Management > Treatment

One of the most significant shifts I made when I transitioned from the insurance-based clinic to my cash-based clinic was moving away from “treating” my patients and moving towards “managing” them. So what’s the difference? Treatments are a commodity, and management is a process. 

Manual therapy, dry needling, exercise, blood flow restriction… by themselves, they lack substance, but when we add management context to them, they become powerful. When clients can conceptually go to most clinics and get these things, what separates you from the rest of the pack? Your process - specifically, your client management process. 

When I started my cash practice, I thought the cash model would solve all my problems… Low volume, perfect patients, and a motivated clientele… but then I started to run into issues. How would I effectively manage these clients in between sessions? What about clients who actually needed less exercise, not more? Did I need to see a skilled athlete for 1 hour in my physical facility when all they needed was guidance throughout the week?

The common theme here was these clients didn’t need treatment… they needed management. 

It was about 6 months into my cash-based journey that I decided to add a digital management option, and what happened next was astounding. My outcomes improved as I was able to program meaningful volume week over week. I started to get excellent return to sport feedback because my process ACTUALLY had work specifically to return them to their sport/activity. It was also nice that my revenue numbers nearly doubled, with my work hours only increasing by a quarter of the time needed had I simply taken on more clients… It was a dream come true. 

Want to know the other secret of client management? It unlocks the potential of manipulating more variables to put the puzzle together for the client. Imagine if you could closely track how specific days of work affected your client. Do they perform better when squats are on Mondays or Wednesdays? Do they need a rest day in a different spot of the week? Is the way their program is set up part of the nagging injury they are experiencing? So many options to consider, and difficult to capture in 1 data point of in-person care per week. 

By changing your mindset from “what treatment will I use” to “how can I manage,” you will unlock a different level of thinking and be able to see more clearly the path to the client outcome.