New in Fusion: Custom Assessment Sections for faster PT, OT, SLP documentation 

Your evaluation template silently decides more about your day than you do. 

It nudges you toward certain questions, dictates the order you document in, and often keeps you staring at a screen long after your last client has gone home. The result is extra clicks, workarounds, and the “pajama time” documentation every therapist knows too well. 

For many outpatient rehab teams, the problem isn’t documentation itself — it’s templates that don’t match how therapists actually evaluate. That’s why Fusion is introducing Custom Assessment Sections: flexible, reusable building blocks for PT, OT, and SLP evaluations. While we already offer discipline-specific, AI-supported documentation – we’re making it fit your clinical flow even better. 

Why standard eval templates feel so off 

Most therapists have had the same experience: you open a “standard” evaluation template, and within minutes you’re fighting it. 

Professional bodies like APTA, AOTA, and CMS clearly outline what needs to be documented in outpatient rehab — history, systems review, tests and measures, clinical impression, plan of care, and so on. But they don’t hand down a single, universal eval template. That leaves software vendors guessing at layouts that might fit most people, most of the time. 

When one template tries to cover pediatric feeding, school‑based speech, adult orthopedics, and neuro rehab all at once, you end up with a cluttered form that doesn’t really fit anyone. You either skip half the fields because they don’t apply or type critical information into a generic “Notes” box because there’s no specific place to put it. 

Over time, that mismatch drives documentation burden. You build workarounds just to make the template usable. But every workaround adds friction and minutes to each evaluation — minutes that tend to show up after hours. 

What are Custom Assessment Sections in Fusion? 

Custom Assessment Sections are reusable chunks of evaluation content that your practice designs and manages directly in Fusion. Instead of relying on a single mega‑template, you compose each evaluation from the sections that actually matter for that client. You can build your own sections from scratch or import preconfigured assessment sections to get started faster.  

An administrator can create targeted sections like: 

• Pediatric Sensory Profile 

• School Participation Snapshot 

• Falls Risk Screening 

• Swallowing History and Diet 

During an evaluation, the therapist simply adds the relevant sections to their note. If something doesn’t apply to that client, it doesn’t have to appear on the screen at all. 

So instead of letting a rigid form quietly drive what you capture, you: 

• Build evaluations around the actual PT, OT, or SLP workflow, and 

• Document in the order that matches your clinical reasoning, not the software’s default. 

The result is documentation that feels like it’s finally keeping up with how you think in the treatment room. 

Making Custom Assessment Sections feel natural in your day 

You don’t have to tear down your existing templates to benefit from Custom Assessment Sections. 

Most practices see the best results by starting small: 

1. Pick one high‑friction evaluation per discipline. 
   For example, neuro PT intakes, peds OT evals, or voice/swallow SLP evaluations. 
2. Co‑design sections with the therapists doing that work every day. 
   Ask them: “Where does the current template fight you? Where do you rely on workarounds?” 
3. Build one or two focused sections first.  
   As you refine your sections, you can duplicate and adjust them instead of rebuilding from scratch — making it easy to create slight variations for different disciplines, subspecialties, or payer requirements. Capture both: 
   – The payer‑required elements you must document, and 
   – The clinical reasoning flow your therapists actually use. 
4. Pilot for a week, then refine. 
   Have therapists use the new sections on real clients, then ask: 
   “What still feels clunky?” 
   “What do you still have to type in free text?” 
5. Roll out more broadly and build your library over time. 
   As your team sees the time savings and reduced friction, you can add more sections for other eval types and sub‑specialties. 

Admins maintain control over which sections exist and how they’re structured, so you can standardize best practices across locations while still giving teams the flexibility they need. 

Are custom therapy evaluation templates still compliant? 

A common worry — especially for practice owners and admins — is that “custom” will mean “non‑compliant” or inconsistent documentation. 

In reality, Custom Assessment Sections are a way to structure evaluations so they capture what payers already expect to see, but in a pattern that fits your practice’s real workflows. 

Here’s how practices typically approach compliance with these tools: 

Align sections with CMS and professional guidelines. 
You can design sections to reflect documentation elements highlighted by CMS for outpatient rehab therapy and by professional organizations like APTA, AOTA, and ASHA — such as medical necessity, skilled intervention, clinical reasoning, and a clear plan of care. 

Make required elements harder to miss. 
When you build specific sections for common eval types (e.g., Falls Risk, Pediatric Feeding), you can include fields that map directly to known payer expectations for those visit types. That makes it easier for therapists to consistently capture the right information in the right place. 

Preserve space for clinical judgment. 
Custom Assessment Sections can still include narrative fields for clinical impressions and reasoning, so therapists are not reduced to checkboxes — and reviewers can see why a service was provided, not just what happened. 

What to do next 

If you already use Fusion, start by choosing one evaluation that always runs long and make that your pilot. Partner with your therapists to design one or two Custom Assessment Sections for that eval, try them in real visits, and see how much “pajama time” you can cut. You can learn more about using custom assessments sections here. 

If you’re still considering Fusion, ask your rep to show you Custom Assessment Sections during your demo. Seeing your PT, OT, and SLP workflows laid out as flexible sections is often the clearest way to understand how much gentler evaluations can feel when the template finally matches the way your practice works. 

FAQs for Custom Assessment Sections

What are Custom Assessment Sections in Fusion?

Custom Assessment Sections are reusable chunks of evaluation content that your practice creates inside Fusion, such as a Gait Assessment or Voice Evaluation section. Admins define the questions and structure for each section, and therapists add only the sections they need to an evaluation, so the template reflects the actual PT, OT, or SLP workflow instead of a generic one-size-fits-all form.

How do Custom Assessment Sections work in Fusion?

Administrators create reusable sections of eval content tailored to your practice’s PT, OT, and SLP workflows. During an evaluation (or right before), therapists can search for and add only the sections they need — like “Vestibular Screening” or “Fluency/stuttering profile” — so their templates stay focused and relevant to the client in front of them.

How do custom therapy evaluation templates help therapists?

Custom evaluation templates built from these sections reduce repetitive typing and copy‑and‑paste habits, because the prompts therapists rely on are already on the screen in a structured way. They make it easier to complete more of the evaluation during the visit instead of after hours. Therapists can spend less energy wrestling with the form and more time thinking about the client in front of them.

Can PT, OT, and SLP teams use different evaluation sections in Fusion?

Yes. Sections can be discipline‑specific and even sub‑specialty‑specific. That means neuro PTs can have different sections than orthopedic PTs, pediatric OTs can have different sections than adult OTs, and medical SLPs can use sections that look nothing like school‑based speech templates. Each therapist sees the sections that make sense for their caseload, instead of wading through fields designed for someone else.

Will custom sections still support payer and documentation requirements?

Custom Assessment Sections are designed to support compliant documentation. Admins can design sections to mirror the documentation principles that matter to your practice, including guidance from CMS for outpatient rehab and recommendations from APTA, AOTA, and ASHA. By including fields that align with those expectations in sections for specific evaluation types, practices can make it easier for therapists to document the details payers expect to see. The tool itself does not guarantee compliance, but it gives your team more control over how compliant documentation is captured.

Do Custom Assessment Sections replace clinical judgment?

No, custom assessment sections do not replace clinical judgement. The goal is not to turn evaluations into a series of checkboxes. Custom Assessment Sections help make sure the right questions are asked and the right details are captured in a structured way. They still leave room for narrative summaries and clinical impressions, where therapists explain their reasoning and describe why the plan of care is medically necessary.

Who can create and edit Custom Assessment Sections in Fusion?

Typically, only users with administrative permissions can create, edit, or publish Custom Assessment Sections in Fusion, which helps prevent every individual from building their own version of an evaluation and creating inconsistency. Practices often designate a small group of clinical and administrative leaders to design these sections together so they reflect both payer requirements and day-to-day workflows, then roll them out to the wider team.