“…owners and managers an no longer rely solely on the relationships they have built with referral sources to grow their practices”
Look at the drug companies…they know how to peddle their wares. Once it became mainstream to advertise directly to the consumer we have what is now known as the “opioid epidemic”. If we can advertise directly to the consumer, and give the consumer what they want…business will boom. We have to know what the consumer wants first though. Don’t try to sell them what we have, know what they want and then create the product. We know that patient’s primarily want education first. Give them a taste of the education during a seminar and then tell them that they have to schedule an appointment in order to get the rest of the information. It’s funny. I remember working for Bill Curtis at PT and Spine and he would refer to the magic treatment. In that patients are looking for that magic so that way they can take control of their own issues. If one is the owner, we want to give the patient the magic…but not on the first day. If we got paid for outcomes and not for the patient coming to the clinic, there would be more incentive to help fix the patient at the initial visit and not carry it on for the national average of 8-16 visits for the average orthopedic issue.
“Even five years ago physicians largely dictated our referral patterns…hospital-based clinics and physician-owned practices are aggressively attempting to keep their patients “in-house”.
Everyone in business wants money. THEY WANT YOUR MONEY! There is incentive to keep you going to the same company for every service performed. If you need an MRI, X-ray, PT, sports physical, etc it is very convenient if it is all under one roof. Now, who is making the money? I’m going to make it easy. If your mechanic finishes looking at your car and then says that you need $10,000 dollars worth of work, but he can do it all at once, what are you going to say? What if I say that you need $20,000 worth of work? How high do I have to take that number before you realize that it may not be legitimate needs to continue? The doctors/hospitals that own all of the above “services” may be doing the same thing, but you never see the costs because the insurance “covers” the cost.
“We are aware that patients can choose to receive therapy wherever they would like…”
Are the patients aware of this? If you go to the doctor and get a referral for therapy (it’s like a referral to any other practitioner), but the referral has the name of a specific clinic on it, does the patient realize that they can still go anywhere? IF YOU ARE A PATIENT AND ARE READING THIS…YOU CAN GO TO ANY THERAPIST THAT YOU WANT TO GO TO! Not all PT’s have the same training or even the same specialty. If you don’t see progress with your therapist after 6 visits, and you are given the words “it just takes time”, find a new therapist. Some things do take time, but hear it from 2-3 different therapists before you actually believe it.
“We are not here to ‘fix’ a patient; we are here to partner with them in their rehab”
This is huge. I don’t fix you…I help you fix yourself. I play the role of cheerleader, teacher, listener, advisor, but at no point am I the “fixer”. When I see you for 2 hours per week, there are so many hours throughout the week in which you have to help keep yourself fixed by what you learn in the clinic.
I realize that I can come across as negative with regards to the business of healthcare and unfortunately it is more of a realistic view than either pessimistic or optimistic. I have had discussions with those that audit clinics, researched the Department of Justice website for healthcare fraud, shadowed/worked/observed in unethical clinics and have heard patient stories from their times in other clinics. My view is personal, but real. When I say get a second or third opinion, it’s because you may have to go through that many different clinics before you find one that has your intentions at the forefront.
Excerpts taken from: Stamp K. Happy Customers: How to create a positive patient experience. IMPACT. July 2016:31-32.