What Does 85% Productivity Mean?
An 85% productivity target means 85 out of every 100 paid minutes should be billable treatment. In an 8-hour paid day, that’s 408 billable minutes (6 hours 48 minutes), leaving 72 minutes for documentation, setup, transitions and meetings. It’s the median requirement for SLPs in skilled nursing facilities, according to ASHA’s 2025 survey.
By the Best Therapy Productivity Calculator team · Last updated October 2026
85% productivity by shift length
| Paid shift | Billable minutes at 85% | Billable time | Non-billable minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 hours (360 min) | 306 | 5 h 6 min | 54 |
| 7 hours (420 min) | 357 | 5 h 57 min | 63 |
| 7.5 hours (450 min) | 383 | 6 h 23 min | 67 |
| 8 hours (480 min) | 408 | 6 h 48 min | 72 |
| 10 hours (600 min) | 510 | 8 h 30 min | 90 |
Billable minutes rounded up so you don’t fall short.
Formula: billable minutes needed = paid minutes × 0.85
Where do the 72 minutes go?
Seventy-two minutes sounds like plenty until you list what has to fit inside it. Here’s one realistic SNF day with 9 patients:
| Non-billable task | Minutes (example) |
|---|---|
| Documentation for 9 sessions at about 5 minutes each | 45 |
| Transitions and setup between 9 patients | 18 |
| Morning huddle or stand-up | 10 |
| Total | 73 |
That’s already 1 minute over, before a single evaluation, family call or late patient. This is why it matters so much whether your employer counts documentation as productive time. In ASHA’s 2025 survey, only 8% of SLPs said documentation counts when the patient isn’t present.
Is 85% productivity high?
It depends on the setting. Here’s how 85% compares with ASHA’s 2025 medians for SLPs:
| Setting | Median requirement | 85% is… |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled nursing facility | 85% | Typical |
| General medical / VA / LTAC hospital | 80% | Above median |
| Rehabilitation hospital | 80% | Above median |
| Home health | 80% | Above median |
| Outpatient clinic | 78% | Above median |
| Pediatric hospital | 70% | Well above median |
We haven’t found public national PT or OT medians, so use this table as context only.
How long is your day at 85%?
Divide your billable minutes by 0.85.
- 375 billable minutes: 441 paid minutes (7 h 21 min). From 7:30 AM, you’re done at 2:51 PM.
- 408 billable minutes: 480 paid minutes (8 h). From 8:00 AM, you’re done at 4:00 PM, or 4:30 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch.
Run your own schedule in the therapy productivity calculator.
How to hit 85% without charting at home
- Document the objective section during the session. Reps, assist levels and measurements go in live.
- Batch similar patients. Fewer equipment changes means fewer non-billable minutes.
- Protect evaluation days. Ask for fewer treatment minutes on days with multiple evals.
- Know your crediting rules. Co-treat and group minutes can count very differently.
- Track what doesn’t count. One week of data on huddles, transitions and holds is the strongest case for a fairer target.
If you’re hourly and regularly finishing notes off the clock, that’s a wage issue, not a time-management issue. ASHA points out that non-exempt employees are protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act from pressure to work off the clock.
Frequently asked questions
How many minutes is 85% productivity in an 8-hour day?
408 billable minutes, or 6 hours 48 minutes.
Is 85% productivity good?
It’s the median for SLPs in SNFs (ASHA 2025) and above the median in every other health care setting ASHA measured.
How do I calculate my end time at 85%?
Divide your billable minutes by 0.85 and add the result to your start time. Add any unpaid lunch after that.
What’s the difference between 85% and 90% productivity?
24 minutes a day of non-billable time in an 8-hour day: 72 minutes at 85% versus 48 at 90%.
Does an unpaid lunch count in the 85%?
No. Use paid minutes only. An unpaid lunch moves your clock-out later but doesn’t change the percentage.
Calculate your 85% day: Therapy productivity calculator · Productivity percentage calculator · What does 80% productivity mean?