What are we DOING???

[johan]

For a while know I been questioning if the physio profession is heading in the wrong direction.
We are so focussed on treating our clients and hardly have an eye for bussiness. Chiropractisioners are doing a pretty good job, they are well know within the general public, they all go there with there backpain!
We still treat at the local sportclub for a few dollars, We cannot get away from our patient for a phonecall.
At the end of the day we're to tyred to even think about having a chat (at eg physiobase).
I am just interested to hear what others think. Do you take a break during the day, how many, how long? Is it not time that we market ourselfs better?

Could not agree more! In the Aussie bulletin is a letter about ignorant physios.
Basically it states that they are still charging Working Compensation Insurance Companies the same flat fee ($37 ) that they were charging in 1992.This is a new Millennium! They have to sort themselves out! Is there a body that is taking care of such issues?

[ninamoller]

Dear Johan. You are so right. How come all the chiropractisioners have all the attention in media etc. They are able to sell themselves to the public and we physios are very much on the sideline, watching them taking our customers, doing not too much about it either.....
We do lose our buissiness as we are not very good in facing the public and offering them our services!!! As I have just finished my Masters in Manip. Therapy I have become much more focused on how to get ahead of our time not dragged along... If we want to stay in buissness we have to sell our buissness!

[boddiz]

I couln't agree more to what you are saying. I have a practice in Tronheim, Norway, and often feels the same way you are doing.

[barryg]

If it wasn't for sport, Physiotherapy would be off the public agenda totally. Look out if the Chiropractors or the sport physiologists, or the trainers etc. ever decide to move in, and they already are to some extent. We will be "has beens"

[yyilmaz]

Excellent thread. I'm surprised that not more physios are asking these same questions. There is nothing wrong with being good at what you do - treating your patients and helping them live fuller. But it is the business of the practice, that makes it possible for you to keep doing what you do.

Business requires a different thinking hat. It requires you to take time away from the "doing". There are countless books and resources on this. However in my experience, most physios are simply in denial of this fact.

It may be worthwhile to outsource these matters to people who do them well. Most often, good ideas and good services are pretty easy and inexpensive to come by. You don't need to suffer. Just look for someone who can tell you what you need to know in a language you can understand. There's nothing more frustrating than seeking help and then having no idea what the exciting answers are all about.

[Sole Man]

Oddly enough I think chiros get a lot of the press because there is a certain element of controversy about their methods. Personally for back problems I'd say chiros do a great job, but some of the extended theory can be somewhat, well, controversial.

[Dr Damien]

I am enjoying this thread...I think we have all made some valid points and probably physios should start questioning their productivity with regards financial growth...however, we are stuck with a few problems...

one is the ethical aspect of the profession, I remember when i trained there were issues surrounding how much publicity a physiotherapist can draw to himself/herself. I dont think much has changed in that department, but I may be wrong. Fo example, it is unethical for one professional to claim he is better than the other...especially in a hospital setting. However, these ethical standards may not be as stringent in a business world, so in a hospital while one physio may be more skilled than another, he only gets a flat rate pay for whatever level he is. Can he go about and blow his horn? NO, he accepts what he is given and continues with his job. This is why physios in the NHS for instance often get less job satisfaction, some feel burnt out, others just cant be bothered to do a good job...the ones who still feel committed and want to make a difference are frustrated- we call all these problems blueflags generally...lol

The second is a National Health service system. Like all things run by the government, there isnt much room for financial growth. There are flatrates for salaries generally.
As soon as Chiropractors are accepted in a national health service system, then perhaps some chiros will moan about how much financial growth is possible. We forget that chiros are just like any private buisness instution out there...they are private and are responsible for their own growth, so why shouldnt they do business?

There arent many opportunities for private physiotherapy practice except in perhaps musculoskeletal and sports, and most people (where the market is) are found linked to a NHS system cos its cheaper. business wise, we are more or less screwed. Scrap the national health sevice system and you would find a business boom in physiotherapy and other professions generally.

The reality is because of these organisational constraints, there is hardly any physiotherapy done in a National Health system anyway. How can you, when the system burdens you with endless policies, paperwork, gives you only thirty minutes off your seating time in a day for lunch. rather than interacting with patients where you can actually sell yourself, you spend the majority of your time crouched in an office writing endless documents. This is the reason why people take endless annual leave in the NHS. I am a contract staff member and boy, the physios in permanent staff are worn out...they are worn out not from physio work but from this endless routine of paperwork.

You do not get this burden when you are in private practice, you only do what you want to do...you can decide to close shop for a month if you feel you are that financially capable. Physiotherapists cannot market themselves if they work for the government.

cheers