

WebPT is the leading rehab therapy platform for enhancing patient care and fueling business growth. WebPT’s product suite provides a robust end-to-end solution covering the entire rehab therapy business cycle, including the tools and knowledge necessary to maximize performance, revenue, and patient outcomes. With a 99% retention rate and an uptime rate in excess of 99.9% across its entire platform, WebPT is the most-trusted and most-reliable solution in the industry, regardless of practice setting, specialty, or size. Learn more at webpt.com.