Located near Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, the clinic serves underinsured and uninsured clients who have been prescribed physical therapy treatment by a physician. The clinic is staffed by volunteers. Undergraduate volunteers work the receptionist desk. Physical therapy graduate students and a supervising licensed physical therapist see and evaluate the patients.   

Widener University provides funding for the clinic utilities and space. The rest of the clinic is funded by donations and a $5 co-pay collected from patients. Much of the equipment used in the clinic was donated by local hospitals and clinics or purchased at a deep discount from a local physical therapy equipment supplier, M.A. Rallis.  Find out more about this unique pro bono physical therapy clinic by listening now.

In today’s podcast, physical therapist and owner of Cedar Hill Physical Therapy , Paul Weiss, PT, MDT, shares the ways ultrasound imaging is utilized in his practice.  After teaching an exercise designed to reeducate the muscles around the spine, Weiss uses ultrasound imaging to observe the muscles as the exercise is performed and confirm the exercise is working the targeted muscles.  Find out more about the ways ultrasound imaging can help you and your patients monitor muscle activation by listening now.   

If you ever provide physical therapy to more than two patients at a time, there are new Medicare regulations on concurrent therapy you should be aware of. Luis Montes, DPT, MBA, Director of Business Development at Accelerated Care Plus shares his insight in today’s podcast on ways the new regulations may impact your practice.

Currently, Medicare Part A covers concurrent physical therapy for patients and leaves it up to physical therapist’s to determine the number of patients they can effectively see at the same time. The new Medicare Part A slated for release in October 2010 will only cover concurrent physical therapy for up to two patients at a time. Medicare Part B currently outlaws concurrent therapy and is not directly impacted by this change in regulation.

Listen now to find out how you can prepare for these new changes in Medicare regulation.

Today’s podcast features Tim Tyler, PT, ATC, of the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City.  Tyler shares details about an effective and affordable treatment for tennis elbow revealed in a

The study began as a quest for a practical way to overload the wrist extensors enough to provide tennis elbow sufferers with the same benefits as isolated eccentric training done with expensive devices or heavy weights. The solution was found in an affordable and easy-to-use flexible rubber bar. 

Participants in the study were split into two groups.  The control group received physical therapy for tennis elbow and the other group received the same physical therapy treatment and combined it with the “Tyler Twist” isolated eccentric wrist-extensor strengthening exercise designed to overload the muscles.  The study revealed improvements for participants in the “Tyler Twist” group in as little as three weeks. Listen now to learn more about ways this new exercise can benefit your patients.

See the “Tyler Twist” exercise in action on YouTube.

Isolated Eccentrics with Thera-Band® FlexBar

 “Reverse Tyler Twist” for Medial Epicondylitis “Golfers Elbow”

The first APTA podcast, “Impact on War injuries on Rehabilitation Research,” features professionals from the Center of the Intrepid, a San Antonio, Texas rehabilitation facility located near the Brooke Army Medical Center.  This podcast addresses limb loss and spinal cord injury research and treatments completed at the center.  Listen to learn more about the advancement of prosthetic devices and techniques the center is using to improve patient function and quality of life.

The second APTA podcast, “Impact on War Injuries on Clinical Practice,” walks you through a day in the life of physical therapists working with injured soldiers. Listen to learn more about the challenges faced while treating soldiers in the field and transporting injured soldiers to a medical facility. Discover techniques utilized to help patients achieve the best function possible through prosthetics, powered knee extensions and other technologies. 

The podcasts are available from iTunes and on the PT Journal website.

The wellness model has taken their practice into into new directions.  The benefit to patients is a positive outcome that lasts long after treatment has concluded.   With 7 years experience implementing their philosophies, Dawn-Marie, Allison and Gabrielle offer sound advice that you may be able to use in the rapidly changing world of rehabilitation.  Join Jeff Worrell and our experts this week for news you can use.

It didn’t take long for a physical therapist to realize that You Tube is good, but a seperate site just for interesting and educational rehabilitation content would be even better.  Sam Awosolu, PT started www.PhysicalTherapyChannel.comand is bringing free, high quality video and audio content to his peers.  Sam is unique in not only possessing superior skills to rehabilitate the total knee patient or work with a recovering stoke patient, but he also completely understands HTML, PHP and SEO.  Terminology like this is usually Greek to most, but Sam knows his way around a computer using the internet to make a world of knowledge easily accessible to his fellow colleagues.

In today’s podcast, Sam shares his thoughts about the internet and his new venture designed to serve the Physical Therapy community.  Now on the second generation website, this is a site you will want to bookmark and refer to often.  For questions or more information about this episode, send an email to feedback@pttalker.com.

Listen in this month as Jeff Worrell interviews Tim Richardson, PT of Medical Arts Rehab in Palmetto, FL and the author of soon to be released book, Bulletproof Physical Therapy Decisions.  In the book, due out January of 2010, Tim offers tools and resources for Physical Therapist interested in Medicare compliance.  A major clarification made in the book is the difference between process measures and outcome measures for Medicare.  Everyone seems to be aware of the 8 minute rule for Medicare which would be an example of a process rule that is somewhat arbitrary.  But, are therapists using outcome measures like the Optimal Form or Lower Extremity Functional Scale?  His book documents over 20 outcome measure tools.

To find out more about Tim Richardson, PT and his work, www.bulletproofpt.com, or www.bulletproofphysicaltherapydecisions.com. You can also follow Tim on Twitter at PTGuru.  Check back reguarly for information on the exact release date for Bulletproof Physical Therapy Decisions.

In today’s show, Benz recommends that therapists focus on what they do best by increasing their knowledge of the basics through continuing education and improving their expertise of the conditions they see in their practice.  He believes in creating processes to better manage the practice and then he strongly suggests a focus on providing excellent customer service and gives solid reasons to back up his approach.  

To learn more about the work of Larry Benz, visit www.evidenceinmotion.com or www.myphysicaltherapyspace.com.  To comment on this podcast, send an email to feedback@PTtalker.com.

Scott Hopkins, PT makes his debut as an inventor and manufacturer this week.  Hot off the factory assembly line is the Mobile Objective Measurement (M.O.M.) Clipboard.  In Scott’s words, “Everyone should have a MOM.”  Hoping you agree, he shares his reasons for developing MOM and also gives some helpful hints to other Therapist that might be thinking about bringing their own invention to market.

M.O.M. sells for $59.00 empty.  To keep your goniometers, reflex hammer, tape measure, scissor and penlight in one, handy spot; call 800-577-5694 or info@advantagemedical.com.  Pricing on a unit, complete with all tools is under development.  For questions to Scott Hopkins, PT send an email to feedback@pttalker.com.

The five commonalities include areas that Therapists are considered experts, but the non-diet or exercise traits tend to be a little more intimidating.  Tune in to today’s episode to identify areas your patient might be able to benefit from your help to stay healthier. 

Joe Avolio is the owner of eight year old clinic Athens Therapeutics and Physical Wellness Center in Athens, GA.  For more information feedback@pttalker.com.

Listen in, learn and be prepared for the next time you find yourself on the sidelines of a grueling football game or just the first one on the scene when the neighbor’s kid wipes out on his skate board.  For questions or more information, contact me at feedback@pttalker.com.   Jeff Worrell

Download the Grounding document for picture and description.  For more information respond to feedback@pttalker.com.

Margo does a good job giving an introduction to the newest tool in the therapist’s arsenal.  Check it out and see if you have a patient that can benefit from the latest rehabiliation tool.  For more information send an email to feedback@pttalker.com.

1. Repetition
2. Task Specificity
3. Mass Practice
4. Challenge

Tune in to learn more about these key components and how you can apply constraint induced therapy to your patients.  Should a stroke patient use an AFO?  Check out Stronger After Stroke at Amazon to learn more about these concepts and much more.  For more information or to send a message to Peter Levine, send an email to feedback@pttalker.com.

Nitin Chhoda, PT also provided a guest blog, May 3, 2009.  Contact Jeff Worrell feedback@pttalker.com

Physical Therapy Marketing using the Internet

Nitin Chhoda, P.T.

When I consult with clients, I get the same question over and over again. How can I increase the number of patient referrals, by reaching the patient community?

There is no doubt that physician referrals are the backbone of a successful physical therapy private practice, but tapping the vast, underutilized patient community for direct access and internal referrals is a growing part of the business of physical therapy.

The cultivation of successful patient relationship goes through four stages. A ‘first date’ phase, where the individual surveying your clinic is nothing more than a prospect. With the right type of information and motivation, the prospect picks up the phone and calls your clinic.

At this stage, assuming that the call is handled correctly, the prospect is converted into a potential patient. When this individual comes into the clinic for their first appointment, they officially become a patient. When this patient complete their plan of care and go form, the physical therapist must now build a consistent, long-term relationship with HIM / her, nurturing it over a period of time. This transforms the patient into a powerful referral source.

The easiest and fastest way to communicate with patients and build a relationship with them is by using e-mails and phone calls. Write a patient friendly newsletter, and send it via e-mail to patients, physicians and the local media on the first and the third Monday of every month.  Why Monday?  Why twice a month?  On Monday, people are more likely to check the e-mail and respond to offers or information. The middle of the workweek is a bad time to communicate and provide information, because people are more involved with getting things done. By the time the weekend comes along, the only thoughts on everybody’s minds are the weekend, family and household chores.

Communicating via an e-mail newsletter twice a month has been shown to be the right frequency to remain in people’s minds without overdoing it. If you e-mail somebody once a month, it’s not very frequent. It is very likely that the prospect will forget about you or tune you out. The key is to provide the readers with easy to understand, valuable, relevant, practical tips they can use right away.

Unlike regular mail, which can be lost or thrown away, an e-mail newsletter generally stays in the recipient’s e-mail inbox and can be saved for later viewing, leading to a referral or an appointment to your clinic. An e-mail newsletter that provides a “refer a friend” module can be even more powerful because your patient can instantly refer you and your newsletter to some of their friends by entering their friends’ e-mail addresses. The result? One more potential patient or referral source added to your extensively growing e-mail database.

Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of e-mail marketing and use it to consistently communicate with my clients and patients. Almost everybody has an e-mail account these days. E-mail marketing is the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to promote your name in the local community.

Sending your e-mail newsletter to journalists in local newspapers is a great way to get instant media publicity. Public relations and community services that receive your newsletter will set their sights on your clinic as a provider. In many cases, they may contact you for interviews and opinions about wellness and physical therapy. This is instant, free promotion of your clinic in the local community.. Whether it is standard care or a niche program, the public will look to you as a source of meaningful information and seek your services for physical ailments. Media publicity can pave the way for community events / screenings. Patients you see at such events will want to work with you, because you are already an established expert in their eyes. They will seek a referral from their physician and actively cultivate a new referral source for you - all you have to do is render your services and maintain constant contact with the patient after discharge.

The way you communicate with patients sets the tone for a relationship that will build your practice. Leverage the contact information of your patients by giving them what they need and building a reputation in the process. Remember, you are not being a salesman, but rather a valued and respected content provider. Somewhere along the way, you will become the number one choice for physical therapy and attain a position of prominence in your community.

Nitin Chhoda, P.T., is a physical therapy private practice expert and provides an automatic physical therapy marketing newsletter system with a $1 trial at http://www.therapynewsletter.com and also writes a business building blog for physical therapists at http://www.nitin360.com