Identifying ‘Blue Ocean’ Opportunities for PTs in the Overcrowded ‘Red Ocean’ World of Healthcare.
How carving out your ‘Niche’ in the Physiotherapy field can set you free..
Listen, we all know there’s a lot wrong with US healthcare today, and on top of that, the field of ‘Physical Therapy’ has a bit of an identity crisis here in the US.
Now, hear me out on this.
Sadly, here’s were we’re currently at in 2022:
Health Insurance deductibles and premiums are at an all time high, and yet payment to clinicians continues to decrease year by year. CEOs of the Insurance companies are getting richer, as the ‘benefits’ and reimbursements get smaller and smaller year after year.
Health insurance companies continue to push for ‘more veils’ to deny coverage, adding more ‘pre-authorizations’, and other ‘hoops’ to jump through, so as to trick us so they can deny claims- even if clinics are in-network! In fact, a recent article suggests that a former Aetna Medical Director admits to denying claims, without even looking at the medical record!
In addition, the Insurance Companies- not the actual healthcare professionals- are making the decisions (based on outdated algorithms) whether or not clients can get care covered, and for how many visits.
Due to this decreased clinician reimbursement, PT’s are forced into seeing more and more patients/day and clinics are getting paid less and less. Patients are paying more and more out of pocket for Healthcare.
Clinics, in an attempt to save money and stay in business, are hiring less-qualified and less-skilled PT Aides, Assistants, and techs to perform direct ‘patient care’, commonly juggling 2–4 patients/hour at the same time.
Doctors are referring patients out less and less, and are being directed by their supervisors to keep patients ‘in-house’ in large hospital organizations.
In fact, PT offices that rely 100% on doctor referral sources are losing business, and many of these clinics are closing at a rapid rate, or being bought out by large conglomerates and corporations.
Competition in the ‘health’ and ‘rehab’ space comes from all walks of life, and the public is getting constantly bombarded with ads, infomercials, products, and aids to help ease back or neck pain. At the gym today, I saw a Personal Trainer spending more time with clients using a ‘vibrating gun’ and other modalities to ‘treat’ their injuries. Products such as creams, tinctures, and holistic ‘magic’ aids are everywhere. Heck, even Shaq is preaching the benefits of benign IcyHot patches. And, anyone these days with any form of ‘health’ degree is advising on lower back pain treatments, writing eBooks, and making YouTube Channels.
It’s a crowded space, getting even more crowded by the minute.
We all know that Physical Therapy is a proven, cost-effective, research-based, with proven benefits to society… And yet, as a field we have an identity problem, and the public doesn’t really know what we do, who we treat, or how we do it.
Manual Therapy?
Exercise?
Modalities?
Soft Tissue Mobilization?
Fitness?
Ergonomics?
Wound Care?
Balance training?
Home Health?
. . . And even more to that point: How is Physical Therapy/rehab portrayed in movies/TV/press?
Answer: Usually in a hospital setting, older/disabled clients, gait belts and parallel bars . . .right?
To compound matters, fresh graduates of PT school are deep in massive debt, and struggle to pay massive loans over decades. Most are commonly stuck in a job where they really aren’t practicing within their passion, and treating the clients they actually want to treat. This then leads to… Early career burnout.
Burnout in our field is the highest it’s ever been, and PT’s are afraid to go out on their own, and have been taught ZERO business and marketing skills, and are generally averse to anything that has to do with “SALES”.
So. . . . If you are a Physiotherapist, there is no better time to buck this sad, downwards trend.
So. . . . what can we do about it?
Let’s face it- it’s a very crowded space, getting busier by the minute.
How do we make ourselves more valuable,more in need, get paid what we are truly worth, and see the clients we dream of treating?
Answer: You have to find your niche.
Here’s the basic blueprint:
1) Identifying your passion: What is it that you just cant stop talking about, wanting to do, or feel compelled to learn about?
2) Understand the unique problems that are not being addressed within that uniqe subset of the population. (As they say, ‘out of frustration leads to innovation’. )
3) Develop plans, programs and systems to get the word out, define who you are and what you treat, and build a community around it. Speak to those people in terms they understand, and can relate to.
During these times, clinicians with unique, specialty skills, or those that serve a unique niche are now succeeding at a rapid rate.
Clinicians that take the leap, think outside the box, and who can practice within their passion are getting out of the downward spiral of the insurance ‘game’, and more and more are moving towards cash-pay systems and clinics.
The public wants these services, and is willing to pay top-dollar to find someone that can help them.
‘Passion specific’ clinics such as post-ACL repair, CrossFit, Women’s Health/pelvic floor health, and sport specific clinics are growing and suceeding within communities.
By practicing within your passion, carving out your own specialize niche- and doing so with authenticity and value — creates more demand for your services, and ultimately the more people will pay for it… with cash.
Now is the time to specialize, and work within your passion.
Life it too short to be stuck in an unfulfilling job, and not treating the people you’d love to be able to work with.
Work for a cause. Work with the clients you really want to be helping. By working for a cause and a solid set of values, burnout is reduced, and because of higher pay/visit, clinicians can spend quality one-on-one time to make a bigger impact, and a better client experience. And this leads to word of mouth and continued growth.
For me, I was able to bring together my passion for Cycling and helping the cycling population eliminate pain both on and off the bike.
Through hard work, determination and discipline I created a Pedal PT culture, a mission, and a skilled, bike-centric team of PTs who share the same values. And with these values, it create a sense of purpose that is are greater than just “Physical Therapy” and/or “Bike Fitting”, but also include aspects of Bike Friendliness, Sustainability, Improving our Environment, Community Involvement, and promoting improved global population health through cycling.
You too can find your ‘Blue Ocean’ out there in the messy, confusing world of healthcare .. You just have to start with finding, defining, and pursuing your passion!
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Are you also a Physcial Therapist passionate about cycling and working within the cycling population?
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