Our blog post today was written by WebPT member, Dr. Sam Esterson, PT, MA, MBA, DScPT. He is the owner of Esterson and Associates Physical Therapy. He is also the author of a well-received book written in 2003, entitled Starting & Managing Your Own Physical Therapy Practice: A Guide for the Rookie Entrepreneur. Dr. Esterson will be a featured guest on this month's webinar. Learn more here. Thanks to Sam for his wise words. 

Those forward thinking and self-motivated therapists who possess a powerful drive to grow, are goal-directed, and have low blood pressure are ones who may be the best candidates to jump in, full throttle, and consider opening up a practice “on their own.” Sure, there’s much to consider and plan, but, if you are a therapist working in an environment where you are constantly thinking, “Gee, I sure could do this better, easier, more creatively, and/or more cost-effectively,” then, you may have “the itch.” The people who generally have this spirit are called “entrepreneurs.” An entrepreneur is one who organizes, manages and assumes the risks of an enterprise. The term comes from the French, entreprendre, meaning, to undertake. Entrepreneurs demand as much of themselves as they do of others. They have a passion for their dreams and do not easily take “no” for an answer. Entrepreneurs see opportunity when others see potential failure. They see the proverbial glass half-full while others perceive the glass half-empty. 

There are some therapists who may think that by opening their own practice, they will become their own boss and not have to take orders from others ever again. This concept cannot be further from the truth. In fact, once you open your own business, you will have many bosses, including the referring practitioners who have clinical demands on you, insurance companies who direct your care by virtue of how they reimburse you for services rendered, patients who have a knack for manipulating your time and efforts, and even your staff who place constraints on you in many ways.

Today we are pleased to present an interview with Chad Novasic, PT. Chad received his B.S. in Physical Therapy from Marquette University in 1988, and has served the Racine and Kenosha areas for the last 13 years in private practice. He has practiced several years in both a long term care setting and an acute care outpatient clinic setting. Chad is the owner of Alliant Physical Therapy Group. Alliant serves Southeastern Wisconsin with several clinics and is currently planning aggressive growth in the coming year.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

I graduated from Marquette in 1988 and started in private practice in 1989. I started out in Racine,Wisconsin. Later, in 2000, I restructured and started expanding my practice. My mission has always been about helping PTs have autonomy. I looked at the model as helping independent PTs go into business on their own. I now have 15 locations with plans to add 2 more locations in the near future. I’m very proud to say that we have some of the best therapists around working for us.

What is a little known fact about you?

I’m a third generation, male, physical therapist in private practice. It’s in my blood. Something interesting?
I get asked for advice on starting clinics all the time. Recently, I’ve been working with a young physical therapist from Cairo, Egypt. She was trying to start a practice at the same time Mubarak was getting overthrown. In order to get the proper licensing, she had to work 6 months at Cairo hospital. During that time, she was literally patching up bullet wounds. And she still wanted to open a clinic! Think of what she went through! We also had to work on how to even get equipment in Cairo. How does one get a license? During all this, she had a one year old baby. Her husband has to stay at home making sure no one is raiding their house. It’s fascinating! Her drive is incredible.

Today we kick off a month-long series for physical therapists about how to start a clinic. We know that many therapists either dream of starting their own practice or want to become even better business owners. Over the next month, we'll share with you interviews, tips, and tricks about being a therapist entrepreneur. Today we're excited to share Part I of our interview with WebPT member, Christine Wood, PT, DPT of Waynesboro, VA. Thanks to Christine for her time and advice.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your practice, location, and years in business.

As of this February I have been in business for one year.  I've known for some time that since Waynesboro, VA had only one physical therapy clinic, there was a definite market need. I originally considered opening a clinic seven years ago but decided to have a child instead. I spent the next five years being a mom and working PRN and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do those things.  Last year though, my little girl started kindergarten, so I decided the time was right to move ahead. I’m very blessed to be here. I’ve been a therapist for20 years and opening my own clinic is a long-time dream come true!

Tell us something we wouldn’t know. This can be an interesting fact, a fun anecdote or even a more formal piece of information about starting a PT clinic.

Something funny? Thinking for a little while early on that I could have a child and start a business at the same time.  That was funny! I'm so glad I did it the way we did though.

Today we're excited to release Part I of our interview with Ann Wendel from PranaPT. Thanks to Ann for being candid and sharing her story of opening physical therapy clinics with us.

Tell us a little bit about you and your practice.
I graduated from University of Delaware in 1992 with a BS in P.E. Studies, concentration in Athletic Training. My goal was to work in sports medicine. I worked as an ATC in a sports medicine clinic for 3 years while taking more pre-requisites, then applied and was accepted to University of Maryland’s Physical Therapy Program. I graduated with with my Masters in 1998. I started working in a hospital right after graduation. They rarely hired new graduates to work PRN; but, I had more experience because of my years as an Athletic Trainer, so I got the job. I worked in acute care, neuro, and outpatient ortho. From 2003 to 2006 I went out on my own and ran my private practice in space I sublet from a Pilates studio. My next step was to work for a larger Orthopedic practice. I worked there for 4 years until October 2011, when I went back to my own business, Prana Physical Therapy. I now work as an independent contractor for Core Wellness and Physical Therapy in a co-op building. We end up co-treating patients and being more collaborative. We do different but complimentary techniques.

Tell us something we wouldn’t know. This can be an interesting fact, a fun anecdote or even a more formal piece of information about starting a PT clinic.
For my current business, we don’t take insurance. We’re a cash-based clinic, and out of network providers. As I left to start my new business, I had some Medicare patients that wanted to follow me. What I learned through research is that if you don’t accept Medicare, you can’t treat Medicare patients. It’s illegal to accept cash payments from Medicare patients for physical therapy (see Section 40 of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual from CMS). Medicare patients can only pay out of pocket when they see a P.T. for “Wellness” (i.e. general conditioning and not treatment). This is a little known fact that is devastating for a small practice (read Ann's blog post on the topic for more info). These are the folks that typically need care beyond what Medicare can pay, and they are not able to come see you. If you didn’t know about this and you got audited by Medicare you’d be in trouble. The way the code is written, the only practitioners who cannot opt-out of Medicare are P.T. and Chiropractic.