| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Allied Health |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of Allied Health Services |
| Direct reports | Senior Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist |
| Experience | 10+ years in rehabilitation, with 3 years leading a team of therapists |
Rehabilitation Manager job description template
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Job title: Rehabilitation Manager
Department: Allied Health
Reports to: Head of Allied Health Services
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Rehabilitation Manager runs the rehab department of a hospital or rehab clinic, covering physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and often cardiac and neuro rehabilitation. They allocate therapists to ICU, wards and OPD, agree treatment protocols with consultants, watch session volumes and patient outcomes, and design rehab packages with finance. A good one gets patients referred early after surgery or stroke and keeps each therapist's caseload realistic.
Key responsibilities
- Allocate therapists to ICU, wards, OPD and home visits each morning based on new referrals, planned discharges and current caseloads.
- Agree referral criteria and standard protocols with orthopaedic, neuro and cardiac consultants, such as day-one mobilization after knee replacement.
- Make sure new inpatient referrals are assessed before the next morning round, and follow up any referral left unseen.
- Review outcome measures such as range of motion, the Barthel index and walking distance, and hold case reviews for patients who are not improving.
- Design outpatient packages for stroke, spine, sports injury and post-surgery rehab, and set their pricing with finance.
- Study OPD session volumes, cancellations and no-shows, and change schedules and patient call-backs to fill empty slots.
- Plan upkeep and replacement of rehab equipment such as IFT, therapeutic ultrasound, TENS, CPM machines and gym equipment.
- Run weekly case discussions and in-service training, and assess therapists' competency for ICU and paediatric work.
- Handle complaints from patients and families about therapy frequency, results or package billing.
- Send monthly department reports on sessions, revenue, outcomes and therapist productivity to hospital management.
Requirements
- MPT (Master of Physiotherapy) or a master's in occupational therapy
- Registration with the relevant state council where one exists
- Diploma in hospital management is an advantage
- 10+ years in rehabilitation, with 3 years leading a team of therapists
KRAs and KPIs for a Rehabilitation Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Referral response | First assessment for inpatient referrals within 24 hours in 95 percent of cases |
| Session delivery | At least 90 percent of planned inpatient sessions delivered, with every missed session explained |
| Patient outcomes | Discharge outcome scores recorded for every rehab patient and reviewed monthly by condition |
| OPD utilization | Therapist OPD slot utilization of 80 percent or more each month |
| Package revenue | Rehab package revenue at or above the monthly target |
| Patient feedback | Department feedback score of 4.5 out of 5 or better |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Hospital information system (HIS), Electrotherapy units (IFT, TENS, ultrasound), CPM machine, Goniometer and standard outcome scales, Appointment scheduling software, MS Excel.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Head of Allied Health Services, Hospital Operations Manager
Interview questions for a Rehabilitation Manager
- How would you staff physiotherapy for a 40-bed ICU and 150 ward beds with eight therapists?
- Orthopaedic surgeons complain that knee replacement patients are not walking on day one. What do you change?
- Which outcome measures would you record for stroke rehab, and how often?
- Afternoon OPD no-shows are running at one in four. How do you reduce them?
- How do you price a 12-week spine rehab package?
- A therapist gets poor patient feedback but good clinical results. How do you handle it?
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What does a rehabilitation manager do?
A rehabilitation manager runs a hospital or clinic rehab department. The role allocates therapists across ICU, wards and OPD, agrees protocols with consultants, tracks session numbers and outcomes, designs rehab packages, manages equipment and handles patient complaints, while reporting department results to hospital management.
Who works in a hospital rehabilitation department?
A hospital rehab team usually has physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, sometimes with a clinical psychologist, orthotist, dietitian and a rehabilitation physician. The rehabilitation manager allocates their work across ICU, wards and outpatients and agrees treatment protocols with the consultants.
What qualifications does a rehabilitation manager need?
Most hospitals hire an MPT or a master's in occupational therapy with around 10 years of clinical work, including a few years leading therapists. A hospital management diploma helps, as do skills in scheduling, outcome measurement and budgeting for rehab packages.