Why it’s an Exciting Time to be a Physical Therapist

05/05/14 • 13 min

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.

Previous Episode

Adding a MOG as a Physical Therapy Survival Tactic

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.

Next Episode

Physical Therapy is all about Serving Consumers (Not Just Patients)

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.