I’m super excited to share my recent interview with Dr. E, Erson Religioso III DPT, FAAOMPT of ModernManualTherapy.com. Erson is not only a cash based physical therapist, he educates therapists on how to be better clinicians and how to incorporate instrument assisted manual therapist in their practice. He is also a genius when it comes to utilizing technology to create low overhead solutions for a physical therapy cash practice. We had a great conversation, he definitely dropped some knowledge bombs. I felt like I could keep talking to him all day, but had to cut it off somewhere. There is so much more to talk about and Erson is a multifaceted physical therapist and entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!.
In this interview Erson talks about:
- How he got started as a physical therapist, in private practice and as an educator.
- The “Associates Model” of Private Practice
- Why he decided to transition into cash-based physical therapy.
- How his alternative source of income allowed him to transition to cash-based with minimal risk.
- His cash-based model and sub-leasing in a local gym.
- The importance of mentors in physical therapy and where to find one.
- Telehealth with patients and “teaching people how to fish.”
- How he uses Google Docs and G Suite as his EMR.
- Technology Erson uses to help his business.
- How getting patients better faster is good for business.
- Alternative models of practice.
- How patients find him using Google search
- His views on the Gray Cook’s FMS/SFMA vs Gary Gray’s approach.
- The low overhead approach to physical therapy private practice.
Free Giveaway:
Congratulations to Brenda P. for winning Erson’s Edge Mobility System giveaway!
Erson was very generous to offer a Free EDGE Ultimate Mobility/Stability Combo from EDGE Mobility System and 1 year subscription to the OMPT Channel to one of our live attendees. Thanks Dr. E.!
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Erson’s blog post on How To Use Google Apps as an EMR
Online Scheduling & intake forms via IntakeQ <- Click here for a 20%discount! on your 1st 3 months!
Hello Fax –> Actually I’m going to send you to Faxage because since recording this podcast we learned that Hello Fax will not sign a BAA and Faxage does.
Camscanner – what you can use to take pictures of documents and upload them as pdf files to your EMR.
Connect with Erson Online:
Modern Manual Therapy – The Eclectic Approach is designed to enhance your existing practice with easy to learn Clinical Practice Patterns and the Eval-Reset-Stabilize System.
Twitter @The_OMPT
Instagram @modernmanualtherapy
Click To Tweet “Thanks Erson for dropping #KnowlegeBombs on the #CashPTLunchHour”
More from my blog
Building a Mobile Physical Therapy Studio with J.T. Dulkerian
State of the PT Industry: Trends & Predictions in 2021
Successfully Scaling a Cash Practice to Multiple Locations with Ian Kornbluth
Be a YES! for Something Big in Your Life with Raef Granger
Physical Therapy Travel Job Secrets with Jess Jenney
12 Comments
Bob Schroedter
April 1, 2015Another app that may be helpful is Phydeo available for iPhone and Android that will help with sending those HEPs to patients using your camera for video. There is a free and premium version without ads.
Aaron LeBauer
April 1, 2015Bob,
Thanks for your comment and suggestion. This sounds like a great resource!
thanks
Helen Murphy PT
April 9, 2015Great interview. Thank you both for your insight, experience and motivation. I have a quick question from a newbie that has been slow in starting private cash based practice because of limited “business knowledge”. (but I’m getting there).
Can you do your billling, generate invoices, basic accounting through Google Apps or do you use something seperate like Quickbooks? I’m trying to figure out if I need both or can do with purchasing just one. Really appreciate any and all insight as I have always identified with this mindset and so greatful to find this knowledge out there.
Helen
Aaron LeBauer
April 9, 2015Helen,
Thanks for your comment. Congratulations on starting your practice! This is a great question. I use quickbooks to generate receipts/superbills and track my income and expenses, if I was starting from scratch or using Google docs like Erson, I would still use it. You can start with a $2 ledger from office depot and print the superbills and fill them out. You can also do it in google docs, however you would likely be limited to using the spreadsheet (1 column income, 1 column expenses) and print or email a superbill form to your patients.
Helen Murphy
April 13, 2015Thank you for the advice. Since it’s a new learning curve for me I like the idea of having as much help as possible with accounts payable, expenses, etc. so I will continue to look into using Quickbooks. Much like you, I need to force myself to try and be more computer savy in the future. One step at a time :>)
Aaron LeBauer
April 13, 2015You’re welcome Helen. Check back here for updates and let me know if there is anything I can do to support you!
David Middaugh
April 18, 2015I might be missing the link on the website, but is this up as a podcast? I tried searching iTunes and couldn’t find this interview.
Aaron LeBauer
April 18, 2015Hey David,
Thanks for your comment. No, this interview is not on iTunes as a podcast. It is on YouTube, so you could stream it from there on your phone or tablet. One of my next steps is to repurpose these into a podcast, I just need to carve out the time to do so. 😉
Catherine Rada
July 11, 2015Hello. My name is Catherine Rada. I am in the process of starting my own cash based PT practice at a local gym here in St. Augustine FL. First, I want to thank you both for all of your help with getting started. Even though we have never met all your info has been crucial in answering many of my questions throughout this process! I am just curious about the scanner app. My scanner on my printer is very slow and I have to load one doc at a time. The mobile app would be much more convenient to scan my new patient paperwork as well as imaging and any PHI. My question is, is it secure? I know pictures can be auto sent to the cloud etc. which could be a potential breech. If you have any ideas or answers On this particular topic I would greatly appreciate your feedback!
Aaron LeBauer
July 11, 2015Hey Catherine,
Thank you very much for your comment and compliments. I’m glad you’ve found help and the answers to your questions here.
This is a great question and one which I’m not sure I have your answer.
The 1st question is to ask if you are a HIPAA covered entity or not. If you are not a HIPAA covered entity then you just need to worry about security in a sense that you don’t get hacked. If you are a HIPAA covered entity then the apps or programs you use to send PHI for “covered transactions” should be willing to sign a BAA or business associates agreement.
In my practice I am not a HIPAA covered entity, so scanning and uploading would not be an issue. I believe in Erson’s case, he uses Google Apps for business which does sign a BAA and the uploading process is handled by Google Drive. ie: Camscanner takes the picture, just like your desktop scanner, and then it uploads it to Google Drive, which is HIPAA compliant when you sign a BAA and pay Google a few dollars a month for the business platform. In most programs you should be able to turn off the automatic upload of pictures and documents.
“Your” answer depends on the above, your interpretation of this information and even your consultation with a compliance expert and/or lawyer. I can’t give you legal advice, I’m not a compliance expert and that’s my best understanding of how this works.
I hope this helps.
Catherine Rada
July 19, 2015Thanks Aaron!
My attorney and I have been discussing the concept of whether or not I am a “covered entity” or not, and I believe the consensus is that I am not. Your response was very helpful and I do appreciate it!
Aaron LeBauer
July 20, 2015Catherine, You are certainly welcome. Thanks for your response and reporting back. Good luck with your practice. Let me know if you have any further questions.
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