Friday, November 18, 2022

Market Analysis: Website Comparison

So recently I have started doing a market analysis on the local physical therapy clinics in the area. I owned a clinic that was primarily cash pay with a few major insurance contracts but I decided to close my doors when Covid hit. When I closed my doors I started contracting for home health agencies as well as some outpatient facilities.

This has paid the bills but I want more than that. Working as a contractor I work all the time chasing work. I'm working insane hours and it's just not manageable anymore. So my wife and I have started the process of looking at opening another clinic this time with the intention of being more insurance based.

As part of the research, we started a market analysis looking at all the local clinics. A good part of our analysis included looking at the online presence of the local clinics. We found several of them had very few reviews. Some of them did not even have websites listed.

As we started reviewing their websites we found that they are visually unattractive to say the least. Seeing websites that seem to be lacking a level of professionality in pictures and video we've realized we need to invest in this area. 

We've started talking to a local professional photographer we found, Matt Pierce, and his group Route Three Productions. We started looking at his portfolio online and realized this level of quality would improve a PT website tremendously. 

As things move forward I will plan on putting up the pics on my blog so you can see the level of quality a true professional can bring you. 

In the meantime check out the portfolio we looked at. Here's a link to the portfolio that we looked at that made us realize we need high-quality photos that are being set up by a professional. 

https://www.routethreeproductions.com/portfolio-commercial-photographer-corpus-christi 

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Pearl S. Buck: The Good Earth

The Good Earth was so good! It takes place in China and tells the tale of and poor farmer and his rise to wealth. A real rags to riches story but that's not all. After the main character reaches riches and status it continues and shows you becoming rich is not everything. 

He goes from a hard-working farmer who is obsessed with buying land and obtaining independence. He gains wealth but life does not necessarily get easier... just more complex. 

It is well written and makes you want to get back to it. I normally listen to books during my drives from patient to patient and then take a break when I get home but I wanted to keep listening/reading even after I got home.

Reading to or listening to something interesting. Drop a line I would love to hear what it is so I can read it too! 


Saturday, February 26, 2022

Home Health: Book Club

 Since starting home health I am on the road a lot! Let's just say I'm doing my taxes right now and I did 47k miles last year! So when I say I'm on the road a lot I mean it. At first, I just listened to music but that got old after a while. I started listening to audiobooks. I found I was consuming audiobooks so fast audible just wasn't enough. I went to the local library and got set up with a library card. In my experience in Utah, New Mexico, and Texas you can sign up for whatever digital library service your library contracts with. 

Currently, in Corpus Christi, a library card gives you access to 5 free checkouts per month on Hoopla. It's been great because it's free and there is a decent selection to choose from. I go through those books like it's nobody's business. I figured since I am reading anyways I would start making my thoughts about each book into a blog post. 

Check with your local library and see what access you get to free digital libraries. It sure beats paying for Audible or other similar services. 

If you have read/listened to anything good please comment and let me know so I can enjoy it too! 

Book reviews:

Micheal Hyatt: Your Best Year Ever

Pearl S. Buck: The Good Earth 

Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers 

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

What To Do If You Fail A Clinical Or Get Kicked Out Of A Physical Therapy Program


(Video: Language Warning)

Here Dr. Brandon Smith, PT, DPT, MPH briefly breaks down 3 different legal cases that involve PT students taking legal action due to a bad internship. He shares his advice if you find yourself in a bad situation. If you find yourself in a bad situation don't just sit back, take action. Stand up for yourself and this video can give you some guidance if you find yourself in a bad situation that may require legal action. 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Home Health: How Did I Get Here

I was going to be an outpatient PT my whole career. I did 3 out of 4 of my internships in an outpatient setting while in school. I was going to rehab people back to the playing field. I wanted to be the hero in the clinic helping fix back pain and getting that post-op ACL back to their sport. Okay, you get the picture. 

Then things came to a screeching halt. I had opened a hybrid clinic taking some insurance and a fair amount of cash-pay patients. Life was going pretty good then bam... Covid-19 hit. Life was uncertain and nobody knew what was next. After being in business a couple of years at this point I decided to jump ship. So we shut down and contacted an acquaintance in Texas to get a feel for the job outlook in the area. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right move but here I am. I moved from Utah getting an office going to home health in Texas.

After 2 years of putting my heart and soul into a business, it felt painful to let it go. Time heals wounds. As time goes on I feel it was the right move but at times I long for a clinic. Perhaps someday I'll transition back to a clinic setting but for the time being, home health is what pays the bills. 

The point being life can take us in different directions. Unforeseen circumstances can alter the path of our life and that's okay. God has a plan for all of us so if you find yourself in a setting, location, or career path that you didn't expect it's okay. To go along with this if your try something and fail it's alright. Failure is part of life, it brings pain but also expands our knowledge and helps us grow. 

In the end, am I a failure because I failed? No, I just pick back up and keep moving forward. You can do the same... Don't let past failures dictate your future but use the lessons you learned and get back on your feet.