For any of us, setting off on our own to open a clinic is a scary endeavor. Your entire career may have been spent building toward this lifelong dream. You take in experience, build credentials and do your research. You scrimp and save, after years of preparation, and at what you hope is the right time, you pull the trigger. Now imagine you’ve had your ribbon cutting ceremony, opened your doors for the first time.
Then a few weeks from the start of your new clinic Covid-19 shuts down everything. This was what happened to Modern Physical Therapy located in a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It’s run by Physical Therapist Matt Trebes PT, DPT MTC, CERT. MDT. Now a thriving clinic. I spoke with Matt about how these early trials-built resiliency and led to a flourishing clinic.
The Early Days of Covid-19
Rob: I sit here reminded of what it was like in those early days. Waiting outside of the supermarket, six-feet apart just to go in and see empty shelves. Everyone looking at you through their masked faces in this paranoid way. Going into work wearing plastic gowns, face shields, masks, gloves. It was a tough time for all of us. I can only imagine what it was like to open a new Physical Therapy clinic then.
Matt: Well, I opened the clinic on February 24, 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. The first six months were very difficult because I was unable to do any face-to-face marketing with doctor’s offices. The business grew in those early stages from word of mouth. It was only me, so patients felt comfortable with it being such a private setting with just them and I alone.
Rob: Wow, that must have been a hard few months, and I think that is a testament to the quality of care you provide – considering all of your business came from word of mouth alone and you made it through. So, what finally happened to make you feel like you could exhale knowing you were making it? How long did that take you?
Matt: It took me about three years to really develop stronger relationships with referring doctors, and I began to feel more stable once I was able to hire more therapists. Then, I began to know that we were on stable footing. Now I have two other PTs working full time. Recently, we expanded our space to accommodate our growth and success.
Rob: That is amazing that all happened through a pandemic! A www.APTA.org article noted that during your first quarter in business back in 2020, 72% of interviewed private practice clinics in the US had a 51-100% drop in revenue. Considering how hard it is to get through your first year in business, you must be doing something really special there.
Handling Insurance Reimbursement:
Due to Medicare reimbursement changes, profit margins are tight these days for Therapists even without Covid. Western New York is a notoriously poor reimbursement area. A lot of Therapists are trying out other payment models. To you, what are the benefits and challenges to working with insurance as your reimbursement model?
Matt: The main benefit is that everyone has health insurance. Most people spend a lot of money on their monthly premiums and paying towards their deductible. This way they can seek care of a physical therapist who accepts their plan. One challenge that comes with taking insurance is [insurers] are providing declining reimbursement rates. There can also be a lot of time and resources involved in fighting denials. Because of these limitations, and that we ensure quality care by providing one-on-one care; we are forced to be creative at lowering our overhead costs.
Quality Treatment Produces Great Reputation:
Rob: One-on-one care is such a one up, and nowadays you see that more and more. What sets you apart, and how do you get your patients to spread the word?
Matt: Our philosophy of patient care is to spend our time in the office working on things that can’t be done on their own. Patients are consumers, and we strive to show value in our visits. This personalized approach has turned into our greatest source of growth. Patients tell their friends, and their doctors how we do things differently. We spend little time/money on advertising and social media. I feel word of mouth marketing may be a slower process but will be longer lasting.
Rob: I can’t agree with you more, when patients tell me they reviewed their home exercises in a clinic, I cry inside. It’s interesting to go on social media and hear quite well-known clinic owners speak about how advertising and social media is the only way to go when it comes to growing a practice successfully. To me, when patients are truly satisfied with their care, word of mouth rather than advertising is what will truly help clinics sustain themselves and even grow.
My favorite question:
What is one piece of tech or equipment that your clinic can’t live without?
Matt: Our reminder call/text system. Patients get reminded of their visit the day before. They also have the ability to interact directly with the PTs via text. It’s another way we offer a direct personal touch. It’s a very convenient tool and helps with preventing cancellation/no shows.
Rob: That is a great resource to be able to connect with your practitioner outside of your appointments.
Matt, your story is inspirational for all of us out there who are dreaming of taking our shot at owning a clinic. You started off in mind-blowing hardship and persevered through it all. The common theme through all your success has been simply providing an excellent patient experience allowing that word to spread. Thank you for sharing your story.
Matt: You’re welcome. You are right, those days we were forced to find a way to survive and did that and more. I feel like if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything.
Check out Modern Physical Therapy located in Amherst, NY, a suburb of Buffalo NY.
Also, while you are here, feel free to check out another inspirational interview from a PT owner out of NYC using a concierge home visit model.