Meet the Presenters at Florida's Private Practice Physical Therapist Conference

Here is our distinguished line-up of presenters for the 3rd annual private practice conference in Orlando, Florida!  Sign up now at www.FLPTPP.com.

Nancy Beckley, MS, MBA, CHC is President at Nancy Beckley & Associates LLC. Ms. Beckley will present a Compliance Update for Medicare.

Pauline Franko, PT, CEEAA Owner at Encompass Consulting & Education, LLC, A physical therapist with over 30 years experience within the Medicare system. Ms. Franko will present Connecting the Dots: Creating the picture the reviewer needs to see.

Tim Richardson, PT is a physical therapist and book author. Tim will present "How to Effectively Use Outcomes Questionnaires for Federal Quality Reporting, Better Productivity and Better Outcomes"

Dimitrios Kostopolous, DPT, MD, PhD, DSc, ECS is a seasoned, widely published doctorate level physical therapist with a strong background in patient care. Dr. Kostopolous will present Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy & Strain Counter- Strain for Cervical Spine Pathology. This presentation-training is designed to have immediate clinical applications.

Konstantine Rizopoulos, DPT, MCMT, FABS Seasoned, multilingual doctoral level physical therapist with a strong background in patient care, management, public relations, marketing and teaching experience in the United States, South America, Europe and Africa. Dr. Rizopoulos will present Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy & Strain Counter- Strain for Cervical Spine Pathology. This presentation-training is designed to have immediate clinical applications.

Dr. Sean M. Wells is the owner and operator of Naples Personal Training, where he provides evidence-based physical therapy and personal training services. Dr. Wells will present "The One-Stop Rehabilitation and Fitness Center: The Future Structure of Physical Therapy Facilities"

Afonso G. Castro, MS, MSPT Afonso is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mr. Castro is a physical therapist practicing for several years in the fields of sports medicine, industrial rehab, acute care and neurofeedback. Mr. Castro will present "An Introduction to Neurofeedback".

Dr. Kathleen Swanick, DPT, MS, OCS Instructor, joined the faculty at FGCU in July of 2003 and currently serves as an instructor in the Physical Therapy Program. Dr. Swanick will present Use of Ultrasound Imaging (USI) In Physical Therapy.  The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the application of ultrasound imaging in the field of physical therapy.

Dr.Arie Jacqueline Van Duijn, DPT, OCS, ACCE Instuctor and Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education, received her bachelor's degree in physical therapy in June of 1988 from the Academie voor Fysiotherapie in Leiden, The Netherlands, her post-professional doctor’s degree in physical therapy in April 2005 from the University of St. Augustine. Dr. Van Duijn will present Use of Ultrasound Imaging (USI) In Physical Therapy.  The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the application of ultrasound imaging in the field of physical therapy.

Aaron LeBauer PT, DPT, LMBT is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist. He owns LeBauer Physical Therapy, which is a 100% cash based physical therapy practice in Greensboro, NC. Dr. LeBauer will present The Anatomy of a Cash Based Physical Therapy Practice.

New Speakers for the 2013 FLPTPP Conference in Orlando!

Cash Based Physical Therapy and the new Medicare Functional Reporting regulations are just two of the big topics the Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice will tackle for you at the 3rd annual conference at the Lake Buena Vista Hilton on May 18th and 19th, 2013.

We'll have Nancy Beckley, President of Nancy Beckley & Associates LLC, discussing Medicare Compliance.

Pauline Franko of Encompass Consulting and Education will discuss new requirements for Functional Reporting using G-codes.

For private practice physical therapists interested in expanding their revenue base away from traditional Medicare and commercial insurance, Dr. Aaron LeBauer PT, DPT, LMBT will discuss how you can build a practice like his, which is 100% cash-based.

We will have an expo with many physical therapy vendors as well as a Saturday professional luncheon where you can continue your learning.

A clinical track will run concurrent with a business-oriented track. You should bring your Office Manager and staff to fully capture all the information at the 2013 FLPTPP conference. Get three of you signed up for only $575!

More programming is available at the Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP) web site.

We'll see you there!

Sign up here.

Town Hall Meeting Provokes Excitement

The Town Hall at 5:30pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012 at the FPTA Annual Conference & Assembly of Representatives in Daytona Beach was interesting, exiting and invigorating.

We heard many passionate, intelligent and involved physical therapists voicing their opinions.

The differences of opinion were sharp but friendly. The divide spun on the future direction of the FPTA advocacy resources.

In other words, we do have some political and social capital but which way do we spend it?

• Copayment legislation? 
• Term Protection? 
• PIP legislation?

Tomorrow, I will present How to Open a Private Practice in Line with APTA's Vision 2020 with Adam Geril, DPT and Adam Woods, a banker.

My contribution will be Using Functional Outcome Questionnaires to Get Medicare Compliance.

Using functional questionnaires to get medicare compliance from Charles Richardson

I hope you can make it.

Marcus Welby is Dead

"It's the death knoll of the private practice..." said Kurt Mosley, vice president of strategic lliances for Merritt Hawkins and Staff Care, a nationwide healthcare staffing organization.

"...I think... nobody wants Marcus Welby any more."

"That concept doesn’t play anymore and it’s not effective."

Recruitment of physicians into private practice is now only 1% of all physician recruitment activities.

"It’s not necessarily that surprising, but it dropped so dramatically (this year)."

This article from Healthcare Finance News sources Mosley's statement and provides additional links to explore these changes in physician recruitment.

Marcus Welby, MD was a television show about a gentle family physician in a private practice in Santa Monica, California. The TV show ran from 1969 to 1976. The 1970 season was the very first #1 hit show for ABC networks.

Marcus Welby, MD delt with sensitive medical issues, such as depression, brain damage, breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, epilepsy, leukemia and Alzheimer's Disease.

How Do Physician Employment Trends Impact Outpatient Physical Therapists?

Fundamentally, physical therapists' practice and physicians' practice are different.

Physicians require access to sophisticated testing, technology and the resources of the acute care hospital to practice effectively in these medern times.

Physical therapists may also need access to hospitals, but to a lesser extent than physicians (which helps explain why physical therapists are not included in Meaningful Use incentive payments for providers who purchase Electronic Medical Records and achieve interoperability with hospitals).

This American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) letter to the American Medical Association (AMA) nails the point, exactly:

"Doctors of physical therapy are not medical doctors, and medical doctors are not doctors of physical therapy.

Physical therapy is not a subspecialty of the medical profession.

Physical therapists provide a unique but complimentary service that physicians are untrained to provide."

Trends affecting medical doctors could buffet private practice physical therapists but seem unlikely to put the nail in the coffin of private practice physical therapists the way some are predicting for medical doctors.

I think the future is bright for private practice physical therapists. Its not a future like those who went before us, like Marcus Welby.

It could be better.

How to Open a Private Practice in line with APTA's Vision 2020

Intended for Physical Therapists new to Private Practice!

This course presents an introduction for healthcare professionals looking to open a private practice for the first time.

Specifically, this course will review reasons for opening a private practice, how to assess the market to determine potential success. This course will also review financing options, as well as how to monitor success by identifying critical metrics specific to your practice setting.

This course will expose the participant in how to develop a marketing plan.

Lastly, this course will review appropriate billing practices and how to document medical necessity and skilled Physical Therapy need to insure prompt and correct payments to facilitate on going cash flow to run your business.

Friday September 14th from 8am to 12pm at the FPTA Annual conference in Orlando.

Sign up here!

• Adam C. Geril, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, ATC
• Tim Richardson, PT
• Adam Woods, VP Alarion Bank

Will Your Physical Therapy Clinic Close by 2020?

Why One-Third of Hospitals Will Close By 2020, written by by David Houle and Jonathan Fleece, JD, on the KevinMD website is a thought provoking and timely for private practice physical therapists.

Jonathan Fleece is my hometown healthcare attorney in Bradenton, Florida.

His firm, Blalock Walters, has helped out the Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP) by providing Michael Magidson, Esq. to speak on Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) at our inaugural convention in August 2011 in Orlando.

Jonathan's new book, The New Health Age: The Future of Health Care in America should be required reading for private practice clinicians who want to remain competitive and profitable in 2020.

Why Outpatient Physical Therapy Will Survive and Thrive

This bears repeating...

The following is a response to a comment thread on Peter Kovacek's PTManager.com . You need a username and password to access Peter's site (which I highly recommend - its no cost and there's a TON of great information).

The author is Larry Benz, DPT of EvidenceinMotion.com who I also recommend. Larry's site not only provides you with information but Larry (and others on his site) can distill that information into a vision that can lead physical therpists towards the future.

Here's why outpatient physical therapy is still a good bet, going forward...

• ...I would put the responsibility of "survival" on the backs of our own rather than externalities.
• Yes, we can thrive provided we resist the natural urge to become a rule-driven profession that is guided by prescription rather than permission.
• One that is dedicated to being collaborative rather than subordinate.
• One that is dedicated to research rather than self-policing.
• One that seeks legislative changes rather than be victim of political inactivity.
• One that puts the physical therapist back into physical therapy.
• One where the physical therapist is the force multiplier in musculoskeletal medicine.
• ...Outpatient PT will be fine.

Although Larry nailed the essence of what physical therapists in private practice need to thrive I'll just add my two cents...

• Let's not ask what the "government" or the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) can do FOR us. They have their role but its not to protect private practice from market forces.
• Let's not trust in physician referrals to be the source of our livelihoods and our revenue.
• Let's go straight to the patient when we ask "How can I help you today?"

Psst! Want a HOT tip? Form your own Physical Therapist Association...

All kidding aside, newly formed physical therapist associations seem to be a growth industry lately.

Full disclosure, I am on the Board of Directors of the Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP).

However, I do not belong to any of the following:

• Physical Therapy Business Alliance (PTBA)
• Physical Therapy Alliance of Upstate New York (PTAUNY)
• New Jersey Society of Independent Physical Therapists (NJSIPT)

Perhaps there are unmet needs among physical therapist businesses that these groups are forming to address. According to the PTBA website:

"While our profession has successful organizations of "individuals" (American Physical Therapy Association, Sections of the Association, Components), a void exists in which the professional interests of physical therapy can be championed as businesses."

These three groups are organized to support the business activities of private practice physical therapy clinics. According to the PTAUNY website:

"The purpose of this organization was and is to keep the private practice owners and therapists informed of local and national trends, promote our practice, provide continuing education opportunities and communicate with local third party payers on issues that affect the services we provide."

The common thread of all three groups seems to be declining reimbursement and an inability of private practice physical therapists to act collectively. especially when negotiating third party insurance contracts. According to the FLPTPP website:

"... we will assist our members to control their financial well-being through improved reimbursement, sharing of expertise & best practices, and volume purchasing power."

While some traditional physical therapist organizations may feel stifled by these newly-formed groups, I think there is still plenty of oxygen left in the room.

Some of these groups, like the NJSIPT, have their own Political Action Committee (PAC) for soliting contributions. Will that decrease contributions to traditional physical therapist associations?

No, I don't think it will. There are more PACs in existence in 2012 than EVER in history and this Presidential election will require EACH political party to raise $1 BILLION dollars to field a candidate.

Does the presence of seperate groups confuse legislators who may be used to just one PT group per state?

No, just look at the physicians' societies - in Florida we have the following:

• 1 Florida Medical Association
• 17 sub-specialty physician asosciations (eg: orthopedics, family practice, etc.) AND
• 67 county medical societies, one for each of the Florida counties.

By the way, EACH of these physician groups donates to their PAC to support their own (sometimes conflicting) interests. Do you think Florida legislators are confused by all the physician medical societies?

Not as long as the money keeps flowing! :)