Just like within a therapy program, we love a bit of reflection every year!
It’s always amazing to see how far we’ve come over each 12 month period, and 2023 was a big year for us in two key areas: products and research.
And it’s hard to choose a favourite event: winning the Inventor Showcase at the AOTA Conference in Kansas City? Or being selected as a Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellow? Or meeting hundreds of OTs in Cairns at the 30th OTA Conference?
Read below for Theratrak updates on: Awards, Product, Research, Events, and Blogs.
Let’s dive into what happened in 2023.
Images from top left to bottom right:
Caroline Mills & Laura Simmons presenting research with Western Sydney University on data-driven therapy home programs at the OTA Conference
The launch of our Clinic Quiz to calculate how much time Theratrak can save clinics
Our blog on the five benefits of adopting technology in clinics
Our major product update for therapists
Laura at the AOTA Conference after winning the Inventor Showcase
Our popular water bottles we shared at the OTA Conference which read: "Occupational Therapist: Because badass miracle worker isn't a job title."
Our Theramate Kelly the Koala coming with us to the OTA Conference
Summary of our data-driven therapy home programs at the OTA Conference
Annie Seccull from Thrive Group and Laura Simmons at the OTA Conference after presenting about supporting waitlists
AWARDS
Theratrak has won awards in the past, but this year there were multiple!
Selection as Sidney Myer Innovation Fellow
Firstly, Laura was selected as one of three of the prestigious Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellows for 2023. Supported by the Sidney Myer Fund and The Myer Foundation. Laura joins 30 more entrepreneurial leaders in Australia who are recognised for their passion, dedication and action for making a difference. It’s been an inspiration for Laura to learn from and connect with these professionals. Read more about the Fellowship here.
Winning the Inventor Showcase at the AOTA Inspire Conference in Kansas City
Laura presented a 5 mins summary of how Theratrak was created to streamline therapist workflows at the AOTA Inspire Conference (they have over 200,000 members). Watch Laura pitch at the AOTA Conference here.
Now, we’re looking forward to the AOTA Conference in Orlando, Florida next year! Let us know if you’re going to the AOTA Conference in 2024.
Laura’s trip inspired us to try to summarise the differences between occupational therapy in America and Australia.
PRODUCT UPDATES
Major Update: Making Theratrak even easier for Therapists
Last year, we gamified the Participant App. This year, we focused on our Therapists and how to make their workflows even easier. We create five new features for therapists and clinics:
Therapist App: Today in Therapy
Therapist App: Active Programs
Therapist Clinic Portal: Design Refresh
Extra Layer of Security with MFA
Updated TheratrakU Explainer Videos
Optional: Therapist App - Asynchronous Communication
Learn more about the Therapist Update here.
Integrations to save Therapists Time
To save double handling of home therapy programs and case notes, Theratrak now integrates with Cliniko, Coreplus, and Lumary case management systems.
We’ve got more exciting integrations coming in 2024. Message us here with your integration request.
Clinic Quiz: Calculate how much time Theratrak can save
Did you see our Clinic Quiz? After answering a few short questions, we can estimate how much time you can save if you use Theratrak to prescribe home programs to participants.
Complete the 2min quiz by sharing your name and email then answering four questions about your clinic.
Creating TheratrakU: Learning everything in one hour
Everything we do, we aim to empower clinic owners, therapists, and admin staff to be able to hit the ground running with Theratrak. So we created a complete training program. In this course, therapists will learn all of the different features of Theratrak to successfully use the platform in practice.
There are five fun, educational modules with helpful tips, PDFs, explainer videos and short quizzes.
Therapists will also learn how to quickly and easily integrate Theratrak into case management platforms like Cliniko, Coreplus and Lumary.
RESEARCH
We had two major research announcements this year around:
A summary of who uses Theratrak
The impact of supporting waitlists with Theratrak
USERS
Data-driven therapy home programs: Quantitative Evaluation of a digital home-programming tool
With Dr Caroline Mills, Dr Paul Fahey, Dr Kaniz Fatema and Professor Karen Liu from the School of Health Sciences at Western Sydney University
Alongside colleagues from Western Sydney University, Caroline conducted quantitative research into Theratrak's usage.
A retrospective quantitative descriptive methodology was used to provide a snapshot of the platform's usage. De-identified data was used with ethics approval from the Western Sydney University HREC.
Outcomes of the research project:
88% of Theratrak users received a home program within 7 days, 72% of users received a home program on the same day
Mobile app usage can serve as a therapy adjunct and help overcome wait times for therapy services.
The most popular activities to be prescribed on Theratrak so far have been around sensory regulation, core strength and gross motor skills.
Along with more research, the final conclusion outlined that mobile apps like Theratrak may assist in timely delivery in therapy services, overcoming wait times, and may serve in an adjunct for individual therapy sessions.
View the research eposter here.
Subscribe to the Theratrak newsletter list to be notified of when this research gets published.
WAITLISTS
Supporting our waitlists! Innovating home therapy practice using therapy tools
with Thrive Group and Annie Seccull
Research: Supporting our waitlists! Innovating therapy home practice using digital technology solutions https://www.theratrak.co/blog/thrivegroup-supporting-waitlists
One of our amazing Theratrak Trakkers is Annie Seccull, Director & OT at Thrive Group.
To support the Thrive Group's growing wait-list in regional Victoria, Annie searched for an online solution and found Theratrak.
In our Therapist Thoughts interview with Annie, we asked her what was the hardest thing about her role and she said, “Not being able to support and service everyone who needs access to an occupational therapist in our regional town Shepparton.”
We spoke to many OTs at the OTA Conference who said some clinics have a wait-list of 100+ people, sometimes 500+ people, and in rare cases 1000+ people.
Theratrak Founder Laura Simmons worked closely with Annie to ensure Theratrak could deliver Annie's 10-week program to support their waitlist.
Outcomes of the research project:
Families felt more supported
Families increased their knowledge of OT concepts and activities to practise at home
Families increased their knowledge about how OT can support their child in the home environment
Therapists had more job satisfaction and spent less time on admin / home programming
EVENTS
Presenting twice to the 1,200+ OTs at the OTA Conference
We loved exhibiting and presenting at the OTA Conference this year in Cairns.
We met with hundreds of OTs and discussed challenges like supporting participants between sessions, knowing how to motivate participants, and supporting growing waitlists. We also gave away our very popular drink bottles.
View the Research we presented at the OTA Conference above.
Also throughout the year, Laura was able to meet so many dedicated health professionals via the ONE COMMUNITY Ready Set Connect events in Sydney and Melbourne.
Theratrak also partnered with the STAR Symposium in America, a community of health professionals that support so many therapists to innovate and make more impact.
Educating the next generation of allied health professionals
Theratrak Founder Laura Simmons shared knowledge with university students in their final year before they enter the workforce, and trained them on how to use digital tools to achieve more in therapy.
A big thanks to the following universities for the speaking opportunity.
Western Sydney University
Sunshine Coast University
Sydney University
Laura also had the opportunity to support more of the next generation of health graduates via the HealthSociety at USYD Health Society.
If you’d like to engage Laura to speak with your students, please get in touch here.
BLOGS
We also shared some really useful information over on the Theratrak blog:
5 Benefits of Adopting Tech in Clinics
Resource Efficiency: Streamlining Workflows for Therapists
Fun, Games & Learning: Making Therapy More Exciting
Remote Care: Breaking Time & Location Barriers
Instant Feedback: Real Time Communication for Outcomes
Long-Term Goals Unlocked: Track Over Time with Analytics
3 Steps to Successfully Implementing Technology within Clinics
The goal of using technology is always to make your work-life easier, not harder. Adopting new technology is a step in the direction towards future-proofing your business and creating a brand that is known for efficiency.
A Guide for Therapists: How to Create Effective Home Therapy Programs
Starting small and building up a therapy routine can be challenging - but with a few handy tips and digital tools like the Theratrak app, we can help take a bit of the pressure off families and optimise results for participants. Read our top five tips for creating effective home therapy programs.
Taking time to recharge and coming back refreshed for 2024
Theratrak Founder Laura Simmons taking time away from the computer, enjoying nature and walking with family along the Kokoda Track
This year marked the first time ever that our founder had been ‘off-line’ from the business. Laura had holidays in the past but wifi was readily available and she would often login to check how things were going with Theratrak.
So for almost two weeks, Laura was offline with family completing the Kokoda Track along the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea. This is an almost 100 kilometre walking track which was the location for one of the most important battles during the second world war.
It was great for Laura to take some time out from the business. It allowed space for the rest of the team to step up and keep Theratrak thriving while Laura was away.
It’s important for Laura to build a sustainable business that supports the mental health and wellbeing of everyone who comes in contact with Theratrak - the team, clinics, therapists, and participants.
And now finally Laura was able to take time away to recharge, get refreshed and come back to Australia inspired for the many exciting things on the horizon for 2024.
Book in to learn how Theratrak works
If you’re looking to empower your team to use Theratrak and save time everyday, then book in for a training session in January to kick the year off right!
If you’re new to Theratrak, book in for a demo and learn just how powerful this tool can be for your clinic.
