After leaving a career in finance where he was “pretty miserable,” Mike Braitsch decided to start anew and pursue his passion for physical therapy. During his education at UT Southwestern, he combined his knowledge in PT and a background in martial arts to put together a pilot program to test the benefits of boxing and martial arts training for Parkinson’s patients. The program did so well that he decided to open his own practice after completing school. 

Three years later, Mike’s practice is open and now offers 18 different group classes for people with Parkinson’s and other forms of Parkinsonism. His structured, group approach is augmented with one-on-one therapy to keep patients engaged and active long term, resulting in a thriving practice (with another PT employee) in just 3 years. 

More specifically, we discuss these cash-based practice topics:

• Boxing and martial arts training as an effective treatment for patients with Parkinson’s and Parkinsonism.
• Why offering group classes for Parkinson’s patients serves as a powerful lead magnet for his cash-based practice that also generates referrals for other conditions.
• How combining group and individual elements in a physical therapy treatment plan helps keep patients engaged long term, feeling a part of a community, which creates stable revenue for the practice over time.
• How he utilized interns to enable his new practice to grow in its early stages without breaking the budget.
• How long it took Mike to feel comfortable that his new practice was financially stable and sure to succeed.
• The logistics and structure of hiring his first employee in a way that worked for both sides, and how that resulted in more referrals for physical therapy.
• How to structure an employment offer that is highly appealing to the right candidate.
• What operating procedures and systems you should have in place for documentation and onboarding staff to keep your practice running smoothly when key employees move on.
• Opportunities for reimbursement among the Medicare patient population and why Mike limits Medicare involvement to individual therapy only.
• How he leveraged community interest to secure FREE space for group classes when starting his private-pay practice. 
• How to structure group classes to balance efficiency and economics with patient engagement and enjoyment.
• How he keeps his cash-pay services affordable for patients while still maintaining a profitable business.
• How he used a pay-as-you-go approach for a short time to get an easy “yes” from prospective patients.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tribe Wellness Website
• Tribe Wellness Facebook page
• Dallas Area Parkinsonism Society
• http://www.fox4news.com/good-day/therapist-leads-boxing-study-for-parkinson-s-patients 
• https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/video/boxing-parkinsons.html

Interested in the cash-based private practice model? 

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