Every year during holiday season, I take the time to reconnect with one of my favorite PT’s, Jake (not his real name). Jake is an experienced, board certified PT who is tremendous in every way but one-he is the epitome of a “worry wart”. In fact, I affectionately refer to him as the “black cloud of #physicaltherapy” and I am confident you know the type.
In a typical conversation, Jake will tell me several things along these lines:
-Our national association is hurtingour profession through their incessant rules and lack of progress on reimbursement
-Payors are wrecking our profession through reimbursement cuts
-Medicare is ruining our profession because of too many rules, documentation requirements, and time spent fulfilling their excessive requirements
-MisAligned Networks, MedRipusoff, and other third party middlemen are killing our ability to see worker’s compensation patients
-POPTS is rendering us irrelevant
-How President (whoever is in office) will eliminate physical therapy from government insurance
On my annual holiday catch up call, I prepare myself for this inevitable conversation and barrage of complaints and grousing. But what to my wondering ears do I hear? Absolutely nothing but optimism about #physicaltherapy, how we are the best profession to bend the cost curve in musculoskeletal medicine, how our industry will dominate in 2017. After catching my breath, I asked Jake about his worrying, “What happened?”. Jake goes onto tell me he has hired a coach that has been tasked to do all his worrying for him. Jake claims worrying is out of his life forever, he has entered a new day.
I compliment Jake but have to ask him, “How much do you have to pay a coach like that to do all your worrying?”. Jake tells me $10,0000 per month. I ask Jake, “As a PT, how can you afford that?” Jake tells me, “That’s his problem, not mine!”
Happy Holidays to all of our #physicaltherapy friends, readers, and podcast listeners.
Here’s to a worry free, hassle free, holiday and a joyous New Year!
@physicaltherapy
