What Does 70% Productivity Mean?
A 70% productivity target means 70 out of every 100 paid minutes should be billable treatment. In an 8-hour paid day, that’s 336 billable minutes (5 hours 36 minutes), leaving 144 minutes (2 hours 24 minutes) for everything else. It’s the median requirement ASHA reported for pediatric settings in its 2025 survey of SLPs.
By the Best Therapy Productivity Calculator team · Last updated October 2026
70% productivity by shift length
| Paid shift | Billable minutes at 70% | Billable time | Non-billable minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 hours (360 min) | 252 | 4 h 12 min | 108 |
| 7 hours (420 min) | 294 | 4 h 54 min | 126 |
| 7.5 hours (450 min) | 315 | 5 h 15 min | 135 |
| 8 hours (480 min) | 336 | 5 h 36 min | 144 |
| 10 hours (600 min) | 420 | 7 h | 180 |
Why is 70% common in pediatric therapy?
ASHA’s 2025 survey found a 70% median in pediatric settings, lower than the SNF, hospital, rehab, home health and outpatient medians. The survey gives the number, not the reasons. Pediatric clinicians commonly point to work like this:
- Talking with parents and caregivers before and after sessions
- Coordinating with schools, teachers and early intervention teams
- Longer evaluation reports with standardized test scoring
- Home programs written for families
- Late arrivals and cancellations around school schedules and illness
None of that is usually billable, and all of it affects outcomes.
What does a 70% day look like?
An outpatient pediatric SLP with 45-minute sessions on an 8-hour paid day:
| Minutes | |
|---|---|
| 7 sessions × 45 min | 315 billable |
| 1 × 30-minute session | 30 billable |
| Total billable | 345 (71.9%) |
| Parent check-ins, notes, school emails, scoring | 135 non-billable |
Eight sessions clear 70% with a small cushion. One no-show (45 minutes) drops the day to 62.5%.
How do you protect a 70% target from cancellations?
- Keep a waitlist of families who can come in at short notice
- Send reminders the day before (see reducing no-shows)
- Use the gap for notes and home programs so the evening stays free
- Track the week, not the day. A bad Tuesday can be balanced across the week in the weekly productivity calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many billable minutes is 70% of an 8-hour day?
336 minutes, or 5 hours 36 minutes.
Is 70% productivity normal for pediatric therapists?
ASHA’s 2025 survey reported 70% as the median requirement for SLPs in pediatric settings. We haven’t found a comparable national figure for pediatric PTs or OTs.
Does parent education count as billable?
It depends on the payer and the code. Caregiver training can be billable in some situations. Check your payer’s rules and your employer’s policy.
Related: Pediatric therapy benchmarks · 75% productivity · Therapy productivity calculator · School-based therapy workload