How Workflow Failures Drive Burnout in O&P and CRT (and What You Can Do About It)

Fighting Burnout: Workflow Fixes That Support Your Staff and Your Bottom Line

The Warning Signs Practice Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore 

Burnout is often treated as an individual issue. But in O&P and CRT, it's systemic. And the data backs it up:

• According to the ABC’s 2022 Practice Analysis, over half of certified O&P practitioners have more than 11 years of experience, suggesting that a significant portion may be close to reaching retirement age. As these seasoned clinicians approach retirement, fewer graduates are entering the field to replace them.

• The National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) has raised alarms about under-enrollment in O&P programs.

• Assistive Technology Professionals (ATPs) are also in short supply, particularly in rural and underserved regions, making it harder to deliver timely CRT services.

All of this compounds an already stretched workforce, and has the potential to lead to real consequences:

• Slower patient access

• Higher staff turnover

• Reduced clinician facetime

• Lower practice profitability
  

The Hidden Cost of Inefficient Workflows 

Clinician burnout doesn’t start in the treatment room. It often begins in the inbox, with a referral missing critical documents, or a SOAP note that takes 45 minutes to complete because the system wasn’t built for your workflow.

When documentation is manual, when intake processes are inconsistent, and when staff have to chase signatures and rework claims, your team ends up spending more time on administration and less on what matters: patient care. 

Some of the most common workflow pain points contributing to burnout include:

• Disjointed referral and intake processes 

• Time-consuming documentation and LMNs

• Poor task visibility and lack of follow-up automation

• Reactive revenue cycle processes and missed claim deadlines

These issues not only drain your staff’s time and energy, they also cost your practice in missed revenue, rework, and lost opportunities. 

Fix the Flow: How Smarter Workflows Reduce Burnout 

Why This Matters Now 

Clinician and staff burnout is more than an HR issue. It is a business risk. The O&P and CRT industries are on the brink of a staffing crisis, and the practices that thrive will be those that invest in sustainability. 

Sustainability doesn’t mean doing more with less. It means designing better systems that do more for you. 

Three Steps to Start Fighting Burnout Today:

1. Audit your workflows: Where are your team’s biggest stress points? Intake? Documentation? Billing?
2. Listen to your staff: What tools frustrate them? What workarounds are they using to “make it work”?
3. Invest in automation: Look for tools that eliminate duplication, standardize workflows, and surface risks before they become problems.
   

Let’s Build a Better System Together

At Nymbl, we believe burnout doesn’t happen because your people don’t care. It happens because they’re working day in and day out in a system that doesn’t care for them. Our mission is to change that by providing you with more innovative tools, simpler workflows, and real-time visibility, enabling you to lead with confidence.

But we don’t build in a vacuum.

What makes Nymbl different isn’t just the technology, it’s the way we work. Every feature in our platform, from AI-powered documentation to customizable dashboards, has been developed in close partnership with the individuals who use it: clinicians, billing teams, ATPs, and practice leaders who face the challenges of O&P and CRT care every day.

We listen first, build second, and we never stop improving.

That means:

• You’re not just adopting software. You’re helping shape it.
  We regularly gather feedback from our customers and advisory councils to refine and expand features in direct response to real needs.

• We speak your language.
  Our implementation and support teams understand the nuances of orthotics, prosthetics, and complex rehab workflows because that’s all we do.

• We don’t succeed unless you do.
  Whether you’re looking to reduce burnout, clean up revenue cycles, or scale sustainably, we work alongside you to tailor Nymbl to your unique goals.

In a world where so many tools feel generic, disconnected, or built for someone else, we’re proud to offer a system that feels like it was made with you, because it was.

If you’re ready to give your staff the support they deserve and lead with clarity instead of chaos, we’d love to show you how.

Schedule a demo and see how our collaborative approach is setting a new standard for O&P and CRT software.