Oct. 9, 2024

Conquering Physical Therapy Workforce Struggles & Boosting Productivity

Conquering Physical Therapy Workforce Struggles & Boosting Productivity

Jimmy McKay welcomes back Larry Benz, PT, DPT, OCS, MBA, FAPTA, to discuss the pressing issues in the physical therapy profession today. From workforce development challenges to cultural shifts in clinical care, Larry offers deep insights into the productivity crisis and how therapists can regain control in 2024. 


Find Larry's Blog Posts that inspired this episode here: AllThingsPhysicalTherapy


00:00 - Introduction & Welcome Back Larry Benz

02:00 - Why Larry Started Writing More

08:30 - Productivity Comparisons: PTs vs. Physicians

13:50 - Challenges in PT Workforce Development

19:00 - Solutions for PT Productivity & Cultural Change

24:20 - Regulatory Barriers & Payer Restrictions in PT

31:00 - The Future of Physical Therapy: Culture & Technology

36:45 - Final Thoughts & Encouragement for Clinicians



Discover the potential of AI, the role of middle management, and how cultural and systemic changes can shape the future of physical therapy. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that touches on everything from CPT code constraints to the economics of PT practice. Don't miss this essential discussion for any PT professional!




Timestamps:

WEBVTT

00:00:00.009 --> 00:00:09.494
I'll have to edit that part out.

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That's not supposed to play.

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But Larry, welcome back to the show, man.

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Appreciate your time.

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Thanks.

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Anytime.

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You're doing something different.

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You're writing a lot.

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You're writing often.

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You've got a Substack platform.

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For people who don't know that,

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that's a really simple or

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streamlined or easily

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digestible way for someone

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to take words and thoughts.

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And then get them to a lot

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of people who might want to

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sort of tap into that.

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Where back in the day,

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it would be like a list

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serve or an email list.

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And I think now we're

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getting more sophisticated.

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Ironically,

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we're getting more

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sophisticated by making it simpler.

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And you're using Substack

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and people can find you on Substack.

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What is the way that all

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things physical therapy?

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All things physical therapy.

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I think I'm also known as

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physical therapist on their

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physical therapy there.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Now,

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before we get into this kind of

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two-part series that caught

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my eye because you show up in my inbox,

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why did you decide to start

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writing so much?

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What do you get out of that?

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Why?

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Because there's effort involved in that.

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No, absolutely.

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I think a couple of things.

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One is I've been writing for a long time.

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If you look at my body of work,

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we were the first multi-author blog.

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on the Internet and it was

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under evidence in motion,

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which still houses all my blog posts,

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hundreds and hundreds of them literally.

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At the time,

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we were creating vibe in the

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industry by challenging

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some of the assumptions.

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So many years that I was a CEO,

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I did just as much writing,

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but I was writing different

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for my own employees.

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And not so much on the

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politics and the rules and

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regulations of PT,

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but more on employee

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motivation and culture and values.

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And now I've transitioned back.

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I've had this sort of pent

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up stuff on my brain for a

00:01:55.736 --> 00:01:57.237
long time about PT.

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And so I'm writing to my

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colleagues and if they find

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it useful and valuable, great.

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If they don't,

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or if it sparks some creativity, great.

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I charge nothing for it.

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There's no profit motive at all.

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I really just try to get

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some conversation going and

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I try to expose things that

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a lot of people aren't talking about.

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Well, the reason this one, you know,

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I wanted to have you on for

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this is I saw it in my inbox.

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I saw it online and I saw

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people starting to engage.

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And I like that.

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I like when people agree or disagree,

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but have an opinion like challenge.

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And you sort of put it out

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there a few times,

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which is like challenge this.

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Like, is everything I say perfect?

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Absolutely not.

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But you got the conversation going.

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And I say this line a lot

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when people come to me like,

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how do I create content?

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I'm like,

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don't try to create social media content.

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Try to try to create

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something media that is social.

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If you said that a water cooler,

00:02:48.334 --> 00:02:49.314
would someone agree with

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their eyebrow go up?

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So this is a two part series

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and we'll give a link in the show notes.

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People can go read and sort

00:02:55.137 --> 00:02:56.116
of go deep into this.

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But in the series,

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you revealed that PTs only

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see around four hundred

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patient visits per year.

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While our colleagues that

00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:05.241
are orthopedic surgeons are

00:03:05.281 --> 00:03:06.382
doing about eight hundred

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visits annually and family

00:03:08.283 --> 00:03:10.225
physicians manage nearly two thousand.

00:03:10.325 --> 00:03:11.306
And you write physical

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therapists on a per visit

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basis are only roughly

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about fifty percent as

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productive as an

00:03:17.092 --> 00:03:18.312
orthopedist and twenty

00:03:18.353 --> 00:03:19.533
percent as a family physician.

00:03:19.973 --> 00:03:22.676
So why do you think PTs are so much less?

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I'll use air quotes

00:03:23.858 --> 00:03:25.199
productive by comparison.

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And what are the biggest

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factors that contribute to this this gap?

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Yeah,

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so in order to get to the answer to that,

00:03:34.883 --> 00:03:36.343
but what sparks all this is

00:03:36.424 --> 00:03:37.424
workforce development.

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If you look at some of the

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more academic writing that I've done,

00:03:42.646 --> 00:03:43.608
it has really been

00:03:44.247 --> 00:03:45.169
publishing articles that

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challenge workforce

00:03:46.849 --> 00:03:48.991
development that the APTA

00:03:49.151 --> 00:03:49.771
and the Workforce

00:03:49.792 --> 00:03:50.712
Development Study did not.

00:03:51.652 --> 00:03:52.973
now many years ago where

00:03:52.993 --> 00:03:54.455
they effectively said by

00:03:54.495 --> 00:03:55.475
this time we would have an

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abundance and have an

00:03:57.617 --> 00:03:59.338
oversupply of physical therapists.

00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:01.760
When the market has

00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:03.262
something to say about that

00:04:03.423 --> 00:04:04.704
and the expansion of the PT

00:04:04.743 --> 00:04:05.704
practice has something to

00:04:05.723 --> 00:04:06.884
say about it and the fact

00:04:06.925 --> 00:04:08.646
that at best we see twelve

00:04:08.667 --> 00:04:09.668
to fifteen percent of the

00:04:09.707 --> 00:04:10.788
population that needs us

00:04:10.868 --> 00:04:11.788
has something to say about

00:04:11.829 --> 00:04:13.371
that and the practice expands.

00:04:14.330 --> 00:04:15.431
And things have moved out

00:04:15.451 --> 00:04:16.312
from a hospital and

00:04:16.331 --> 00:04:17.333
institutional environment

00:04:17.392 --> 00:04:19.713
to outpatient and to a

00:04:19.754 --> 00:04:20.894
wellness perspective that a

00:04:20.915 --> 00:04:22.035
lot of PTs work in.

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And so I've always had, you know,

00:04:25.396 --> 00:04:28.177
a keen sense of workforce development,

00:04:28.197 --> 00:04:29.119
how many PTs there are,

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how many programs there are, as you know,

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I'm very active in higher education,

00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:32.721
a physical therapist.

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And so I've always wanted to

00:04:34.281 --> 00:04:35.262
know what is our supply,

00:04:35.302 --> 00:04:36.081
what is our demand?

00:04:37.543 --> 00:04:39.004
There is a forthcoming work

00:04:39.024 --> 00:04:40.086
group that APTA put

00:04:40.127 --> 00:04:41.149
together that will have a

00:04:41.228 --> 00:04:44.574
paper that is right now under, you know,

00:04:44.613 --> 00:04:46.456
sort of confidentiality,

00:04:46.475 --> 00:04:47.978
but it will come out and I

00:04:47.999 --> 00:04:49.000
don't think the results of

00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:50.081
it will be surprising to

00:04:50.141 --> 00:04:51.863
anybody without letting the

00:04:51.884 --> 00:04:52.886
cat out of the bag there.

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But at the end of the day,

00:04:55.766 --> 00:04:56.447
let's look at our own

00:04:56.487 --> 00:04:58.466
profession and now let's

00:04:58.507 --> 00:04:59.726
analyze ourselves a little bit.

00:04:59.747 --> 00:05:00.406
We have about two hundred

00:05:00.427 --> 00:05:01.927
and fifty thousand PTs in the US.

00:05:02.427 --> 00:05:03.608
We have roughly,

00:05:03.728 --> 00:05:05.168
and this is multiple data

00:05:05.208 --> 00:05:06.728
sources that suggest we

00:05:06.747 --> 00:05:07.608
have about a hundred

00:05:07.788 --> 00:05:09.908
million visits per year.

00:05:09.988 --> 00:05:11.949
Now those visits can take

00:05:11.988 --> 00:05:13.769
the form of an outpatient location,

00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:15.170
they can take the form of an inpatient,

00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:17.569
and really then you can

00:05:17.610 --> 00:05:18.810
extrapolate from it how

00:05:18.831 --> 00:05:20.391
many visits per PT per day.

00:05:21.331 --> 00:05:22.172
Now, many years ago,

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I want to go backwards one more time.

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I was on the advisory panel

00:05:25.314 --> 00:05:27.274
on practice for APTA for many years,

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appointed position.

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I think it's one of the

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highest regarded

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appointments that APTA does.

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And I was on it many moons ago.

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And through that,

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I got to know Andrew

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Guccione extremely well,

00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:37.922
who was head of that on APTA,

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who I have tremendous respect for.

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He's also a good friend.

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And I would have meetings

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with him back in these days,

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and he would say, Larry,

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we have too many therapists.

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And I said, what do you mean?

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He says, well,

00:05:46.235 --> 00:05:47.336
just take the number of

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potential visits that a PT can do,

00:05:50.658 --> 00:05:51.399
multiply it,

00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:53.961
and you'll see we have too many PTs.

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And to a certain extent, he was right.

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And I'll tell you why.

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If you took two hundred and

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fifty thousand PTs that are

00:06:00.084 --> 00:06:01.086
licensed in the U.S.

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and let's say they average

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all average six or seven visits a day.

00:06:05.028 --> 00:06:06.048
There's not enough patients

00:06:06.088 --> 00:06:07.689
in the population of the United States,

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about three percent of

00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:10.870
which are getting PT at any given time.

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It's too many PTs.

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What you find, most surprisingly,

00:06:14.951 --> 00:06:17.012
is that only about twenty percent,

00:06:17.052 --> 00:06:18.492
it's actually slightly less,

00:06:18.512 --> 00:06:21.434
of licensed PTs are seeing patients.

00:06:21.853 --> 00:06:22.613
Count me guilty.

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I'm one of them who isn't.

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And I know a lot of others that aren't.

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Where do they work?

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They work in academia.

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They work PRN.

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They work in research.

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They work in manufacturing.

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And some of them have left

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the profession altogether.

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And that's a really, really small number.

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Now,

00:06:42.214 --> 00:06:44.315
we produce about twelve thousand PTs a

00:06:44.336 --> 00:06:44.696
year.

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So here's another way to look at it.

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We have a very inefficient

00:06:49.083 --> 00:06:49.963
education system in the

00:06:49.983 --> 00:06:50.946
United States for PTs.

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We have about three hundred

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programs producing twelve

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thousand grads a year.

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By contrast,

00:06:55.853 --> 00:06:56.815
physicians have about one

00:06:56.836 --> 00:06:58.699
hundred and fifty programs

00:06:58.718 --> 00:06:59.761
in the US producing about

00:06:59.821 --> 00:07:01.684
twenty thousand graduates a year.

00:07:02.528 --> 00:07:04.089
It would take the number of

00:07:04.129 --> 00:07:05.730
orthopedic practices, by the way,

00:07:05.769 --> 00:07:06.831
got twenty nine thousand

00:07:06.911 --> 00:07:08.071
practicing orthopedists,

00:07:08.591 --> 00:07:09.451
seven hundred fifty

00:07:09.492 --> 00:07:10.312
graduates from their

00:07:10.711 --> 00:07:12.112
residency programs per year.

00:07:12.452 --> 00:07:13.452
You know that it would take

00:07:13.492 --> 00:07:14.612
thirty eight years to

00:07:14.673 --> 00:07:16.274
reproduce the number of

00:07:16.334 --> 00:07:18.074
orthopedists we have and

00:07:18.095 --> 00:07:19.074
the number of orthopedists.

00:07:19.115 --> 00:07:20.915
They work well into their sixties.

00:07:21.735 --> 00:07:23.237
They're at the peak of their career.

00:07:23.596 --> 00:07:26.317
Their best highest use is seeing patients.

00:07:26.358 --> 00:07:27.757
They're allowed to use extenders.

00:07:27.958 --> 00:07:28.838
They make a lot of money.

00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:29.918
Average salary,

00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:30.999
four hundred thousand dollars.

00:07:31.338 --> 00:07:32.860
Family practice physicians.

00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:33.540
OK,

00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:36.100
we have roughly four thousand four

00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:37.862
hundred graduates of family

00:07:37.922 --> 00:07:40.341
practice residencies per year.

00:07:40.642 --> 00:07:41.483
About one hundred thousand

00:07:41.523 --> 00:07:42.262
of them practicing would

00:07:42.302 --> 00:07:43.283
take them twenty two years

00:07:43.302 --> 00:07:44.624
to reproduce their their numbers.

00:07:44.944 --> 00:07:45.644
In PT,

00:07:46.064 --> 00:07:47.326
we have two hundred fifty thousand

00:07:47.346 --> 00:07:48.365
producing twelve thousand

00:07:48.386 --> 00:07:50.468
graduates a year take twenty years.

00:07:50.767 --> 00:07:51.487
The reality, though,

00:07:51.507 --> 00:07:53.410
is only take a few years if

00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:55.310
all the PTs saw patients full time.

00:07:55.331 --> 00:07:57.192
Right.

00:07:57.331 --> 00:07:58.333
So the math on it is

00:07:58.413 --> 00:07:59.533
actually spellbinding.

00:08:00.213 --> 00:08:01.175
And then you get to some of

00:08:01.194 --> 00:08:01.954
the reasons why.

00:08:02.035 --> 00:08:03.516
Now, my post, quite honestly,

00:08:03.536 --> 00:08:06.298
and I reveal this in the second iteration,

00:08:06.858 --> 00:08:07.497
I'm not really,

00:08:07.678 --> 00:08:08.918
I don't really care about

00:08:08.999 --> 00:08:10.240
productivity arguments.

00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:11.521
I'm not, you know,

00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:12.521
the fact that I'm comparing

00:08:12.541 --> 00:08:13.622
an orthopedic to a family

00:08:13.661 --> 00:08:14.682
practice to a PT is ridiculous.

00:08:15.312 --> 00:08:17.853
Honestly, quite irreverent and irrelevant,

00:08:17.934 --> 00:08:19.334
both of them.

00:08:19.653 --> 00:08:21.935
But I am trying to show that

00:08:22.314 --> 00:08:24.255
our best and highest use as

00:08:24.295 --> 00:08:26.776
a PT is obviously not clinical.

00:08:26.817 --> 00:08:27.656
If that were the case,

00:08:27.697 --> 00:08:28.617
we'd have more than twenty

00:08:28.637 --> 00:08:29.497
percent of the PTC.

00:08:30.817 --> 00:08:31.899
And we're restricted and

00:08:31.918 --> 00:08:33.220
we're restricted horribly.

00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:34.181
We effectively have a

00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.363
compensation cap on the

00:08:36.503 --> 00:08:37.504
earnings that a physical

00:08:37.524 --> 00:08:38.403
therapist can do.

00:08:38.744 --> 00:08:39.904
Let me give you an example, Jimmy.

00:08:40.105 --> 00:08:41.447
Let's hypothetically say a

00:08:41.506 --> 00:08:42.827
PT works in an outpatient

00:08:42.868 --> 00:08:44.369
clinic and one hundred

00:08:44.428 --> 00:08:45.549
percent of their patients

00:08:45.850 --> 00:08:46.870
is either Medicare or

00:08:46.931 --> 00:08:48.552
Medicare Advantage or a

00:08:48.672 --> 00:08:49.773
payer in some states,

00:08:49.812 --> 00:08:51.815
the blues that follow Medicare rules.

00:08:52.711 --> 00:08:53.672
They effectively,

00:08:54.152 --> 00:08:55.614
the max revenue they can

00:08:55.653 --> 00:08:57.154
generate by seeing eight or

00:08:57.195 --> 00:08:58.176
nine patients a day,

00:08:58.495 --> 00:08:59.817
forty six weeks a year,

00:08:59.918 --> 00:09:01.538
forty seven weeks a year is

00:09:01.578 --> 00:09:03.880
around two hundred ten thousand dollars.

00:09:03.900 --> 00:09:04.642
That's gross.

00:09:04.982 --> 00:09:06.083
That's before overhead.

00:09:06.264 --> 00:09:06.644
Overhead.

00:09:06.703 --> 00:09:06.964
Right.

00:09:07.144 --> 00:09:07.345
Yeah.

00:09:07.705 --> 00:09:08.605
And so that's before you

00:09:08.645 --> 00:09:09.447
paid for the lights.

00:09:09.947 --> 00:09:11.708
You've paid for revenue cycle management.

00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:13.269
You've paid for any support

00:09:13.289 --> 00:09:14.230
staff that you need that

00:09:14.270 --> 00:09:15.932
contributes to you seeing those patients.

00:09:16.393 --> 00:09:18.053
And why are we at such limitations?

00:09:18.134 --> 00:09:19.294
There, you've got a lot of factors.

00:09:19.315 --> 00:09:20.996
Our own profession has just

00:09:21.116 --> 00:09:22.278
really restricted us in

00:09:22.317 --> 00:09:23.999
terms of the RCs and

00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:26.642
exclusive PT can only be one-on-one,

00:09:26.721 --> 00:09:27.662
all that kind of BS.

00:09:28.143 --> 00:09:29.964
But the payers have also restricted us.

00:09:30.125 --> 00:09:31.285
They have superimposed rules

00:09:31.326 --> 00:09:32.326
that do not allow us to use

00:09:32.366 --> 00:09:33.366
extenders like PT

00:09:33.407 --> 00:09:34.989
technicians or PT

00:09:35.009 --> 00:09:36.250
assistants at the top of

00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:37.471
our license to use our

00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:38.812
extenders at the top of

00:09:38.831 --> 00:09:39.993
their license like ortho

00:09:40.013 --> 00:09:41.173
and family practice have.

00:09:41.995 --> 00:09:43.336
And then the other one, frankly,

00:09:43.535 --> 00:09:44.197
is cultural.

00:09:45.208 --> 00:09:45.990
A lot of people come into

00:09:46.009 --> 00:09:46.870
our field for the inherent

00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:48.030
flexibility so they can

00:09:48.051 --> 00:09:49.211
come in and out of the profession.

00:09:49.912 --> 00:09:51.693
I think then that culture, though,

00:09:51.714 --> 00:09:53.534
has got some negative connotations to it.

00:09:53.934 --> 00:09:56.056
How many great clinical PTs do you know?

00:09:56.417 --> 00:09:57.618
I got board certification in

00:09:57.638 --> 00:09:59.219
two areas that are then

00:09:59.578 --> 00:10:01.379
incentivized to get out of

00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.380
seeing patients because

00:10:02.400 --> 00:10:03.201
they can make more money.

00:10:03.280 --> 00:10:04.903
They get rewarded by it, in essence,

00:10:04.923 --> 00:10:06.202
through management and

00:10:06.342 --> 00:10:07.504
other kinds of things.

00:10:08.625 --> 00:10:09.546
We have a higher burnout

00:10:09.586 --> 00:10:11.447
rate than a higher attrition rate.

00:10:12.673 --> 00:10:13.995
probably than any other profession.

00:10:14.336 --> 00:10:16.076
But the biggest concern I have,

00:10:16.857 --> 00:10:17.719
all that is a concern,

00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:18.720
but the biggest concern is

00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:20.381
I have is name me one industry,

00:10:21.423 --> 00:10:23.384
one profession that you

00:10:23.424 --> 00:10:25.706
could say is less productive today,

00:10:25.746 --> 00:10:26.587
given the advent of

00:10:26.628 --> 00:10:28.049
technology and innovation

00:10:28.309 --> 00:10:29.291
than physical therapy.

00:10:29.850 --> 00:10:31.111
The data will tell you that

00:10:31.432 --> 00:10:32.373
when we used to average

00:10:32.393 --> 00:10:33.595
about twelve patients a day,

00:10:33.615 --> 00:10:35.277
we're now averaging closer to ten.

00:10:35.956 --> 00:10:37.379
And that is because of the

00:10:37.558 --> 00:10:38.980
external constraints,

00:10:39.041 --> 00:10:39.642
the rules and the

00:10:39.682 --> 00:10:41.062
regulations that are placed on us.

00:10:41.504 --> 00:10:43.225
I know no of no other

00:10:43.466 --> 00:10:45.729
medical professional that can say that.

00:10:46.089 --> 00:10:47.431
And that is a root cause

00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:48.653
problem that we got to address.

00:10:49.153 --> 00:10:49.472
Yeah,

00:10:49.493 --> 00:10:50.673
that was going to be one of my next

00:10:50.714 --> 00:10:51.154
questions.

00:10:51.195 --> 00:10:52.054
And it was that stat

00:10:52.095 --> 00:10:53.296
dropping from about twelve

00:10:53.336 --> 00:10:55.538
patients per day to ten, you know,

00:10:55.557 --> 00:10:57.059
despite technology and automation.

00:10:57.679 --> 00:10:59.481
Why is that moving backwards?

00:11:00.642 --> 00:11:03.104
Is it is it is this self-caused?

00:11:03.284 --> 00:11:04.966
Is this a little bit of us

00:11:05.005 --> 00:11:06.586
and a little bit of everybody else?

00:11:06.606 --> 00:11:08.028
I mean, because ultimately,

00:11:08.688 --> 00:11:10.190
If it's caused by us,

00:11:10.470 --> 00:11:11.470
that's sort of good because

00:11:11.490 --> 00:11:12.250
we can control it.

00:11:12.291 --> 00:11:13.331
If it's caused by other people,

00:11:13.451 --> 00:11:14.591
we can blame it.

00:11:14.610 --> 00:11:15.831
We can write about it on the internet.

00:11:15.851 --> 00:11:17.192
That doesn't do a whole lot, right?

00:11:17.613 --> 00:11:18.812
But it draws attention to it.

00:11:19.192 --> 00:11:20.854
So how do we dig out of that?

00:11:21.533 --> 00:11:25.416
It's a multitude of reasons, by the way.

00:11:26.197 --> 00:11:29.000
One reason very simply is on

00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:30.721
the math is that, you know,

00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:31.941
let's say ten to fifteen

00:11:31.961 --> 00:11:33.721
percent of your patients cancel per day.

00:11:34.081 --> 00:11:35.222
That automatically brings

00:11:35.243 --> 00:11:36.764
your productivity ability down.

00:11:37.163 --> 00:11:39.024
So we can use technology to

00:11:39.044 --> 00:11:40.046
help us with quick call

00:11:40.105 --> 00:11:41.706
lists and with patients

00:11:41.726 --> 00:11:42.427
because there's a high

00:11:42.466 --> 00:11:43.827
demand for PT right now.

00:11:44.148 --> 00:11:45.227
I believe that problem is a

00:11:45.307 --> 00:11:47.109
little bit fixable.

00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:48.389
I think we can get it down

00:11:48.409 --> 00:11:49.931
to five percent open table

00:11:49.971 --> 00:11:51.591
and other kinds of things that use it in

00:11:52.131 --> 00:11:53.153
non-physical therapy have

00:11:53.192 --> 00:11:54.913
done a good job of reducing

00:11:54.972 --> 00:11:56.033
no-show cancellations.

00:11:56.494 --> 00:11:58.335
And when you have no-show cancellations,

00:11:58.735 --> 00:11:59.576
filling it back,

00:11:59.596 --> 00:12:00.676
filling it in with somebody

00:12:00.716 --> 00:12:01.716
who will sit at that table.

00:12:02.057 --> 00:12:03.277
So that's a fixable problem.

00:12:03.636 --> 00:12:05.038
The second fixable problem is,

00:12:05.057 --> 00:12:06.739
is we've got to completely

00:12:07.479 --> 00:12:08.779
renovate our own profession.

00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:10.801
We have RCs, you know,

00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:12.321
practice restrictions and

00:12:12.701 --> 00:12:14.182
stuff within our profession

00:12:14.361 --> 00:12:16.743
that limit certain tasks

00:12:16.763 --> 00:12:18.303
that we do to exclusive

00:12:18.484 --> 00:12:20.224
one-on-one of a physical therapist.

00:12:20.604 --> 00:12:22.024
Can you imagine orthopedics

00:12:22.504 --> 00:12:23.666
or family practice

00:12:23.686 --> 00:12:26.506
physician advertising that

00:12:26.547 --> 00:12:27.427
patients should come to

00:12:27.466 --> 00:12:28.187
them because they get

00:12:28.227 --> 00:12:29.368
exclusive one-to-one?

00:12:29.594 --> 00:12:29.754
No,

00:12:29.793 --> 00:12:31.336
they operate at the top of their license,

00:12:31.355 --> 00:12:33.076
which I call neck up skills,

00:12:33.096 --> 00:12:34.177
which is a term I borrowed

00:12:34.538 --> 00:12:36.080
from my good friend, Carl DeRosa,

00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:37.041
who first started talking

00:12:37.061 --> 00:12:38.522
about this probably twenty years ago.

00:12:39.523 --> 00:12:41.184
And the reality is we have

00:12:41.205 --> 00:12:42.866
to change those limitations.

00:12:43.307 --> 00:12:44.067
Most of the time.

00:12:44.107 --> 00:12:44.807
Here's the irony.

00:12:45.009 --> 00:12:45.448
Most of the time,

00:12:45.469 --> 00:12:46.990
our practice acts allow it.

00:12:47.791 --> 00:12:49.153
So it's not our practice act.

00:12:49.192 --> 00:12:51.895
Some states, New York, Massachusetts,

00:12:51.916 --> 00:12:52.697
there are some states that

00:12:52.736 --> 00:12:53.798
are really restrictive,

00:12:54.138 --> 00:12:55.620
just penalize our own profession.

00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:58.102
But it is it is our profession itself.

00:12:58.462 --> 00:13:00.524
And it is the payers that arguably,

00:13:00.686 --> 00:13:01.687
you know, restrict them.

00:13:02.187 --> 00:13:03.908
So that's a second factor

00:13:04.509 --> 00:13:05.691
that really drives it.

00:13:06.392 --> 00:13:07.552
And, you know, then, of course.

00:13:08.413 --> 00:13:10.354
The third piece that is also

00:13:11.794 --> 00:13:14.537
fixable is that we have a

00:13:14.576 --> 00:13:17.239
fee-for-service system that

00:13:17.339 --> 00:13:19.860
effectively has made us hourly workers.

00:13:21.282 --> 00:13:22.523
Every CPT code,

00:13:22.543 --> 00:13:23.523
with the exception of a few,

00:13:23.562 --> 00:13:24.364
are time-based.

00:13:25.083 --> 00:13:27.005
And that is the way that we're reimbursed.

00:13:28.265 --> 00:13:28.966
I don't think we're going to

00:13:28.985 --> 00:13:30.067
be jumping into value-based

00:13:30.106 --> 00:13:30.986
care anytime soon,

00:13:31.027 --> 00:13:32.687
but I hope we do in many ways.

00:13:32.768 --> 00:13:33.388
And if we do,

00:13:33.427 --> 00:13:35.509
that could change that element of it.

00:13:35.849 --> 00:13:37.849
So parts of these are indeed fixable.

00:13:39.250 --> 00:13:39.450
You know,

00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:41.429
PT's salaries have gone up in

00:13:41.470 --> 00:13:42.650
part because of inflation

00:13:42.870 --> 00:13:43.691
and because of the

00:13:44.091 --> 00:13:45.091
education degree and

00:13:45.152 --> 00:13:46.312
student debt and all the things.

00:13:46.412 --> 00:13:46.511
And

00:13:46.991 --> 00:13:48.313
most notably the shortages,

00:13:49.235 --> 00:13:50.657
but it still has a cap to it.

00:13:50.817 --> 00:13:53.279
And that cap at some point will burst.

00:13:54.400 --> 00:13:57.104
Employers at some level can't pay above.

00:13:57.524 --> 00:13:59.206
I think the number is probably, you know,

00:13:59.225 --> 00:14:00.347
one hundred fifteen,

00:14:00.388 --> 00:14:01.349
one hundred fifteen

00:14:01.369 --> 00:14:02.811
thousand a year in the in the

00:14:03.270 --> 00:14:04.192
in the most expensive

00:14:04.231 --> 00:14:05.653
markets because again that

00:14:05.692 --> 00:14:06.832
cap is going to be two

00:14:06.873 --> 00:14:07.614
hundred to two hundred

00:14:07.634 --> 00:14:08.514
fifty thousand on the

00:14:08.573 --> 00:14:10.115
revenue side and we have

00:14:10.174 --> 00:14:12.197
legitimate overhead yeah um

00:14:12.216 --> 00:14:13.537
so hopefully that those are

00:14:13.576 --> 00:14:14.457
the things that I've come

00:14:14.498 --> 00:14:15.458
up with certainly other

00:14:15.499 --> 00:14:17.019
people would speculate

00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:18.701
otherwise but um you know

00:14:18.721 --> 00:14:19.821
in many cases we are our

00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:20.922
worst enemy but there are

00:14:20.961 --> 00:14:22.663
lots of externalities that

00:14:22.682 --> 00:14:23.923
have put pressure on us as well

00:14:24.283 --> 00:14:25.046
yeah the thing that jumped

00:14:25.105 --> 00:14:25.746
out of me the quote that

00:14:25.767 --> 00:14:26.649
you had said in your

00:14:26.668 --> 00:14:28.432
two-part series was we must

00:14:28.451 --> 00:14:30.115
stop incentivizing pts to

00:14:30.275 --> 00:14:31.557
stop seeing patients

00:14:31.818 --> 00:14:33.341
through over emphasizing

00:14:33.402 --> 00:14:34.344
management roles that

00:14:34.364 --> 00:14:35.706
detract from patient care

00:14:37.442 --> 00:14:38.104
Absolutely.

00:14:38.264 --> 00:14:39.144
And that's what we do.

00:14:39.585 --> 00:14:40.385
How do you get ahead?

00:14:40.525 --> 00:14:41.768
You become a clinic director

00:14:42.107 --> 00:14:43.548
who then hires enough

00:14:43.589 --> 00:14:44.610
therapists where they don't

00:14:44.850 --> 00:14:46.251
get to see patients anymore.

00:14:46.511 --> 00:14:47.693
And everybody loses sort of

00:14:47.734 --> 00:14:49.355
in that process over the

00:14:49.394 --> 00:14:50.557
long run because you don't

00:14:50.596 --> 00:14:52.097
see a lot of PTs that get

00:14:52.177 --> 00:14:53.899
out of clinical care that go back in it.

00:14:54.380 --> 00:14:55.020
You just don't.

00:14:55.081 --> 00:14:55.721
Right.

00:14:56.982 --> 00:14:59.105
And so that's a tough nut to

00:14:59.164 --> 00:15:01.227
crack because our best and

00:15:01.268 --> 00:15:02.828
highest utilization might

00:15:02.869 --> 00:15:03.830
not be seeing patients.

00:15:03.950 --> 00:15:04.370
Arguably,

00:15:04.431 --> 00:15:06.212
it isn't because the majority of

00:15:06.273 --> 00:15:08.355
PTs aren't seeing patients.

00:15:09.216 --> 00:15:10.616
So it's a real problem.

00:15:11.018 --> 00:15:12.019
Still think we have the best

00:15:12.058 --> 00:15:12.940
profession going.

00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:14.500
We have so many good things going for it.

00:15:14.541 --> 00:15:15.701
But those challenges...

00:15:16.743 --> 00:15:18.044
are going to make it difficult.

00:15:18.184 --> 00:15:20.206
And private practice is

00:15:20.246 --> 00:15:21.248
really at the forefront of

00:15:21.268 --> 00:15:22.327
this because they get hit

00:15:22.349 --> 00:15:22.908
with all of these

00:15:22.969 --> 00:15:25.892
challenges occurring at the same time.

00:15:26.717 --> 00:15:27.418
right so you can wave a

00:15:27.458 --> 00:15:28.559
magic wand we'll sum it up

00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:29.860
right you can you can fix a

00:15:29.900 --> 00:15:31.782
few fronts I won't ask you

00:15:31.802 --> 00:15:33.344
exactly how to fix it but

00:15:33.403 --> 00:15:34.985
where's the where is it in

00:15:35.044 --> 00:15:37.187
washington is it within our

00:15:37.326 --> 00:15:39.208
own profession where are

00:15:39.249 --> 00:15:40.629
the places that things need

00:15:40.669 --> 00:15:41.711
to change I won't because I

00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:42.510
feel like the how many

00:15:42.530 --> 00:15:43.192
different things need to

00:15:43.231 --> 00:15:45.114
change might be a a a

00:15:45.173 --> 00:15:46.554
three-part episode but

00:15:46.654 --> 00:15:47.755
where are these things like

00:15:47.796 --> 00:15:49.898
where would you put if you only had

00:15:51.099 --> 00:15:51.619
uh a certain amount of

00:15:51.658 --> 00:15:52.480
effort where would you put

00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:53.461
the pressure to actually

00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:54.360
change the things the

00:15:54.422 --> 00:15:56.123
biggest levers to pull to

00:15:56.182 --> 00:15:58.504
sort of reverse this yes

00:15:58.644 --> 00:16:00.307
yes and yes so first thing

00:16:00.366 --> 00:16:01.807
I would do is I would start

00:16:01.827 --> 00:16:03.009
within our own profession

00:16:03.408 --> 00:16:04.770
and make physical therapy

00:16:04.811 --> 00:16:07.232
the exclusive provision of

00:16:07.253 --> 00:16:08.833
a physical therapist acting

00:16:08.953 --> 00:16:10.495
within their state practice act

00:16:10.875 --> 00:16:11.917
What does that mean?

00:16:11.937 --> 00:16:13.077
That means that within our

00:16:13.118 --> 00:16:15.519
state practice act and almost every state,

00:16:15.558 --> 00:16:17.201
it calls for us to allow us

00:16:17.221 --> 00:16:18.201
to use extenders,

00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:20.022
allow us to leverage our

00:16:20.102 --> 00:16:21.342
neck up skills so that we

00:16:21.363 --> 00:16:22.644
can see more and more patients.

00:16:23.565 --> 00:16:24.686
Then we have to battle the

00:16:24.745 --> 00:16:25.886
payers and particularly the

00:16:25.907 --> 00:16:28.087
CPT code system itself and

00:16:28.187 --> 00:16:32.110
others that really reward us for value,

00:16:32.291 --> 00:16:33.091
not volume.

00:16:33.111 --> 00:16:33.251
Yeah.

00:16:34.032 --> 00:16:34.932
I was in the military.

00:16:35.072 --> 00:16:36.493
We had no CPT codes.

00:16:36.852 --> 00:16:37.552
The average number of

00:16:38.092 --> 00:16:40.333
patients that a therapist saw in the Army,

00:16:40.374 --> 00:16:42.375
Navy in those days was about,

00:16:42.434 --> 00:16:43.575
Air Force was about thirty

00:16:43.615 --> 00:16:45.076
a day and never felt

00:16:45.176 --> 00:16:46.655
overworked because we used

00:16:46.716 --> 00:16:47.755
ninety one J's and other

00:16:47.816 --> 00:16:49.616
technicians to help us leverage

00:16:50.116 --> 00:16:52.216
our ability to do evaluation skills,

00:16:52.277 --> 00:16:53.498
manual therapy skills,

00:16:53.918 --> 00:16:55.197
and the higher order skills

00:16:55.217 --> 00:16:56.138
that physical therapists.

00:16:56.158 --> 00:16:57.998
We became more case managers,

00:16:58.457 --> 00:16:59.859
but also utilizing our

00:16:59.918 --> 00:17:01.538
hands and our cognitive

00:17:01.558 --> 00:17:04.819
skills where that is what's the best way.

00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:06.299
The third thing is cultural.

00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:08.359
I would say we have to start

00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:09.859
shifting more compensation

00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:10.621
to our therapists.

00:17:11.181 --> 00:17:12.941
I know that sounds inherently obvious,

00:17:13.441 --> 00:17:14.721
but that means you have to

00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:16.182
stop rewarding middle management.

00:17:16.281 --> 00:17:16.721
You have to say,

00:17:16.741 --> 00:17:17.662
if you want to be a manager,

00:17:17.741 --> 00:17:18.602
you're going to take a pay cut.

00:17:19.135 --> 00:17:19.375
You know,

00:17:19.516 --> 00:17:21.278
if you become an office manager

00:17:21.317 --> 00:17:22.338
of an orthopedic practice,

00:17:22.358 --> 00:17:23.098
you make a whole lot less

00:17:23.118 --> 00:17:24.119
than the orthopedic surgeon

00:17:24.941 --> 00:17:25.981
or a family practice.

00:17:26.001 --> 00:17:27.442
And so you have to look

00:17:27.522 --> 00:17:29.085
organizationally and say, you know,

00:17:30.013 --> 00:17:31.013
PTs are pretty smart.

00:17:31.034 --> 00:17:32.295
They have transportable skills.

00:17:32.315 --> 00:17:33.234
They have good skills that

00:17:33.276 --> 00:17:34.635
lend themselves well for business,

00:17:35.056 --> 00:17:37.356
marketing, other uses.

00:17:37.917 --> 00:17:40.219
And a PT can both manage a

00:17:40.298 --> 00:17:41.838
practice without needing a

00:17:41.898 --> 00:17:43.220
middle manager who's also a

00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:44.340
physical therapist that's

00:17:44.401 --> 00:17:45.340
managing a practice.

00:17:46.121 --> 00:17:48.142
You don't see MD or

00:17:48.261 --> 00:17:50.002
orthopedic surgeons being

00:17:50.063 --> 00:17:51.723
the manager of two or three

00:17:51.763 --> 00:17:53.003
multi-site practices.

00:17:53.065 --> 00:17:55.085
You see office managers and

00:17:55.125 --> 00:17:56.385
other administrative folks

00:17:56.405 --> 00:17:56.986
when you need them,

00:17:57.026 --> 00:17:58.207
and they make a lot less.

00:17:58.547 --> 00:18:00.147
than that so I think part of

00:18:00.188 --> 00:18:01.869
it is is indeed cultural

00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:02.770
and that's going to take a

00:18:02.810 --> 00:18:04.952
long time yeah it's we have

00:18:04.972 --> 00:18:06.193
to reward our clinicians I

00:18:06.213 --> 00:18:07.634
mean you have to you know

00:18:07.674 --> 00:18:08.875
go to variable pay where

00:18:08.895 --> 00:18:10.237
they get a good base salary

00:18:10.817 --> 00:18:11.538
and I'm not saying this

00:18:11.597 --> 00:18:12.479
applies to everybody

00:18:12.499 --> 00:18:13.279
because some folks don't

00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:15.080
like to to you know work

00:18:15.141 --> 00:18:16.241
under incentives but if

00:18:16.281 --> 00:18:18.503
they view another job of

00:18:18.584 --> 00:18:19.984
moving that's non-clinical

00:18:20.006 --> 00:18:21.426
for more money you're

00:18:21.487 --> 00:18:22.748
better off saying you can

00:18:22.788 --> 00:18:23.769
make more money as a

00:18:23.828 --> 00:18:25.069
clinician and here's how

00:18:25.566 --> 00:18:27.186
Yeah, the culture change,

00:18:27.227 --> 00:18:28.207
definitely important and

00:18:28.247 --> 00:18:29.407
definitely rules and regulations,

00:18:29.428 --> 00:18:30.048
as you highlighted.

00:18:30.468 --> 00:18:31.068
I actually believe we got an

00:18:31.169 --> 00:18:33.150
email today as we record two hours ago,

00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:34.510
APTA New York reporting

00:18:34.530 --> 00:18:35.830
that a bill was passed by

00:18:35.871 --> 00:18:37.291
the governor that allows

00:18:37.912 --> 00:18:40.413
OTAs and PTAs to provide care to workers,

00:18:40.452 --> 00:18:41.653
compensation patients under

00:18:41.713 --> 00:18:43.275
direct and supervision of

00:18:43.295 --> 00:18:44.675
an authorized power being a

00:18:44.736 --> 00:18:45.536
PT in New York.

00:18:45.556 --> 00:18:47.517
And that looks like more neck up skill,

00:18:48.017 --> 00:18:49.038
more neck up skills being

00:18:49.097 --> 00:18:50.878
rewarded for being a physical therapist.

00:18:52.477 --> 00:18:52.916
That's good.

00:18:53.377 --> 00:18:54.979
In Medicare, they went the opposite way.

00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:56.760
You get paid less if it's

00:18:56.780 --> 00:18:57.882
done by a PT assistant.

00:18:58.222 --> 00:18:58.482
Yeah.

00:18:58.782 --> 00:18:58.962
Yeah.

00:18:59.042 --> 00:18:59.963
And fighting those things.

00:19:00.825 --> 00:19:02.106
One of those things is under our control,

00:19:02.126 --> 00:19:03.107
which is culture change.

00:19:03.147 --> 00:19:04.729
I think a lot of people are

00:19:04.749 --> 00:19:05.549
starting to begin to

00:19:05.589 --> 00:19:07.231
recognizing it and your piece,

00:19:07.291 --> 00:19:08.031
writing about it,

00:19:08.712 --> 00:19:09.473
stirring the pot a little

00:19:09.513 --> 00:19:11.115
bit and putting it out there and saying,

00:19:11.155 --> 00:19:12.096
let's talk about this.

00:19:12.396 --> 00:19:13.478
Because if we don't talk about it,

00:19:14.358 --> 00:19:15.079
it doesn't change.

00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:16.540
What's your prediction next

00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:17.260
couple of years?

00:19:17.861 --> 00:19:18.842
Which one of these things is

00:19:18.922 --> 00:19:20.942
more likely to actually come to fruition?

00:19:20.962 --> 00:19:21.942
Is it the culture change?

00:19:21.982 --> 00:19:23.223
Because I always look at

00:19:23.284 --> 00:19:25.224
which one can I have my

00:19:25.305 --> 00:19:26.665
fingerprints on the most?

00:19:27.365 --> 00:19:31.167
And rules and regulations and advocacy,

00:19:31.327 --> 00:19:31.929
I'm all for.

00:19:32.249 --> 00:19:33.890
I'm glad someone else is doing it.

00:19:33.910 --> 00:19:34.569
That's not my bag.

00:19:34.589 --> 00:19:35.390
I'm glad it's going on,

00:19:35.410 --> 00:19:36.611
but I also recognize that's

00:19:36.631 --> 00:19:37.791
a long-term change.

00:19:38.071 --> 00:19:39.653
I look at culture being not...

00:19:40.292 --> 00:19:41.773
It's simple but not easy,

00:19:41.993 --> 00:19:43.494
but that's under our control.

00:19:43.575 --> 00:19:44.555
I feel like that's the

00:19:44.575 --> 00:19:46.375
control the controllables side.

00:19:47.336 --> 00:19:48.758
Yeah, so a couple things.

00:19:49.178 --> 00:19:51.019
One is I hope to see PTs

00:19:51.118 --> 00:19:52.579
regain productivity to more

00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:54.201
of the twelve rather than the ten.

00:19:54.861 --> 00:19:57.041
I think through AI and other things,

00:19:57.261 --> 00:19:57.883
if they can get the

00:19:57.942 --> 00:19:58.883
matching to the right

00:19:58.923 --> 00:19:59.663
fields and all the

00:19:59.683 --> 00:20:01.605
regulatory things done correctly,

00:20:02.484 --> 00:20:03.266
I think that could help

00:20:03.306 --> 00:20:04.086
productivity and probably

00:20:04.125 --> 00:20:05.146
limit burnout a little bit.

00:20:06.067 --> 00:20:06.948
However, my fear,

00:20:06.968 --> 00:20:07.567
and there was just an

00:20:07.627 --> 00:20:08.709
article written about this

00:20:08.749 --> 00:20:10.950
about physicians that, yeah,

00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:11.930
there's a balance there.

00:20:12.070 --> 00:20:13.290
If all of a sudden you don't

00:20:13.330 --> 00:20:14.951
have the constraints of an EMR,

00:20:15.051 --> 00:20:16.053
you're still can suffer

00:20:16.073 --> 00:20:18.233
from burnout by seeing too many patients.

00:20:18.713 --> 00:20:19.894
But I do think you'll see

00:20:20.154 --> 00:20:21.996
some incremental gains there.

00:20:22.135 --> 00:20:23.616
There's no reason why we

00:20:23.636 --> 00:20:24.896
should have productivity loss.

00:20:25.538 --> 00:20:26.438
Second thing is I'm hoping

00:20:26.458 --> 00:20:27.318
the culture changes.

00:20:27.419 --> 00:20:29.759
I think the economics of PT is such,

00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:31.181
we're a penny nickel business.

00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:32.300
We're not a dime quarter

00:20:32.340 --> 00:20:33.642
business nor a dollar business.

00:20:34.182 --> 00:20:35.461
as such that the margins are

00:20:35.522 --> 00:20:37.282
so small that you're gonna

00:20:37.343 --> 00:20:39.483
have to see scalability and

00:20:39.544 --> 00:20:40.963
moving to a management

00:20:41.044 --> 00:20:43.545
level that is skinny at best.

00:20:44.644 --> 00:20:45.905
And the good news is PTs

00:20:45.925 --> 00:20:47.165
don't need a lot of babysitting.

00:20:47.665 --> 00:20:49.126
They're trusted, they're autonomous.

00:20:49.547 --> 00:20:50.366
And here's the beauty,

00:20:50.666 --> 00:20:51.887
a PT that works in a more

00:20:51.928 --> 00:20:53.248
autonomous mastery

00:20:53.307 --> 00:20:55.209
purposeful environment

00:20:55.588 --> 00:20:58.470
thrives and needs less management.

00:20:58.509 --> 00:20:59.589
What I say to my employees

00:20:59.630 --> 00:21:00.670
all the time is those who

00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:02.070
manage best manage least.

00:21:03.151 --> 00:21:04.192
And then third thing is,

00:21:04.432 --> 00:21:05.313
I don't know whether

00:21:05.413 --> 00:21:06.834
value-based care is around.

00:21:06.954 --> 00:21:08.895
I suspect it isn't because

00:21:09.195 --> 00:21:10.958
providers are unwilling to

00:21:11.959 --> 00:21:12.818
take on risk when they've

00:21:12.838 --> 00:21:13.980
got their shins kicked in

00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.080
us for a lot less

00:21:15.121 --> 00:21:16.082
reimbursement over the last

00:21:16.102 --> 00:21:16.622
several years.

00:21:16.642 --> 00:21:18.564
And let's face it, value-based care,

00:21:18.903 --> 00:21:19.825
while it's attractive in

00:21:19.865 --> 00:21:21.165
many ways from a practice

00:21:21.185 --> 00:21:22.146
independent standpoint,

00:21:22.426 --> 00:21:23.907
It's not economical in most

00:21:23.928 --> 00:21:25.048
of the primary care models.

00:21:25.067 --> 00:21:26.989
I mean, you saw what's happening with CVS.

00:21:27.009 --> 00:21:28.568
They're trying to now branch

00:21:28.648 --> 00:21:29.929
it in a separate company

00:21:29.949 --> 00:21:30.930
because of their they have

00:21:30.950 --> 00:21:31.769
the insurance side,

00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:33.510
but they also have the provider, you know,

00:21:33.530 --> 00:21:34.651
business side of it as well.

00:21:35.530 --> 00:21:36.471
And then I think lastly,

00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:41.941
we have to get the payers to change their,

00:21:42.461 --> 00:21:43.560
the fee for service

00:21:43.621 --> 00:21:46.122
environment to a per diem

00:21:46.701 --> 00:21:50.803
or an episodic case per day, you know,

00:21:50.863 --> 00:21:52.643
per, per, per case, whatever.

00:21:53.782 --> 00:21:55.384
Really instead of value-based care,

00:21:55.403 --> 00:21:55.844
you're going to see

00:21:55.884 --> 00:21:57.564
alternative payment models,

00:21:57.963 --> 00:21:58.865
which is different, right?

00:21:58.904 --> 00:21:59.765
They're, they're, they're,

00:21:59.884 --> 00:22:01.125
the one is not necessarily

00:22:01.204 --> 00:22:01.884
part of the other.

00:22:02.285 --> 00:22:03.006
And those alternative

00:22:03.046 --> 00:22:04.925
payment models may be,

00:22:05.185 --> 00:22:07.388
uh allow a therapist to

00:22:07.469 --> 00:22:09.069
scale and use their uh neck

00:22:09.109 --> 00:22:10.912
up skills uh I hope we go

00:22:10.972 --> 00:22:12.733
more to a military model

00:22:12.753 --> 00:22:14.056
you know from that

00:22:14.096 --> 00:22:15.416
standpoint yeah I've been

00:22:15.457 --> 00:22:17.519
hearing uh current and

00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:19.301
former military therapists

00:22:20.979 --> 00:22:21.818
acting confused.

00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:23.319
Why is it this way when I

00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:24.160
leave the military?

00:22:25.040 --> 00:22:26.942
We do so well and it's so effective.

00:22:26.961 --> 00:22:28.061
And look, we have data.

00:22:28.241 --> 00:22:29.542
It's not just we think, we feel,

00:22:30.303 --> 00:22:30.843
we believe.

00:22:30.884 --> 00:22:32.263
It's look at this data and

00:22:32.284 --> 00:22:33.805
the outcomes and how effective,

00:22:33.944 --> 00:22:36.205
cost effective and quality

00:22:36.286 --> 00:22:37.105
outcome effective.

00:22:37.586 --> 00:22:39.227
And it's twenty twenty four.

00:22:39.267 --> 00:22:40.028
I've been hearing this since

00:22:40.087 --> 00:22:41.867
I was in school in twenty fourteen.

00:22:41.887 --> 00:22:43.528
Well, it's very simple, though, Jimmy.

00:22:43.548 --> 00:22:43.729
I mean,

00:22:43.769 --> 00:22:45.269
the government always absolves

00:22:45.289 --> 00:22:46.250
themselves of the rules

00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:47.371
they place on everybody else.

00:22:49.133 --> 00:22:50.953
That doesn't feel fair, Larry.

00:22:50.973 --> 00:22:52.354
No, I hear you.

00:22:54.214 --> 00:22:55.415
So if these are the kinds of

00:22:55.476 --> 00:22:58.217
topics that you want to dig into,

00:22:58.596 --> 00:22:59.617
I want people who are

00:22:59.657 --> 00:23:01.198
listening and watching to understand,

00:23:01.238 --> 00:23:02.098
like you're having these

00:23:02.159 --> 00:23:03.499
conversations pretty regularly.

00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:04.180
You're creating, you're,

00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:05.019
you're having these

00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:06.980
conversations with yourself in your head.

00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.342
You're talking to friends with a keyboard.

00:23:09.701 --> 00:23:11.163
And then that's the beauty of this,

00:23:11.682 --> 00:23:12.583
not social media,

00:23:12.623 --> 00:23:14.124
but media that's social is

00:23:14.483 --> 00:23:15.365
these are the things that

00:23:15.384 --> 00:23:16.865
are in Larry's head all the time,

00:23:16.904 --> 00:23:17.925
or these conversations that

00:23:17.945 --> 00:23:18.506
are happening.

00:23:19.006 --> 00:23:21.008
in rooms around the country, right?

00:23:21.288 --> 00:23:22.387
We're coming up on PPS.

00:23:22.888 --> 00:23:23.848
A lot of these things,

00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:25.570
plus a couple other hundred

00:23:25.590 --> 00:23:26.611
topics get discussed,

00:23:26.891 --> 00:23:27.692
but now you're able to have

00:23:27.731 --> 00:23:28.673
those conversations at

00:23:28.712 --> 00:23:29.913
scale and share those

00:23:29.952 --> 00:23:31.273
things and people can interact,

00:23:31.615 --> 00:23:32.535
which to me is,

00:23:33.035 --> 00:23:34.016
instead of just arguing

00:23:34.375 --> 00:23:35.376
what we do on Twitter a lot,

00:23:35.396 --> 00:23:36.678
these are the good outcomes

00:23:36.917 --> 00:23:38.699
of platforms like Substack.

00:23:38.719 --> 00:23:39.519
So all things physical

00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:40.440
therapy on Substack.

00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:41.340
We'll share that link again.

00:23:42.121 --> 00:23:42.922
Larry, parting shot.

00:23:42.942 --> 00:23:43.461
What do you want to leave

00:23:43.481 --> 00:23:44.042
with the audience?

00:23:44.343 --> 00:23:45.123
Hopefully a good note.

00:23:45.163 --> 00:23:45.824
Hopefully a good note.

00:23:46.203 --> 00:23:47.805
No, it's a word of encouragement.

00:23:47.845 --> 00:23:49.086
There's nothing wrong with data.

00:23:49.487 --> 00:23:51.228
Just realize it and then

00:23:51.288 --> 00:23:52.648
reflect on it and say,

00:23:52.709 --> 00:23:54.230
how can I as a clinician

00:23:55.050 --> 00:23:56.413
continue to sustain an

00:23:56.492 --> 00:23:57.413
environment throughout my

00:23:57.472 --> 00:23:59.255
career where clinical

00:23:59.355 --> 00:24:00.615
emphasis is maintained as

00:24:00.675 --> 00:24:01.596
priority number one?

00:24:01.957 --> 00:24:02.938
If I'm an employer,

00:24:03.157 --> 00:24:04.637
what can I do to keep my

00:24:04.678 --> 00:24:06.398
clinicians practicing clinically?

00:24:06.699 --> 00:24:07.940
And what am I doing through

00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:10.601
the unintended consequences

00:24:10.701 --> 00:24:12.481
or causing my clinicians to

00:24:12.563 --> 00:24:14.743
practice less clinically?

00:24:15.104 --> 00:24:16.964
And then from an advocacy standpoint,

00:24:17.065 --> 00:24:18.345
what can we agree with?

00:24:18.384 --> 00:24:19.705
Can we agree that physical

00:24:19.726 --> 00:24:21.946
therapists under the domain

00:24:22.007 --> 00:24:23.567
of physical therapy are the

00:24:23.627 --> 00:24:25.749
arbitrators and should be

00:24:25.788 --> 00:24:27.069
able to practice clinically?

00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:29.251
through their state practice acts,

00:24:29.352 --> 00:24:32.054
which are heavily vetted at

00:24:32.074 --> 00:24:34.214
the state level through associations,

00:24:35.375 --> 00:24:36.317
rather than under the

00:24:36.336 --> 00:24:37.897
constraints of payers,

00:24:38.317 --> 00:24:40.019
or in our own particular case,

00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:41.540
our own profession,

00:24:41.921 --> 00:24:43.442
which has told us that

00:24:43.602 --> 00:24:47.105
one-on-one care is the way, the truth,

00:24:47.144 --> 00:24:47.644
and the life.

00:24:48.066 --> 00:24:49.186
That's very unfortunate.

00:24:49.807 --> 00:24:50.769
yeah yeah we did a live

00:24:50.808 --> 00:24:53.114
stream with about this and

00:24:53.335 --> 00:24:54.798
where's the value in being

00:24:54.817 --> 00:24:56.902
a pt and we we came upon or

00:24:56.942 --> 00:24:58.163
my my sort of outcome of

00:24:58.183 --> 00:24:58.865
that is it's a little

00:24:58.885 --> 00:25:01.009
culture change right we think

00:25:01.942 --> 00:25:03.384
Like if you the biggest

00:25:03.444 --> 00:25:04.345
mistake you can make if you

00:25:04.546 --> 00:25:05.547
if you create a product or

00:25:05.606 --> 00:25:06.667
a service or you provide a

00:25:06.728 --> 00:25:09.790
service is assuming what

00:25:09.911 --> 00:25:10.811
about that product or

00:25:10.852 --> 00:25:13.835
service your customer actually values.

00:25:14.355 --> 00:25:15.615
I mean, so many providers will tell me,

00:25:15.695 --> 00:25:17.258
well, one on one care, they value it.

00:25:17.617 --> 00:25:18.900
And I'll say like every time

00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:20.401
you're saying every single one,

00:25:20.441 --> 00:25:21.382
because if you can solve my

00:25:21.422 --> 00:25:22.462
problem in half the time,

00:25:22.663 --> 00:25:24.125
I actually value that more.

00:25:25.493 --> 00:25:26.994
Now, this is case dependent,

00:25:27.296 --> 00:25:28.957
but what I mean is it's case dependent.

00:25:29.196 --> 00:25:30.758
So it's not just more

00:25:30.857 --> 00:25:31.959
one-on-one time is better.

00:25:31.999 --> 00:25:33.019
Why not two hours then?

00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:35.101
Why is one-on-one for an hour?

00:25:35.121 --> 00:25:36.701
Why should it be one patient a day then?

00:25:36.883 --> 00:25:37.563
Right, right, right.

00:25:37.583 --> 00:25:39.243
If it's so much better, then over-serve.

00:25:39.284 --> 00:25:40.484
Do a patient for eight hours.

00:25:40.865 --> 00:25:42.145
And of course, that's funny.

00:25:43.027 --> 00:25:44.248
but that's going to the edge

00:25:44.288 --> 00:25:44.868
of that argument.

00:25:44.909 --> 00:25:46.130
So like, let's figure it out.

00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:47.830
Like figure out what the

00:25:47.990 --> 00:25:48.751
answer actually is.

00:25:48.832 --> 00:25:51.114
And that's just not assume all things,

00:25:51.153 --> 00:25:52.295
physical therapy on sub stack.

00:25:52.315 --> 00:25:52.934
We'll share that link.

00:25:52.954 --> 00:25:54.316
Larry, are you headed to PPS?

00:25:54.336 --> 00:25:54.916
We're going to see.

00:25:54.957 --> 00:25:55.457
Absolutely.

00:25:55.477 --> 00:25:56.458
It'll be a PPS.

00:25:56.498 --> 00:25:56.738
Sure.

00:25:56.778 --> 00:25:57.098
Stop.

00:25:57.138 --> 00:25:57.818
Come talk to me.

00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:58.940
That's how I get all my

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.461
ideas is through interactions.

00:26:00.541 --> 00:26:03.003
I talk to physical therapists, owners,

00:26:03.064 --> 00:26:04.704
practice folks all the time.

00:26:05.286 --> 00:26:06.006
And these are the kinds of

00:26:06.026 --> 00:26:06.787
things that they're,

00:26:06.807 --> 00:26:08.147
that are on their mind and,

00:26:09.088 --> 00:26:10.451
And now I just have the

00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:11.373
ability to kind of write

00:26:11.393 --> 00:26:12.473
about them and report what

00:26:12.493 --> 00:26:13.855
people are telling me.

00:26:13.876 --> 00:26:14.376
The internet,

00:26:14.497 --> 00:26:16.740
it has some good uses as well.

00:26:16.780 --> 00:26:17.162
Larry Bench,

00:26:17.182 --> 00:26:18.423
appreciate you stopping by on the show.

00:26:18.844 --> 00:26:19.305
Absolutely.