5 Things stealing time from patient care

Clinicians didn’t enter rehab therapy to chase paperwork. Yet when we asked 778 rehab therapy clinicians what single change would give their day back, the answers pointed straight at the work stacked around patient care. Here are the 5 things clinicians told us steal time from the reason they showed up.

What's stealing time from patient care?

We asked 778 clinicians what one change their practice could make that would have the biggest impact on their day-to-day work. The top answers all point to the same theme: Less time on everything that isn't patient care. Clinicians could pick more than one answer, so the percentages below don't add up to 100%.

1. Documentation time: 53%

53% of clinicians named documentation as a time thief, more than any other single change. Reducing documentation time would make the biggest difference to their day. Wanting less of it isn't a warning sign. It's close to universal, which is part of why it tops the list by such a wide margin.

2. Admin burden on clinical staff: 40%

40% of clinicians (2 in 5) pointed to the broader load of non-clinical tasks sitting on their plate. Like documentation, this item is named at close to the same rate whether a clinician plans to stay (41%) or leave (37%), suggesting the frustration is fairly evenly distributed rather than concentrated among clinicians already considering an exit.

3. Scheduling and patient follow-through: 38%

38% of clinicians, more than a third, wanted a better system for keeping schedules and follow-up care on track. This one divides clinicians by whether they're likely to stay: It's named by 50% of clinicians who say they're unlikely to be at their current practice in 2 years, compared to 34% of those who plan to stay. Of the 5 items here, it's the one most tied to whether someone's already considering leaving.

4. Visibility into practice performance: 18%

18% of clinicians, nearly 1 in 5, wanted clearer insight into how the practice, and their own work, was actually performing. This item is also named somewhat more by clinicians thinking about leaving (20%) than by those planning to stay (17%), though the gap is smaller than what we see with scheduling.

5. Billing process: 17%

17% of clinicians pointed to the billing process itself. This one shows the widest gap after scheduling and was named by 23% of clinicians likely to leave versus 16% of those likely to stay.

The same problem, asked in 2 different ways

We asked clinicians 2 different questions in this survey: What drains them most during the day, and what one change would help the most. Documentation and admin burden top both lists. That's worth noting because it rules out a simple explanation: This isn't clinicians reflexively naming "documentation" whenever asked an open-ended question. It's the same specific problem showing up whether we asked about their daily frustration or their ideal fix.

Clinicians aren’t asking for less patient care

They're asking for less of everything else. Reducing documentation time is the change clinicians name most, and it isn't close. The rest of the list, scheduling, admin load, visibility, and billing, are all forms of the same request: Fewer obstacles between the clinician and the patient in front of them. Notably, the items most tied to leaving intent, scheduling and billing, are also the ones practices have the most direct control over. That's the opening for owners: The biggest lever for retention may not be the biggest complaint by volume, but the one most concentrated among clinicians already weighing whether to stay.

For a closer look at what keeps clinicians at a practice once that friction is gone, read the overlooked drivers of clinician retention.

Read the 2026 Clinician Experience Report →

FAQs

What would rehab therapy clinicians change first about their practice?

Reducing documentation time, named by 53% of clinicians, more than any other single change.

Does wanting a lighter documentation load mean a clinician is planning to leave?

Not particularly. Clinicians planning to stay name it almost as often as clinicians planning to leave. Scheduling and follow-through, not documentation, is the item most tied to intent to leave.

What's the second biggest change clinicians want from their practice?

Reducing the admin burden on clinical staff, named by 40% of clinicians, followed by better scheduling and patient follow-through at 38%.

Which of these changes matters most for retention specifically?

Scheduling and patient follow-through and the billing process show the widest gaps between clinicians planning to stay and clinicians planning to leave, making them the 2 items most worth prioritizing if retention is the goal.