Physical Therapy Private Practice: Secrets Of The Top 10%

Depending on what state you're practicing in, you could face some real challenges when trying to get the insurance contracts you need and want in order to service the people in your community. Whether we like it or not, the overwhelming majority of our patients are paying a handsome sum for their insurance coverage. This means the overwhelming majority of the people within your community will continue to seek providers who are in-network with their insurance carriers. The more you know about how to employ strategies that have worked successfully for others the better your chances are for getting in-network and servicing those within your community.  

All too often we have been feed false data like the patient is always right, or never show your emotions with your staff. We try to please everybody and in the end we wind up frustrated with ourselves. It’s a new world out there with more informed people and a disastrous health care system. We need to be aware of the staff training that is needed in order to make a positive change.  

You need to consider the type of practice you have in terms of the patient public you are servicing and the employment market you are reaching. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for every type of practice out there today. However, there are some real factors you need to consider when selecting your compensation package if you want it to contribute to the company culture you're trying to develop. There are only two things that truly upset if the physical therapist and that is when you play with their money or you play with their schedule. So let's consider all the options in this podcast and decide what is going to be the best fit for your practice.

Based on what I have observed there is a lot of misinformation being passed along from others interpretation of how one is to appropriately charge and code for a therapy session when those other people have not taken the time to research the topic. As a result, far too many new grads are spending more time worrying about getting into trouble and losing their license due to fraudulent charging than they do getting the information for themselves. Unfortunately, DPT schools are more often than not contributing to these fears by preaching such fears to them while in school. When a practice owner (with decades of experience) tries to educate their young new grad they get looked upon as being unethical and are out just for the money. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes.

As a PT practice owner, many think it’s going to be something that it’s not. No matter how good things are going it’s going to be hard and when things are not going well it’s going to be harder. It’s the responsibility we all have as owners to gain the presence of mind and skills on how to succeed in overcoming these challenges. No matter what you are going to be faced with them so ask yourself are you prepared to confront each one head on and have the confidence that you gave the right answer or made the right decision. No matter what others say there is no magic course or program for you to take that is going to handle your every whim.  Not our program or anyone else’s workshop, lecture or course is going to do that for you. There is no replacement for just jumping in the lake with the rest of us and swimming harder and harder to keep your head above water until finally you have mastered your technique and can now cover more ground with greater ease. But, of course, having a coach and agent you can trust lo

This week we interview an awesome member of our Billing team, Stacey, who is an Account Control Manager. Stacey discusses her role in servicing physical therapy private practices as well as the changes in Medicare. Tune in for some powerful tips and tools regarding billing & collections and insurance coverage in private practice. 

Having the best company group culture that is full of upbeat, energetic, productive staff members who enjoy their job and the people they work with is what every owner wants for their practice.  How to get there is a topic for many books and lectures. I have found a method that has worked well for me and many of my clients over the years and it starts with us being true to our intentions as to why we went into private practice, to begin with. If we hire based on the person and their intentions then we will assemble a team of positive people who all want to take pride in their achievements. Learn how that can be done from the interview process all the way through to the long-term employee relationship.

It seems everyone I meet today has lost their mind in a sea of rationalization and justification for the most outrageous behaviors from their staff. I get that it is human nature to try and make sanity out of insanity but when you do that you are committing a big mistake. A mistake that doesn’t only affect you but your staff, patients, and your family. Learn how to approach and resolve staff issues

Offering the right bonus structure and/or incentive program can make all the difference in the world to your staff and your practice.  The funny thing is I have found there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to optimizing the performance of your staff because depending on where you are practicing in the country people value different things. As owners, we need to pay attention to the needs and wants of our own particular staff and originate a system of exchanging with them that actually brings about abundance both for them and that practice.

Revolutionizing Physical Therapy private practice must start with environment first. It will then lead into the proper structure which will attract the right personnel so that you have who you need to help you implement the best systems of operations. So many owners know what they don’t want and they can often articulate what’s less than ideal in their practice but they don’t have the solutions necessary to bring about the change they desire. The first step is knowing how to attack the situation and then learning what you don’t know. Once you have the new knowledge in your head it’s all about the implementation step if things are really going to change.

In this ever-changing healthcare system of ours, many are finding that it’s time for them to take back control over their lives and drive the narrative instead of being the effect of the insurance carriers.  Is it better to go all cash-based or stay in-network and continue playing the insurance game? Maybe it’s time to take back control with a proven HYBRID Model. As insurance carriers continue to reduce reimbursement and the federally funded programs are becoming increasingly more difficult to deal with, start-up owners and others are looking for more viable options today. The newest arrangement that is gaining popularity is the HYBRID model.

It’s more important than ever before that as owners we find ways to bring in good spirited fun and games into our office, for both our patients and staff. By survey, the highest reported degree of job satisfaction is based on staff friendliness resulting in the optimal workplace culture. If we turn our focus to servicing not only our patients but our personnel, community, and referral sources we will have something truly special that will be felt by all. 

Almost every PT private practice owner I have worked with has shared with me their dream that life would be better once they owned their own practice. However, almost one-for-one they didn’t understand the full scope of what they were getting into. Yet, there is one common thing that all successful owners do understand and that is how important it is to be focused, with unwavering commitment, to their goals. Even though they may lack the experience and skills necessary to navigate easily through the enturbulation from their staff and various external market influences, they never give up on wanting to grow and learn what it takes to survive and thrive in PT private practice. My goal has always been to provide practice owners with the help and tools they need along their journey, in order to make it the most rewarding decision of their life. Learn in this episode what it takes to thrive as a PT private practice owner.

All owners are responsible for the quality of their patient’s care, as well as their patient’s overall satisfaction with your practice. Your practice is a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. Your patients shouldn’t be experiencing anything that you wouldn’t want to experience yourself. All too often practice owners place too much attention on generating more revenue rather than having their attention on what is most important to the viability of your company, which is making sure that you are in exchange in abundance at all times with your patients. Providing your patients with an over-the-top customer experience, while maintaining staff compliance with your company policies and metrics, will ensure that everyone is winning.

As the owner of your own practice, you are not only responsible for the quality of patient care, and satisfaction of your employees, but also the viability of the organization you created. When it comes to your finance division it is important to understand the strategies and concepts necessary for maximizing your Net Revenue. All too often practice owners place their full attention on generating more gross revenue when in fact net revenue is the only thing that really matters when it comes to the viability of your practice.

As the owner of your own practice, you are not only responsible for the quality of patient care, and satisfaction of your employees, but also the viability of the organization you created. When it comes to your finance division it is important to understand the best set up and workflow to maximize your operational needs. All too often practice owners place their full attention on their front desk and clinical staff workflow and operations while the billing and bookkeeping "back-end” lags behind. Ironically it’s the "back end” that is controlling your MONEY LINES. The fact is: you are the CEO whose primary stats are growth/expansion and net revenue/profit because it’s the only thing that really matters when it comes to the viability of your practice.  

As the owner of your own practice you are now being looked upon as the leader of your group, and as that leader, your staff will only follow you if they trust you. Trust is built on transparency between you and your staff. The same could also be said for any marriage or friendship the basis of all healthy relationships can be found in the foundation of trust and respect. 

The year was 2001 and I had just completed my second year in private practice. Back then I thought if I gave everybody everything they wanted they would love me and my staff morale would be high and everybody would be happy. Why wouldn't it work that way? I was giving everyone everything they wanted. One hour treatments, paid documentation time, paid lunch, full-time benefits for working 36 hours or more and I don't think I ever denied a time off request. The reality is the more I gave the less I got. The more out exchange I went with my employees the worst things became. I began to think I needed them more than they needed me. I quickly lost the respect of my staff. They came to work wanting to be led and I came to work wanting to please. The idea of becoming an excellent personnel manager was quickly becoming a mystery to me.

The year was 2003 and I was losing my shirt financially. I was $85,000 in debt losing $5,000 a month when my wife told me we have $15,000 left our name and that if I had a solution I better put it in play now. Like so many other PT owners, when things are going well we will bury ourselves in patient care. It was not until I was willing to look at the areas of business that I did not have the understanding in that I needed that things began to change. The more I forced myself to learn how to do billing and to hold the line on my business expenses, the more successful my business began to be. Fortunately, being a good therapist and having good therapists work for me led our practice through this difficult time, because of our great reputation. But having a good reputation was not enough for us to pull it out alone. I needed to finally confront my billing department in order to make things right.

Since the very beginning when I started consulting private practice owners back in 2004 it was the button of “How to get more new patients” that attracted the most owners to consulting services.  Even though we all knew it was because of them failing to be a good leader, time manager, quality control officer, personnel establishment officer, and an overall good executive that was the real problem. Typically, people cannot easily see the faults in themselves but are quick to point out the faults in others, even when they may share those same faults. So, if your marketing is not turning the volume of new business that you'd, like look no further than yourself to find the answer. Your patients want to be proud of the choice they made to want to come to your office for their care, you just have to give them as many reasons as possible to solidify that good decision. Once reaffirmed they will do the rest for you. They will become your little legion of marketing foot soldiers out in your community. Successful marke