The rehab therapy industry is no stranger to payment cuts—especially at the hands of CMS. But what if we were to look at CMS as a business? Humor me for a moment. CMS focuses intently on remaining budget-neutral, right? Whenever its expenses increase, it must reduce its costs and bring in more revenue. That’s a pretty straightforward…
Bridging the PT Diversity Gap
This post was written with assistance from Dana Gundrum, WebPT’s Culture Captain.
Earlier this month, WebPT made a lot of people on Facebook very, very angry. Our goal wasn’t to purposefully incite anger, but we did want to incite a discussion—and we expected that some people might bring their anger and frustration to the table. Needless to…
Burning and churning: Why PTs are leaving patient care
For the past several years, my company, WebPT, has conducted an annual survey to get a pulse on the rehab therapy industry, identify trends that are impacting our profession, and assess pain points to guide our advocacy efforts. After all, what’s the point of collecting data if you’re not going to do anything with the results? While the…
Mind-Blowing Moments at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress
It’s no secret that our capitalistic society has its flaws—and over the years, companies and corporations that have greedily put profit over people have sullied the waters, leading many people to posit that these “corporate” companies in general are only out for themselves. But that’s not necessarily the case. A for-profit company can be healthy—and…
Hiring, Managing, and Working with Millennial PTs
Perhaps you’ve heard the news: the future is doomed because of the up-and-coming millennial generation. At least that’s what many, many news and business publications would have us believe. After all, according to dozens of generation think pieces and market analyses:
Millennials are narcissistic;
Millennials are lazy and entitled; and
Millennials are killing countless industries by…
Unpacking the Unholy Mess of EHR in America
Recently, Fortune published a nearly 9,000-word story on the “unholy mess” of EHRs in America titled, “Death by a Thousand Clicks: Where Electronic Health Records Went Wrong.” It’s an incredibly well-written, well-researched piece that is, quite frankly, utterly depressing. In fact, if you’re still seething over the effects of the opioid crisis, you may…
It’s Time to Overhaul PT Education: One Major Takeaway from the 2019 Graham Sessions
I’ve been attending the Graham Sessions for five consecutive years now, and each year, I return home more fiery and passionate about our industry—as well as the value we bring to our patients and our communities. Of course, this year was particularly special, because I had the honor of delivering a “What I Believe” speech—which, as I…
How PTs Can End the Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic is a true crisis in health care. Instead of helping patients, profit-driven or careless pharmaceutical companies, hospital networks, and providers have caused irreparable harm. In 2017 alone, 72,000 people died from an opioid overdose. Furthermore, of all the patients who receive prescription painkillers on a long-term basis for noncancer pain in a primary care…
Want to Move PT Forward in 2019? Take the Industry Survey.
Never underestimate the power of data. Whether it be proving the efficacy of physical therapy in stymieing opioid use among chronic pain patients or convincing payers to create clearer pathways between patients and PTs, data is the catalyst for sparking change within our industry.
But all too often, we lack the data needed to ignite that spark, which is part…
7 PT Predictions for 2019
I don’t know about you, but I feel ready to usher out 2018—and welcome in a brand-new year. And that’s a good thing, because 2019 is coming in hot with a lot of changes for our industry. If you’ve read a lot of my past articles, then you know I make it a point to…