To the master multitaskers, the stellar schedulers, the terrific trainers, and all the fantastic front-office faces, (wild things or not) you make our hearts sing. You make everything groo(ooooo)vy.
In celebration of the 60^th Annual Administrative Professionals Day on April 25^th (themed: “Admins, the pulse of the office”), the Team at WebPT would like to give a shout out to our members at the heart of every phenomenal Physical Therapy practice. Sure, staying current on industry research, attending conferences, and implementing top-notch tools (cough: WebPT) are important (really important). But without a strong pulse in the office, your Physical Therapy practice would flat line.

Thank you for managing operations; advocating for patients; answering billing questions; negotiating with insurance companies; entering data; keeping clients happy; and initiating positive change -- all with a smile.

We couldn't do it without you. You help make up the increasingly vibrant WebPT community -- your unique experiences, interactions, and insights are shaping a product that is redefining our industry. In return, we'll continue listening and working tirelessly to ensure that WebPT improves your clinic’s productivity, compliance, and profitability.

On behalf of everyone whose life you touch, for those who think it but may not say it, you are appreciated.

Take a moment to share why the Administrative Professionals in your life make your heart sing or read about how your role as an Administrative Professional has impacted those around you @WebPT #adminproday.

Steve Messineo, PT, DPT and Owner of All-Access Phsycal Therapy Inc. contributed this blog post today. Steve (a WebPT Member) started this discussion about nutritional supplements in a Linkedin Group and we asked him to dive deeper in a blog post for the rest of us!  Steve has been practicing in an outpatient orthopedic setting since 1998. Thanks Steve for sharing your perspective. 

Three years ago, my business partner and I decided it would be a good idea to move our growing physical therapy practice to a bigger space and build a fitness and training center under the same roof to provide an additional source of revenue.  Opening a membership based fitness facility and sports training complex has taken some time to ramp up, but it has changed the way we practice physical therapy and as a result, our patients are getting much better short term and long term outcomes. (Check out WebPT’s detailed interview about starting a medically oriented gym.)

This all happened because we have changed our approach to patient care.  We now not only inquire about a new patient’s injury, but also learn about their overall health and wellness in the categories of activity level, food consumption, confidence in their own health, energy levels, stress levels, and sleep quality. This information allows us to create rehab plans that incorporate use of our fitness center, thus introducing the patient to the benefits of long term health and fitness via exercise plans.

Our contributing blogger today is WebPT Member, Jack Sparacio, MSPT, COMT, CFMT. He is also the Owner and President of Sparacio Physical Therapy P.C. in New York. We're excited to have Jack sharing his expertise. Thanks Jack!

 PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THEY KNOW! This is universally accepted as one of the golden rules of marketing. If you want your clinic and/or company to grow, you need to develop relationships with people (especially physicians).  So, the million dollar question is…how do you achieve this? Do you need to be a salesman/saleswoman? Yes, of course you do! I cringe when I read marketing articles that tell physical therapists they don’t need to be salespeople. Why is sales such a dirty word? If it makes you feel better call it networking, or relationship building. Call it whatever you want. Unless you’re the only game in town, until another practice comes along and takes your business away, you need to be able to build relationships. Relationships that will provide stability (new patients) to your practice.

There are many ways to make initial contact with a physician. You can send out an email, make a phone call or send out a letter. Now keep in mind, the three things I previously mentioned rarely work. However, there is something that will increase your odds of getting that coveted face-to-face meeting. You need to go, in person, to the physician’s office to set up a meeting at a future date. You need to introduce yourself to their secretary (write down his/her name) and ask to meet with the physician.  Sometimes it is that simple, and you can set up a meeting. However, most of the time you need to offer them a benefit to meet with you. They want to know what’s in it for them. Why should they take their precious time to meet with you? That’s a fair question.

This post was authored by WebPT Billing Specialist, Geoff Elledge. Thanks for sharing your wisdom Geoff!

 There are many different ways to look at your clinic’s finances.  You can look at average revenue per patient visit, insurance payer mix, average referrals from physicians and on and on.  

Let’s start with a few of the basic questions you should ask:

• much does it cost you to treat an average patient?
• How much does the insurance pay you per visit?
• What is your average patient cost share per visit?
• How long does it take on average to collect?

These are some of the basic questions you have to ask before you can start to maximize your revenues versus expenses.

First of all, take a good hard look at your fixed costs and figure out how much it costs you just to see a patient.  It’s boring, but if you want to run a successful business, there’s no better place to start.  I know we are in the business of caring for our patients first, but it is still a business, after all!

Start by calculating your average fixed costs such as rent, utilities, equipment costs/depreciation.  Then take a look at payroll, salaries, benefits, etc.  Add them up on a monthly basis then divide them by the total number of hours your office is open on a monthly basis, say 160 hours per month.  The resulting number is your average hourly costs of operation. If you spend 30 minutes per patient on average divide by two and you have your per patient cost per visit.  Confused yet? That is just the beginning.