Growing the Private Practice Physical Therapist Network

The Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP) bought a booth to grow the network at the 2013 Florida Workers Compensation Conference in Orlando August 19th -21st at the Orlando World Center Marriott hotel.

Left to right
Tim Richardson
Larry Feldman
Matt Serlo
Chris Mulvey
Armin Loges
not pictured: Ginger Hoang Le

We believe that this marquee event will be the ideal platform for us to promote our FLPTPP brand and begin the dialog for future business opportunities. Thousands of industry participants will be at the event and over 550 vendors. It has grown to be the largest event of its kind in the country.

As a group the FLPTPP are more attractive to prospective insurance companies as the cost associated with connecting with private practice physical therapists individually can be burdensome for insurance companies.

We have come up with a campaign for this booth and the web site called “It’s Personal. Every Time”. We believe this achieves our objectives as it differentiates the private practice physical therapists'  unique business model. It’s Personal because:

• We the owner/members are stake holders with a vested interest in mutual success…
• Many therapists left corporate employment that were impersonal…
• Third party administrators have hindered the case manager’s ability to communicate with the treating therapists…
• Unfair reimbursement can never lead to sufficient quality care…
• As business owners, we pay into this work comp system…
• With “US” it’s personal for the Employee, Employer, the nurse case manager, the insurance company and personal to our own self interests.

We hope you can join the FLPTPP and help us grow!

Private Practice Physical Therapists in Washington DC

The recent trip to Washington DC on the 23rd of July 2013 with the Private Practice Section (PPS Fly In) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) to advocate for permanent repeal and replacement of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and overturn of the Therapy Cap.

Kerry (in this photo) also had the 'pleasure' of learning about Medicare Opt Out for physical therapists from us :)



From left to right:  Shamsah Shidi, PT,

Kerry L. Allen (Legislative Aide to Senator Bill Nelson)

Tim Richardson, PT

This next photo is in Congressman Vern Buchanan's office where Shane and I have met on many previous occasions.



Left to Right

Tim Richardson PT

Shamsah Shidi, PT

ShaneLieberman, (Legislative Director for Congressman Vern Buchanan)

Jack Front, PT

In this next photo, Gus Bilirakis had just informed of the pending vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on SGR reform. Bilirakis predicted there would be no opposition. Ultimately, the bill passed by unanimous vote, 51-0 on July 31 and would then move on to the full House.

Left to Right

Jack Front, PT

Congressman Gus Bilirakis

Shamsah Shidi, PT

Tim Richardson, PT

Sally Canfield of Senator Marco Rubio's office was present in 1997 when the original SGR formula was constructed. She resisted the temptation to wag her finger at her peers and politicos in Washington DC to say 'I told you so!'. Sally was probably the most well-informed and optimistic of all the congressional aides we spoke to that day.

Left to right:
Jack Front, PT
Shamsah Shidi, PT
Sally Canfield (Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Senator Marco Rubio
Tim Richardson, PT

I urge every physical therapist to leave your offices every now and then to get to know your legislators and advocate for physical therapists' patients. These people may control an important part of our future.

Private Practice Physical Therapists' Continuing Education

Click the image to get continuing education for Private Practice Physical Therapists:

See you in Orlando!

Disruptive Innovation in Physical Therapy

Selena Horner noted in her Twitter stream: "Data doesn't create change... stories that evoke emotion create change..."

Collaborating Reduces Costs of Health Care is such a story.

The story appeared in the Money section of USA Today on January 6th, 2012. The article tells a story about an employee of Intel Corp. and its insurance company, Cigna of Oregon.

Peter Cady, who works 12-hour shifts on his feet at Intel's plant here, occasionally suffers severe lower back spasms. But he nearly gave up seeking medical help because in the weeks it took to get a doctor's appointment and a referral to physical therapy, the pain usually subsided.

These days, he's much happier with his care.

Rather than waiting to see a doctor, Cady and other patients with routine back pain now see a physical therapist within 48 hours of calling, compared with about 19 days previously, Intel says.

They complete their treatment in 21 days, compared with 52 days in the past.

The cost per patient has dropped 10% to 30% due to fewer unnecessary doctor visits and diagnostic imaging tests. And patients are more satisfied and return to work faster.

"It's a real bureaucracy buster that gets you right straight to someone who can take care of the problem," says Cady, 47.
"Before, the doctor wasn't helping me or explaining anything. But the physical therapist educated me, gave me stretches and exercises to do, and cleared it up."

Why is USA Today breaking this story?

Physical therapists are REPLACING physicians as the primary providers of musculoskeletal care. Physical therapists are stealing physicians' caseloads.

Why aren't the physical therapists involved in this pilot project speaking up, blogging, tweeting and shouting from the rooftops?

The Intel/Cigna model is much like the Starbucks/Virginia Mason model of distruptive innovation - market-based solutions, rather than government mandates, that lower the cost of healthcare to employers and patients.

Physical therapist employees will see more work by disrupting traditional physician caseloads - but what about physical therapist employers?

What about the private practice physical therapists who employ physical therapists?

Will we be disrupted, too?

I'd like someone to tell THAT story.

Healthcare CEOs Richest 1% in North America

Healthcare CEOs are the among the richest American executives across all industries.

Three of the top-earning 10 executives across all industries were in healthcare:

• Healthcare company McKesson Corp. Chief Executive John Hammergren topped the list with nearly $145.3 million in compensation in 2010
• Following McKesson is Omnicare's CEO in second place for the highest paid exec with $98.3 million
• Former CEO of health insurance company Aetna Ronald Williams received a total of $57.8

"The survey, called the most extensive study of CEO pay in North America, demonstrates the widening gap between incomes, especially in light of protesters of Occupy Wall Street who call attention to "the 1 percent," reports The Guardian."

The salary survey was performed by research group GMI Ratings:

“The 36.5 percent increase in realized compensation is particularly notable when it’s put in context of the modest growth of the economy in 2010 and general public company performance last year,” said Paul Hodgson, Chief Communications Officer and Senior Research Associate at GMI"

In a time when workers, patients and private practice physical therapists are struggling the income granted to these individuals seems excessive.

Their claim to create "value" for all stakeholders, not just the chareholder, seems unfounded.

Who else thinks America's market-based system has come off the rails - at least in healthcare?

The advantage of capitalism over central planning is that it distributes resources MORE efficiently.

This story suggests that WINNER TAKE ALL is the new normal.

Thoughts?