PT Talker

The current healthcare climate has created an uncertainty for many physical therapists and other health care professionals.  Dr. Kenneth L. Miller, PT, DPT, MA, GCS, CEEAA  recently shared his thoughts on physical therapy, home health care and potential impact of proposed legislation on your clinic. Dr. Miller is a physical therapist and educator with more than 20 years of experience working with older adults in the home and inpatient rehab settings, as well as more than 7 years in adjunct faculty roles for the University of St Augustine, New York Institute of Technology, University of Michigan–Flint, and Touro College. Dr. Miller also chairs the APTA’s Home Health Section Practice Committee and is a member of the editorial boards of Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, GeriNotes, and is a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy. Listen to the complete podcast to find out the proposed rules that may impact your clinic. How you can submit comments before legislative suggestions become law and how you can stay current on the ever-changing rules.

We’re thrilled to have Chad Madden, MSPT, successful private practice clinic owner at Madden Physical Therapy join us for a second podcast.  Over the years, Madden has implemented a number of things to enhance his clinic’s growth and is now sharing that information in a bootcamp designed for physical therapists and their staff. Attendees at the upcoming Breakthrough Physical Therapy Marketing Bootcamp will learn how to achieve growth in a competitive climate. Discover how to stop relying on physicians for referrals. Find approaches to get current patients to refer new patients. As well as discover tips to attract direct access patients from the general public. The event is designed for physical therapists and their staff to walk away with information they can implement immediately.  The next BPTM Killer Marketing Implementation Bootcamp is July 7th and 8th in Chicago, Illinois.  To reserve your spot, visit https://bptm.co/bootcamp-7-chicago  and use the coupon code ADMED.

Wonder how to compete against corporate giants?  Today’s guest, Chad Madden, MSPT, is a successful private practice clinic owner, Madden Physical Therapy. His clinic is located in a very competitive environment.  His clinic averages over 500 visits a week and regularly utilizes direct response marketing He’s launched a resource for to help other private practices physical therapists entitled “Breakthrough Physical Therapy Marketing” This proven physical therapy focused marketing resource shares details on the techniques that have worked for Madden Physical Therapy.  The program reveals how hosting workshops can benefit your clinic. Shares tips for launching effective direct response marketing at your clinic with copy that has worked in Madden’s own marketing campaigns.  And also provides strategies to create explosive growth for your clinic.  To learn more about this marketing resource designed listen to the full podcast now.

Whether you currently run a cash-based practice or are interested in adding cash-based services to your practice, but are confused about the laws regarding self-payment from Medicare patients, then this podcast is for you. This week’s expert will help you navigate the many rules and regulations of Medicare.  In his new book, Medicare and Cash-Pay Physical Therapy,   Dr. Jarod Carter touches on everything you need to know about cash-pay services and Medicare. Dr. Carter states there are three possible relationships a physical therapist can have with Medicare. Medicare relationships include being a participating provider, a non-participating provider or a provider with no relationship with Medicare at all.  Although they may seem the same, Dr. Carter explains the difference between  a non-participating provider and a provider with no relationship to Medicare. The book lays out all the rules and regulations to help you determine which approach makes the most sense for your practice.  On the patient side of things, a cash-based physical therapy practice should seek patients that understand that they’ll be paying cash for services. For patients interested in billing Medicare, it may be necessary for a cash-based physical therapy clinic to refer those patients to a physical therapist that accepts Medicare.  Listen now to learn essential information for any private practice physical therapist.

A standard hammer like those found at your local hardware store is commonly used to help strengthen forearm pronation and supination. But, a standard hammer is limited in the way it allows a patient to progress. Today’s expert practices in Green Bay Wisconsin and is the inventor of a new tool for physical therapists. Jonathon Rosploch DPT, BS, CSCS, MFR developed The Pronator to provide individuals with a better tool for pronation. The Pronator was developed to improve the way you build your patients upper extremity strength.  The tools allows for exercise progressions that are not possible using current tools. To learn more about The Pronator, listen to the full podcast now.

Decreasing reimbursements, lack of resources and costly compliance systems are just a few of the challenges faced by private practice physical therapy clinics.  Today’s expert, Mike Graves is a physical therapist and one of the Managing Partners of Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers. He shares some of the unique aspects of their franchise and the benefits it provides practice owners. One of the key benefits of being a part of a franchise is practice owners can pool together resources to provide the maximum benefit to clinics and their patients. Any private practice owner that is interested in taking their clinic to the next level can learn more by listening to the full podcast or by visiting the Fyzical website (fyzical.com).

According to AARP, one of the biggest fears people have as they age is losing mental capacity. Today’s expert has developed a proactive program that provides a positive impact on brain health. Lynn Steffes, PT, DPT of Steffes & Associates Consulting Group and BrainyEX recently shared details about cognitive health and how physical therapists can help. The BrainyEX program provides baseline cognitive testing, prescribed exercises and education to help individuals utilize the latest research maximize their brain fitness. It’s a new offering that physical therapist can add to their clinic and provide a real beneficial service to members of their community. Listen to the full podcast to learn more. Additional information can also be found at brainyex.com.

Instead of bringing physical therapy customers to your clinic, today’s expert brings physical therapy direct to consumers in their own home. Benjamin Gold, PT, MCMT owns HPTNYC a boutique home physical therapy service in Manhattan and is currently working on building a similar model in Australia. From day one, the clinic has been cash-based. He’s never had to accept insurance at his clinic. This model has served him well and left the business less vulnerable to changes in the health care. Learn more about his model and what it’s like to manage a clinic from another part of the world by listing to a full podcast now.

The third party payer system poses a variety of challenges for physical therapy clinic owners.  From the cost of collecting payments to the difficulty of negotiating rates with insurance companies the traditional third party payer system can impact the bottom line of a clinic which has made a cash-based practice appealing to many physical therapy owners. Today’s expert, Aaron LeBauer, PT, DPT, LMBT owns LeBauer Physical Therapy, a cash-based physical therapy clinic.  LeBauer finds a cash-based practice to be the best fit for his treatment philosophy. In his practice, customers usually come in only once a week for a focused session instead of  a couple treatments per week like traditional clinics.  He believes as higher deductibles become a regular part of health care, consumers are going to look for the best value care and find the cash-based practice puts patients in control of the cost without the hassle and surprises from insurance co-pays and deductibles.  Learn more by listening to the full podcast now.

The landscape of health care is constantly changing and direct access to physical therapy is providing new opportunities to physical therapists. Today’s expert Lisa Kemp, DPT, President and Clinical Director at Advantage Physical Therapy Associates shares why she is so optimistic about the future. She credits direct access for providing her clinic with the opportunity to empower individuals in her community. And believes it’s important to let individuals know that they have the power to choose where they want to go without waiting to see a physician. With direct access, physical therapists can now be a referral source for physicians by making referrals to physicians for issues that they see that may require further care. Kemp believes the future is bright and that physical therapy has the potential of being that direct access provider ready to step in place to support the primary care gaps created by an active aging population. Learn more by listening to the full podcast now.

A brand as defined by the American Marketing Association is a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.” Today’s expert, Dr. Ben Fung is a physical therapist that also helps physical therapy clinics develop a strong brand. Branding is more than a logo. It’s the way individuals relate to your clinic. He encourages physical therapists to take time to identify who their major market segment and use that information to develop a brand that resonates with the hearts and minds of current and potential customers. Learn more by listening to the full podcast now.

We’ve had a few podcasts focused on the importance of providing outstanding customer service. This week’s podcast features a tool designed to help you do just that. James Lomuscio, CEO & Co-founder of Hability, a patient relationship management system shares how the system helps you improve customer communication, engagement and retention.  Hability was designed to help improve patient care outside the clinic. It simplifies follow-up, reduces missed appointments and helps create a lifelong loyal customer. John Bonaroti, PT,ATC and Director of ESSMC is using the system and has found it to be useful as a patient management and engagement tool.  The system allows them to send a text message to patients as a reminder for an appointment, answer questions, follow up after treatment is complete and more.  Learn more by listening to the full podcast now.   

Words matter. That’s why today’s guest advocates for using the term consumer over patient when referring to clients at your clinic. In his second podcast with PT Talker,   Jerry Durham, PT, Principal of San Francisco Sport and Spine Physical Therapy,  shares why customer service is so important at your clinic. He stresses that consumers have a choice. A patient is someone who comes to a clinic with symptoms that can be addressed and once addressed a physical therapist may never have the opportunity to work with that individual again. Durham feels referring to individuals as customers instead of patients implies that the clinic is building a long-term relationship with every individual they work with and encourages physical therapists to find ways to stay engaged even after the initial problem is addressed. Discover how his clinic provides a “no surprises” approach and how his dedicated customer support staff delivers results by listening to the full podcast now.

It’s a great time to be a physical therapist. Despite lower reimbursement rates faced by many physical therapists, today’s expert,  Jerry Durham, PT, Principal of San Francisco Sport and Spine Physical Therapy,  shares why he he’s so excited about the future of physical therapy in the first of two podcasts. His clinic is currently in the process of operating out of network and he has found greater success in doing so with higher average revenues per visit than ever.  And despite the uncertainty associated with the Affordable Care Act, he believes physical therapists are in a great position to share why physical therapy may be the best option for some individuals. Learn how he uses social media to foster communication and why he believes a customer focused practice is critical to his success.  

In a constantly changing environment, physical therapists are looking at new ways to increase their practice. Today’s expert shares his solution to surviving in a challenging physical therapy climate. Russ Certo, PT and owner of Grand Island Physical Therapy founded the medically oriented gym (MOG) by combining a medically focused fitness center with his private physical therapy practice.   The MOG concept became a survival technique for Certo’s clinic which had an average reimbursement of only $47 a visit.  To provide the most benefit to his customers, he only hires medical personnel with an interest in fitness.  By adding the MOG, he increased his referral based practice by 22 percent in the first year and has continued that volume over the years.  Learn more about the cost savings and positive outcomes a MOG provides by listening the full podcast now.