How do you actually get better — as a clinician, a business owner, or a leader? It’s not more school, another certification, or reading one more article. It’s reps.
In this episode, I break down the single biggest piece of advice I give new clinicians (and anyone moving into leadership or entrepreneurship): your education is just your ticket to play — expertise comes from getting reps.
We’ll explore:
Why formal education is only the starting line, not the finish line
How repeated exposure to patient cases sharpens pattern recognition and clinical decision-making
What it really means to turn experience into wisdom through reflection
Why this “reps + reflection” framework applies equally to business and leadership — hiring, marketing, launching new services
Practical ways to accelerate growth in any career path without waiting years for confidence to catch up
Why This Matters
Confidence isn’t built in a classroom — it’s built in the field, one decision at a time.
Business & leadership skills develop the same way as clinical ones — through lived experience and iteration.
If you’re feeling “stuck” or unsure, the solution isn’t another credential — it’s getting in the game and stacking reps.
Listen to the Episode to Hear …
How to intentionally extract lessons from each patient, project, or business challenge
Personal stories from my early days as a clinician and later as an entrepreneur
Simple strategies to speed up growth without burning out — journaling, mentorship, and deliberate practice
Encouragement to stop waiting for perfection and just start doing the work
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-163
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
In this episode of the Better Outcomes Show, we take a look at a recent conversation on LinkedIn about the steep decline in occupational therapy (and physical therapy) school applications.
A post by Sarah Lyon raised an important question: Why are fewer students choosing OT, and what does that mean for the future of the profession?
In response, Rafi shared several factors that may be contributing to the decline — and in this episode, he unpacks those ideas in more detail.
What we cover in this episode:
- Why confusion about OT entry-level requirements (Master’s vs. OTD) is discouraging prospective applicants.
- How rising tuition and questionable ROI impact PT/OT’s attractiveness compared to other health professions.
- The role of corporate healthcare and private equity in fueling burnout — and how that shapes the profession’s reputation.
- Why other clinical degrees often carry higher compensation ceilings and broader leadership opportunities.
- What these trends mean for the future — and why this might actually be a unique opportunity for new students entering PT/OT now.
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Finding the Thread – Humanizing Healthcare Across a Career
Have you ever looked back on your career and tried to connect the dots?
For a long time, I thought my resume looked like a series of “rabbit holes” in healthcare—clinical care, academia, management consulting, strategy work, practice ownership. At the time, each move felt like simply saying “yes” to an opportunity.
But a recent conversation with a prospective client made me pause. They said, “I can see a common thread running through everything you’ve done.”
That led me to reflect on the last 13 years of my career… and I realized they were right.
The thread? Humanizing the healthcare experience.
In this episode, I share the story of discovering that throughline, what it means for me today, and why humanizing healthcare isn’t just a personal mission—it’s a necessity for our industry.
What We Cover in This Episode:
- The winding path of my career: from clinician to consultant to practice owner.
- How a client conversation sparked the realization of a unifying theme.
- Why “healthcare is a human experience” became more than a phrase—it became my mission.
- The risks of reducing patients to checklists, protocols, and data points.
- How technology and operations should be used: to create space for real human connection.
- A framework you can use to find your own “common thread.”
Why It Matters
Healthcare often gets lost in efficiency metrics, compliance checkboxes, and bottom lines. But patients—and clinicians—need meaning, connection, and human presence. By stepping back and asking what ties our careers and choices together, we can refocus on what really drives us and the work we do.
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-160
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Healthcare Disrupted: Why the Next Big Innovation Won’t Come From Healthcare
In this episode of the Better Outcomes Show, we dive into a bold prediction about the future of healthcare: The next wave of real innovation — the kind that transforms how we deliver care, engage patients, and improve outcomes — won’t come from within the healthcare industry.
Instead, it will come from outside.
Tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Walmart, and others are entering the healthcare space not to play by the traditional rules, but to rewrite them. They’re not dependent on fee-for-service reimbursement or burdened by legacy EMR infrastructure. They’re consumer-first, data-driven, and laser-focused on convenience and outcomes — not billing codes.
So, what does this mean for providers, practice owners, and healthcare leaders?
It means the time to adapt is now.
What we cover in this episode:
-Why the healthcare industry is structurally incapable of disrupting itself
-How tech giants are positioned to lead the next wave of care innovation
-The business models these companies are using — and how they differ from traditional healthcare
-What small-to-mid-sized providers can do to stay relevant and competitive
-How to rethink your value proposition outside of third-party payer systems
-Where the opportunities lie for independent clinics to innovate at the edges
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-160
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Can you use Free Healthcare to build a profitable business?
What if you gave away your clinical services… for free? Not as charity. Not as a one-time promo. But as an actual business model. I recently revisited Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. I read it in 2013 and recently picked it back up — and it got me thinking: How could we apply this to healthcare? The cost of delivering digital care (videos, plans, consults) is rapidly approaching (nearly) zero.
That opens the door to radically different care delivery models — ones that lower access barriers and still generate real revenue. So, in this episode, I dive into ways that clinicians could build a profitable business offering free healthcare services.
In a world where trust, access, and attention are more valuable than ever. Offering “free” services could be a strategic move — not a loss. For clinicians willing to rethink their model, there’s real opportunity here. Curious — if you had to give away your clinical services for free,
what would you monetize instead? Shoot me an email if you've got some ideas!
What we cover in this Episode:
-How a Freemium model could work in delivering healthcare services
-The idea of a Cross-Subsidy model for private practice healthcare services
-Membership models, like Direct Primary Care
-Sponsorships or Ad-based Healthcare services
-Data Exchange & Research Recruitment Models
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-159
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Real Healthcare Innovators Read Outside of Healthcare
I covered this topic in a LinkedIn article recently, but thought the idea of reading outside of healthcare warranted its own podcast episode. Here's the main idea: if you want to be truly innovative in healthcare, you need to read outside of healthcare. Being well-informed in your field is just the baseline. Everyone should be doing that. What often sets leaders and innovators apart stems from their ability to take insights and ideas from outside their field and apply it to their industry.
You’d be surprised at how often ideas from seemingly unrelated fields can unlock new ways of thinking about your own work. A story about survival in the Alaskan wilderness might teach you more about resilience and process management than the latest leadership manual. A deep dive into the history of jazz might shift your perspective on improvisation and problem-solving in ways that no business podcast could.
The more I read outside the typical business playbooks, the more I’m convinced: if you want to stand out in your field, you sometimes have to look beyond it.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Why reading outside of your industry provides unique insights that can be applied to healthcare
-How reading broadly can help you communicate, lead and innovate in healthcare
-The reason that innovation to the industry will come from outside of healthcare
-A few of the recent books I've read and the insights I pulled from them that applied to healthcare
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-158
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Healthcare Data Silos Cause Problems Throughout the Healthcare System
If you talk to any healthcare provider, and most patients, about healthcare data sharing, you quickly discover that one of the biggest problems patients and providers face is healthcare data silos. What do I mean by that? Imagine you see your primary care physician. Your PCP determines that you need an evaluation by a specialist. They put in a referral. You go see the specialist like an orthopedic surgeon, and that provider determines you should try a conservative treatment by another sub-specialist, like a physical therapist. Fast forward 2 months, and you follow up with your PCP. The PCP asks you how things have been going, and you say you don't feel any improvement. So, your PCP tells you that they believe you would benefit from a physical therapy course of treatment.
Now you're annoyed. "How did you not know that I've just finished up 8 weeks of PT treatment?" you might be thinking. Here's the problem: your PCP put in the referral for the original specialist, but then had no idea about the PT. Maybe they received some kind of follow-up communication of note from the orthopedic surgeon. But your PCP has no insight into the rest of the course of care.
This is the problem caused by healthcare data silos. So, this week, I sit down with Rick Mirell from Arrow Health to talk about the challenge with healthcare data silos and some new technology-driven tools that aim to solve this problem for the industry.
What we cover in this Episode:
-The importance of open flow of data in healthcare
-The breakdown in communication and data between healthcare systems and providers
-How data can improve clinical outcomes
-The patient experience when healthcare data isn't shared well
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-157
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Rethinking State Licensure in Healthcare for the 21st Century
State-based licensure for healthcare professionals has been the status quo for over a century. But in an era defined by digital health and telemedicine, is this 19th-century solution still fit for purpose? In this episode, I explore the historical context of state licensure, the modern-day challenges it poses to telehealth, and practical solutions for breaking down regulatory barriers. Drawing insights from my experience as a state licensing board member and recent academic research, we dissect the structural flaws that limit patient access, drive up costs, and stifle innovation in healthcare. Here's the original post on state licensure in healthcare that fueled this episode.
What we cover in this Episode:
-The origins of State-Based Licensure
-How Technology has Changed the Healthcare Regulatory Landscape
-The Real-World Impact of State Licensing in healthcare & the Barriers it places to providing/receiving care
-Possible solutions or alternatives for State-based healthcare licensing
-How value-based care and regulatory policy are intertwined
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-156
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
This episode of The Better Outcomes Show explores how artificial intelligence (AI) transforms healthcare delivery and decision-making. Drawing from a structured review of 288 peer-reviewed articles published between 1992 and 2021, we break down key themes, trends, and implications for clinicians, health systems, and patients. From diagnostics to health services management, we’ll look at where AI is already making an impact—and where the field still needs to grow.
What we cover in this episode:
-The rapid growth of AI in healthcare research and its emerging significance.
-Five core applications of AI in healthcare: health services management, predictive medicine, patient data handling, diagnostics, and clinical decision-making.
-How AI supports clinicians by improving diagnostic accuracy, predicting disease spread, customizing treatments, and streamlining administrative tasks.
-The leading countries in AI healthcare research and the current state of international collaboration.
-Key trends in AI research, including machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, telemedicine, and COVID-19-related applications.
-Identified gaps in research, such as the need for cost-benefit analyses and considerations for low-resource settings.
-The importance of ethical considerations, data quality, and workforce skill development in AI implementation.
-The necessity of balancing AI support with preserving physicians’ critical thinking to avoid over-reliance or “de-skilling.”
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-155
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
Resources mentioned:
The role of artificial intelligence in healthcare: a structured literature review (https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12911-021-01488-9)
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Have You Ever Thought About Buying Cheap Lottery Tickets?
I've bought a lot of cheap lottery tickets over the years. Not the kind you scratch off to see if you hit it big. I'm talking about the little bets, risks, or asks I've made over the years. They cost very little but can have a huge upside. In this episode, I’m sharing a lesson that’s shaped a lot of the opportunities I’ve had in my career — the idea of making small bets and being willing to hear the word “no.”
My dad used to say, “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you do ask, the worst they can say is ‘no,’ and then you’re right back where you started.” For whatever reason, that stuck with me. Over the years, I’ve taken what I call “cheap lottery tickets” — small risks or asks that didn’t cost much but had the potential for a huge upside. That mindset has opened doors for me in consulting, in buying a practice, and in landing projects, I never thought I’d be part of. And sure, I’ve heard “no” plenty of times — stacked up a mountain of kind rejections, really — but it only takes one or two “yeses” to change everything.
We often think someone was just lucky to get a certain opportunity, but we don’t see the 100 rejections that came before it. I think what we call “luck” is often just someone’s willingness to keep putting themselves out there.
What we cover in this Episode:
-How small risks potentially create big opportunities
-Why hearing "no" isn't the end of the world (or the end of the road)
-Understanding risk tolerance in healthcare business
-Why persistence often looks like luck from the outside
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-154
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Many Practices & Clinics Struggle to Use Healthcare Data in Practice
I did an episode in the past on healthcare data, however, that episode focused on the high-level impacts of data on healthcare business in general. After that episode, I received messages and emails asking specifically how to Use Healthcare Data in Practice, especially for smaller, independent healthcare clinics and organizations. So, this week, I sit down with Alex Bendersky to talk about healthcare informatics, managing your healthcare data, and how to Use Healthcare Data in Practice to make better decisions.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Understanding the type of data healthcare practices gather
-Simple and practical ways to Use Healthcare Data in Practice to make clinical decisions
-Strategically thinking about healthcare data
-The benefits that data provide us as clinicians
-The business case for managing and using healthcare data
-How to use healthcare data to communicate the value our treatments and services bring
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-153
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Why do PTs feel like they're being forced to see patients at a loss?
Recently, I've seen a few articles and social media posts in the physical therapy world discussing the downward pricing pressure (declining reimbursement rates) even while some payers (UHC often is the target here) report profits in the billions of dollars per quarter. And, at first sight, you can totally appreciate where these clinicians and writers are coming from. I mean, why cut payments to providers when your organization is raking in record profits? As many clinicians and practice owners put it: they feel forced to see these patients at a loss because of the declining reimbursement rates.
Now, the reason for declining rates may vary on paper, but it really comes down to two things: 1) incentives and 2) the reimbursement model for healthcare in the US. And both of those things are tied together. I dedicated a whole chapter in my book about the problems with a fee-for-service model in healthcare, but here are the basics: when clinicians get paid for their time (or the codes they bill), they're incentivized to bill as much as possible, in as little time as possible. Payers, on the other hand, only have two levers to pull to cut costs: 1) deny services altogether (or gait them with authorizations and the like) or 2) pay less for those services. That means that it's only natural that, under that environment, payers will place barriers to the service (preauthorizations, etc.) and reduce their fee schedule (the amount they pay clinicians for those services). And that's why PTs feel the squeeze, or the downward pricing pressure, affecting their practices.
But here's one thing that we rarely talk about when it comes to insurance and reimbursement rates: who's forcing us to see these patients at a loss? I mean, UHC isn't storming clinics and coercing them into signing provider contracts. The truth is that contracting is a choice, a choice that many clinics and practices are making. In this episode, I break down the reasons why practices may consider contracting with a payer. The pros and cons of being "in-network" providers. And how to combat some of the downward pricing pressure in healthcare.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Understanding fee for service reimbursement models
-Why patients still get surprise bills because of the lack of transparency
-How clinicians come to the decision to sign contracts with payers
-The levers that payers have to control costs and profits
-Why value-based care can be difficult for smaller, independent practices
-How value-based care aligns with incentives
-Making the decision to stay in or leave a payer network
-Why we need to think more deeply about the value our treatments and services bring
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-152
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Are there times when saying goodbye to team members is the right thing to do?
"I would be a bad boss if I told you to stay here. As much as we love having you on the team, you need to do what's best for you and your family." Over the last few months, I've found myself saying this a couple of different times to team members who were in a place where they felt that a change was necessary. Saying goodbye to team members can be hard. Either for personal reasons or professional reasons.
It's easy to become defensive, or take it personally when a team member approaches you about potentially leaving the team.
Was it something I did as a leader?
What am I doing wrong that they don't want to stay?
Of course, you can explore those questions if you're experiencing a great deal of turnover. But, typically, if it's you, those team members will just leave. There's no discussion; simply a notification: "This is officially my resignation notice". But, if you find yourself in a situation where a team member approaches you about potentially leaving, and you end up in a conversation about priorities, life goals, and continued fit, then I'd venture to say that you're doing just fine as a leader.
I remember approaching a boss several years ago and the conversation basically went like this: "I've been offered this position in an academic program, full benefits, retirement, the works. The problem is, I really love the team here and the work we're doing is meaningful." I'll never forget what my boss said to me: "Rafi, I'm not saying this because I want you gone, but you'd be foolish not to seriously consider the offer." We then had a real discussion about my life priorities, career goals, and how this team fit into that list. Now, I went on to stay with that team until our consulting project was over, but the lesson from that conversation has stuck with me since then. I'm still learning this and working on it myself, but I have come to believe that being a "good leader" is essentially the same as "being a good person". And that starts with looking out for the best interest of those on your team...even if that means that they end up leaving the team for other opportunities or roles. Not every boss I've ever had would have had that conversation with me. But, I'm forever grateful that I've been blessed to have learned from some great leaders over my career who modeled this style of people-first leadership...
I read in a book once that your clients won't remember you in 20 years, but the people who will remember you are the people you worked with, and especially the people you managed or led. If you want to have a real impact in your industry, perhaps a way to do that is by being a good leader to your team, and letting them spread their wings and hopefully they'll create positive waves wherever they end up.
What we cover in this Episode:
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-151
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Do people really understand their healthcare bill?
I talk about this all the time on the show, but healthcare is one of the only areas of the economy where the distribution of information is extremely one-sided. What do I mean? I mean that, for the most part, patients receiving care may have a general idea about how much their care will cost, but very few actually have a specific dollar figure upon which to base their decisions. On top of that, unless they are healthcare-trained professionals, they also lack a complete understanding of the treatment options, potential outcomes, and the like. The same holds true for their healthcare bill.
For the most part, people have a general idea of what they need to pay for healthcare services. The problems start to appear when insurance denies claims or treatments require preauthorizations or the like. The resulting bill often comes as a surprise, and can in many cases be rather large. In fact, surprise medical bills have become such a large issue, that the No Surprises Act of 2022 was enacted to try and counter the trend.
This week, I sit down with Frank Lobb, author of The Big Lie in my Healthcare Bill: Why I Don't Owe What My Insurer Fails to Pay". In this book, Frank tackles the topic of insurance denials leading to surprise medical bills.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Who actually pays in healthcare
-How healthcare bills result in true financial burden for patients across the country
-How Insurers structure contracts with providers
-The challenges that come from big healthcare & the push for efficiency
-The Value that Insurers State that they Bring to the Market
-Frank's story of Insurance Denials and Being Unable to Pay out of Pocket for Treatment
-How an Engineer Came to Write a Book About Healthcare Bills
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-150
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
How do you set up an RTM Program that's actually profitable in an outpatient clinic?
Well, it's been 3 years since remote therapeutic monitoring, or RTM codes, were introduced by CMS to allow clinicians to monitor patients outside of the clinic. Many clinics rushed to implement RTM Programs in the months following these new codes going live. And many clinics stopped delivering RTM services almost as quickly as they started. But why?
The main reason many of these RTM Programs failed stems from the fact that many were thrown together as "add-ons" to treatment rather than a legitimate program. As a result, clinicians tasked with implementing RTM lacked processes and an understanding of the reasoning behind implementing RTM in the first place. Even now, when I talk with RTM platforms and practice owners, I hear the same thing: Initial sign-ups and patient enrollment were high, then trickled off, and are now almost nonexistent.
So, this week, I sit down with a previous guest, Matt Juke, CPT, to talk about how to set up and implement an RTM program that is not only sustainable, but profitable for the clinic and a value add for patients.
What we cover in this Episode:
-The benefits of RTM Programs in outpatient therapy clinics
-Challenges of implementing & billing for RTM Programs
-The importance of understanding workflows for RTM
-How to select a platform for RTM
-Communicating the value of RTM to all stakeholders
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-149
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Can AI Healthcare Phone Services Increase Patient Access & Improve Engagement?
You know what frustrates many patients (including yours truly)? Phone trees. "Press one to select scheduling" (Presses 1) "By pressing 1 you have indicated that you would like to connect to scheduling. Is this correct? Press 1 to confirm or 2 to cancel". It drives many patients to hand up the phone, drop off the schedule, or go find another healthcare provider. But what if there was a way that automated phone messages could increase access, patient engagement, and experience? Enter an AI Healthcare Phone Service.
If implemented well, AI has the ability to greatly increase practice efficiency and allow clinicians to actually spend more time delivering care. The same holds true for the administrative process of care. Healthcare workers, including office managers and patient access personnel who manage scheduling, struggle with the overwhelm of more phone calls and requests than they can manage. And, despite the fact that many healthcare providers offer an online patient portal, only around 30% of patients actually use those portals. Patients still want to talk on the phone with their providers. So, this week, I speak with Ada Andruszkiewicz from Talking.ai about how implementing AI into processor care can actually increase patient access and improve human connection in healthcare.
What we cover in this Episode:
-The winding road from tech development to the healthcare SaaS market
-Burnout in Healthcare
-Understanding Value in Healthcare Technology
-Challenges in running independent healthcare practices
-How implementing technology can actually increase human connection in -healthcare
-Thoughtful implementation of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare
-Deploying an AI Healthcare Phone Service in a practice
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-148
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
Is Value-Based Care Too Much for Independent Healthcare Practices?
I've talked about the consolidation in the healthcare market before. I recently sat down with the folks at StrataPT to talk about PE firms buying up healthcare practices and how small, independent healthcare practices are beginning to feel the pressure. But one thing I haven't discussed on the show is what exactly has caused the consolidation in healthcare (big players buying up little players). Over the years, many independent healthcare practices have been purchased by either private equity firms or health systems/hospitals. But why?
Part of the drive for this consolidation stems from economies of scale. Big healthcare systems and hospitals leverage their size to combat rising overhead costs, declining reimbursement, and even compliance and the ability to participate in alternative payment models. That last one is an interesting take that I hadn't considered before. But, over the holidays I read an article entitled Value-Based Payment and Vanishing Small Independent Practices. In this article, the authors argue that one driving factor for the consolidation in the healthcare market stems from the fact that value-based payment models require a lot of administrative work & data management that independent healthcare practices struggle to manage. So, this week, I take a dive into this idea and discuss some ways that independent healthcare practices can maintain viability in the world of big healthcare.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Understanding how Big Healthcare benefits from value-based payment models
-How economies of scale help improve data exchange and combat decreasing reimbursement in healthcare
-Understanding Value in Healthcare
-Challenges in running independent healthcare practices
-Independent Healthcare practice as a business
-Some strategies that independent healthcare practices can employ to remain competitive
-How to create an effective healthcare positioning strategy to thrive in the current healthcare landscape
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-147
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
What is Healthcare Positioning?
When I talk to clients about Healthcare Positioning, the first question to address is “What is positioning?” And that’s a fair question. I usually tell people that positioning involves communicating the value you/your company creates for your customers/clients in a way that differentiates you from competitors and builds perceived credibility & authority to your ideal target market. This week on the podcast, I take a deep dive into the idea of healthcare positioning strategy. I discuss how to develop an effective positioning, some challenges and pitfalls that many of my clients have fallen victim to, and some thoughts around the nuances of positioning in healthcare vs. other industries.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Define healthcare positioning strategy
-Marketing strategies that work in healthcare
-Communicating Value in Healthcare
-The goals of healthcare positioning
-Identifying your target market in healthcare
-Using healthcare positioning to make strategic business decisions
-How to create an effective healthcare positioning strategy
Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-146
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
A year in review: Healthcare in 2024
It seems like only yesterday that I was planning for 2024. Scheduling out projects for the year, booking speaking engagements, and lining up interviews for the podcast were in full swing. Then, in the blink of an eye, we arrive at the end of 2024. And what a year it has been. From cyberattacks to breaking healthcare innovations, 2024 has had its share of big news stories. So, this week, I take the time to do a "2024 Year in Review: Healthcare".
What we cover in this Episode:
-The Change Healthcare Cyberattack and it's downstream effects
-The Expansion of & Breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
-Hospital and Healthcare Closures and Financial Troubles
-Remote Patient Monitoring and Telehealth & Virtual Healthcare
-Anti-Trust issues and litigation in Healthcare Tech
-Health Equity comes to the forefront of healthcare policy discussions
-Integration & Interoperability in Healthcare Tech
-Leadership in healthcare amidst tragedy and turmoil
-Healthcare policy shifts and the future political landscape for healthcare in the US
Full show notes: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-145
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!
How do we begin implementing technology-enabled healthcare services?
We cover this topic a lot on the show, but technology-enabled healthcare continues to receive a lot of attention. Much of the conversation and media around technology and healthcare innovation revolves around the innovation itself. We hear about the benefits, features, and capabilities of these new solutions and innovations. But, one often overlooked topic in healthcare innovation includes practical implementation. How do you actually take these new innovations and tools and use them to meaningfully improve healthcare? How do we make sure that a new software, device, or platform ends up actually making healthcare better, rather than just a neat marketing ploy?
So, this week, I dive into the research around technology-enabled healthcare. Parts of this podcast come from a few different presentations I've recently given on this topic covering digital health, implementing virtual healthcare services, and using data in healthcare decision-making.
What we cover in this Episode:
-Define digital health & virtual service delivery
-Applying digital health tools in clinical practice
-Research around digital health and its effectiveness
-Remote Patient Monitoring and Telehealth
-Will artificial intelligence replace clinicians?
-How technology enabled healthcare solutions will alter reimbursement and revenue models
-Achieving Better Outcomes by implementing technology in healthcare
Full show notes: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-144
Learn More: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com
Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com
If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!