RE: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme: StopPOPTS.org

[Guest guest]

, Thanks for bring this forward, I was unaware CA was fighting a new

battle at tis time. Greed continues to rear its ugly MD head.

In a message dated 2/26/2011 6:38:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

pkovacek@... writes:

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

_PKovacek@..._ (mailto:PKovacek@...)

Cell

Personal Fax (313) 286-0913

www.PTManager.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

The trend of POPTS proliferation is moving into disturbing trends. Recently,

in Ft. Myers Florida a second large Internal Medicine Group has added a

" Physical Therapy " department. This is disturbing to me because it is more

than just the " Rock Doc " who is a crook in Miami stealing Medicare dollars.

This is organized prostitution of our profession! I can understand that

Orthopedists, Neurologists, Pain doctors, Neurosurgeons, and Physiatrists

all can feel " entitled " because of how often they refer for our services.

Not to mention the Podiatrist's who use the girl at the front deck to do

" therapy " or the chiropractors who offer " therapy " but that is altogether

another rant!

We have an obvious inability to police our own profession as many in our

profession will not care until it hits them in the wallet. They enjoy the

shortage side of supply and demand. I agree that we need to be vocal with

our legislators about the economic dangers of referral for profit but

honestly feel that is a tough battle against the AMA when the entire

spectrum of providers seek to profit from our labors. We have to stop

running to the next physician source with " script pads " and lunch for the

office as this has encouraged interest in " cashing in " on what they believe

is easy money for them. What do we think this is going to do to our

utilization number! At a time when our government is pressured to make cuts

to Medicare spending, our utilization numbers are going to skyrocket leading

to further cuts in our reimbursement.

I am all for the removal of PT from STARK exceptions but we are taking on

the entire AMA. We need to be bolder. We need to remove physicians from our

profession. It starts with using our limited direct access and ends with

removing to physician signature line from our " PT " Plan of Care...

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

PKovacek@...

Cell (313) 492-4293

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

Right on! This is critical to the future of our profession.

We need to ensure that we and our colleagues are no longer positioned for

exploitation, regardless of the pay.

No one will be shocked that I also believe this to be intimately related to

removing the concept of " prescription " or " orders " from public (or Medicare)

thought, practice, and perception if not memory. Further, we need to ensure

that insurors pay for PT services just as they do for... the other doctors'

services.

Dr. Dick Hillyer, PT,DPT,MBA,MSM

Hillyer Consulting

_____

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of PATowne@...

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 1:36 AM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

, Thanks for bring this forward, I was unaware CA was fighting a new

battle at tis time. Greed continues to rear its ugly MD head.

In a message dated 2/26/2011 6:38:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

pkovacek@... <mailto:pkovacek%40ptmanager.com> writes:

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

_PKovacek@... <mailto:_PKovacek%40PTManager.com> _

(mailto:PKovacek@... <mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com> )

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

Physicians simply view POPTS as another income opportunity in a free market. We

may not like it, but, since it's not specifically prohibited, physicians are

going to continue to capitalize on this opportunity to make some extra cash.

Realistically, what are the chances that POPTS will be specifically prohibited?

Jon Mark Pleasant, PT

Methodist Medical Center

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

>

> There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

>

> Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

>

> Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

>

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

> #end

> PKovacek@...

> Cell (313) 492-4293

> Personal Fax

> www.PTManager.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Group:

In my opinion, “realistically†means whatever our critical mass decides it

is going to be.

No one will fight our battles for us, and it seems a large percentage of our

“constituents†(PTs included), believe it is ok to be OWNED by physicians.

Had the dentists thought like that, they would still be part of medicine.

Physical Therapy is not medicine; It is not even “part†of medicine (unless

you still live in the 19th century), but ever since it has been existed in this

country, it has been a commodity to be bought and sold and exploited.

Until physical therapists see themselves as EQUAL in health care, the

“slave/master†relationship will continue.

It will take a true revolution to free us up.

If we don’t hurry it up, it may end up too late.

The uphill part its not just the AMA, but within our own ranks.

Respectfully';

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: jonmarkpleasant

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 7:45 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Physicians simply view POPTS as another income opportunity in a free market. We

may not like it, but, since it's not specifically prohibited, physicians are

going to continue to capitalize on this opportunity to make some extra cash.

Realistically, what are the chances that POPTS will be specifically prohibited?

Jon Mark Pleasant, PT

Methodist Medical Center

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

>

> There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

>

> Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

>

> Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

>

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

> #end

> PKovacek@...

> Cell

> Personal Fax

> www.PTManager.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Interesting, Armin -

Once, a local new grad I'd interviewed for a $48K hospital OP job declined

it in favor of a $70K job with a POPTS.

That reminded me of a Ben lin quote:

" They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. "

We are now 50% of the way to 2020. We need to train up our young therapists

to grasp why we must -- must -- stand on our own two feet as a profession.

The $70K or $90K or whatever job is a disaster to the soul of physical

therapy if it does not fit with Vision 2020, the new Code of Ethics

(Principle #3) or our emergence as a doctoring profession.

Six months later, one of our DPTs gently helped the new grad to return to

our organization.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dick Hillyer, PT,DPT,MBA,MSM

_____

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Armin Loges

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 9:37 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback

Scheme: StopPOPTS.org

Group:

In my opinion, " realistically " means whatever our critical mass decides it

is going to be.

No one will fight our battles for us, and it seems a large percentage of our

" constituents " (PTs included), believe it is ok to be OWNED by physicians.

Had the dentists thought like that, they would still be part of medicine.

Physical Therapy is not medicine; It is not even " part " of medicine (unless

you still live in the 19th century), but ever since it has been existed in

this country, it has been a commodity to be bought and sold and exploited.

Until physical therapists see themselves as EQUAL in health care, the

" slave/master " relationship will continue.

It will take a true revolution to free us up.

If we don't hurry it up, it may end up too late.

The uphill part its not just the AMA, but within our own ranks.

Respectfully';

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: jonmarkpleasant

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 7:45 PM

To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com>

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Physicians simply view POPTS as another income opportunity in a free market.

We may not like it, but, since it's not specifically prohibited, physicians

are going to continue to capitalize on this opportunity to make some extra

cash.

Realistically, what are the chances that POPTS will be specifically

prohibited?

Jon Mark Pleasant, PT

Methodist Medical Center

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

>

> There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

>

> Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

>

> Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

>

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

> #end

> PKovacek@...

> Cell

> Personal Fax

> www.PTManager.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Amen!

I can not agree more with Armin. Every time I get a phone call from a licensed

physical therapist from somewhere in the country asking my opinion about whether

a referring physician in the office suite my PT owned practice is located would

approve of a certain modality or technique, I realize that autonomy is a far cry

in certain sections of our profession. As a side note, my practice is located in

a suite with several medical practices, such as neurosurgery, pain management,

vestibular otolaryngology, and orthopedic oncology. Most of us are very

specialized and we see patients from all over the US and abroad.

I have talked to physical therapists who share with me that they are not at all

familiar with some of the diagnoses that have been confirmed in our patients,

such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Chiari Malformation, tethered cord syndrome,

etc. While that is understandable, I find it very troublesome that many of these

therapists apparently have no idea how to get information about these diagnoses.

At one point, I could not restrain myself and asked whether the therapist lived

in a town with electricity....... So much for autonomy!

To be an autonomous practitioner, one needs to believe that autonomy is

deserved. There are still many PTs who do feel inferior to medical doctors and

feed right into being viewed as a commodity. In my community of Bethesda, MD

about 98% of orthopedic surgeons have their own PT departments. We never get any

referrals from these orthopedic surgeons. Physical therapy is often listed as an

option along with (other) modalities. As long as physical therapists agree to

work for physicians who consider PT to be just another money-making modality,

autonomy is not realistic. A prominent pain management book with a chapter on

physical therapy written by a physical therapist consists of nothing more than a

list of modalities. So much for autonomy.

Armin is right. We need to start with being convinced that the PT profession

deserves autonomy. As long as PTs elect to work for physicians mostly to get

paid more, rather than fight for autonomy, this profession continues to be in

big trouble. I was offered nearly $300,000 to manage a physician-owned PT

department and my contract would include additional bonuses based on revenue

generated by each PT. Once we all agree to no longer work for physician-owned PT

practices because we believe in our right of autonomy, POPTS will disappear.

Why would physicians give up the potential to make a lot of money from their own

PT departments as long as PTs continue to be lured into seemingly lucrative

contracts? Let's not just blame the physicians, but let's indeed start within

our own ranks!

Thanks Armin!

Jan Dommerholt, PT, DPT, MPS, DAAPM

Bethesda Physiocare®, Inc.

7830 Old town Road, Suite C-15

Bethesda, MD 20814-2440

United States

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

dommerholt@...

www.bethesdaphysiocare.com

Myopain Seminars, LLC

+ (voice)

+ (fax)

www.myopainseminars.com

[Guest guest]

After watching events unfold in the Middle East and Wisconsion, my fellow

PTs, we are moving towards the " People's Power " attitude. We all have to

present ourselves in one voice and declare enough is enough. Being in

private practice for 23 years and watching every orthopod and other docs

doing the same of hiring PTs, it has become a disgusting trend. This has to

be stopped. In California we are taking the fight to another creative angle,

hopefully other states will do the same. In Calif, I am sure, some POPTs are

upset but hopefully they see the big picture and visualize freedom in the

true sense especially for the new DPT grads coming out with big student

loans etc.

Hiten Dave' PT

On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Mulvey <

chrismulvey@...> wrote:

>

>

> The trend of POPTS proliferation is moving into disturbing trends.

> Recently,

> in Ft. Myers Florida a second large Internal Medicine Group has added a

> " Physical Therapy " department. This is disturbing to me because it is more

> than just the " Rock Doc " who is a crook in Miami stealing Medicare dollars.

> This is organized prostitution of our profession! I can understand that

> Orthopedists, Neurologists, Pain doctors, Neurosurgeons, and Physiatrists

> all can feel " entitled " because of how often they refer for our services.

> Not to mention the Podiatrist's who use the girl at the front deck to do

> " therapy " or the chiropractors who offer " therapy " but that is altogether

> another rant!

> We have an obvious inability to police our own profession as many in our

> profession will not care until it hits them in the wallet. They enjoy the

> shortage side of supply and demand. I agree that we need to be vocal with

> our legislators about the economic dangers of referral for profit but

> honestly feel that is a tough battle against the AMA when the entire

> spectrum of providers seek to profit from our labors. We have to stop

> running to the next physician source with " script pads " and lunch for the

> office as this has encouraged interest in " cashing in " on what they believe

> is easy money for them. What do we think this is going to do to our

> utilization number! At a time when our government is pressured to make cuts

> to Medicare spending, our utilization numbers are going to skyrocket

> leading

> to further cuts in our reimbursement.

> I am all for the removal of PT from STARK exceptions but we are taking on

> the entire AMA. We need to be bolder. We need to remove physicians from our

> profession. It starts with using our limited direct access and ends with

> removing to physician signature line from our " PT " Plan of Care...

>

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

> StopPOPTS.org

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

>

> There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

>

> Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org <http://www.stoppopts.org/> today

>

> Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

> #end

> PKovacek@...

> Cell

> Personal Fax

> www.PTManager.com <http://www.ptmanager.com/>

>

>

[Guest guest]

One of the many roots to our many [PT] problems is the slave-master relationship

we have allowed to perpetuate into the 21st century, when we are still not

recognized by the general public as “independent & autonomousâ€, and clearly

not seen or treated as equals in health care. A large PT population still have

trouble accepting this very notion of independence!

In this situation the “slave master†still demands the slave’s allegiance

(POC requirements, referral requirements, written goals, physician’s signature

etc etc), obviously keeping the profits of the crop. The slaves have been so

used to this relationship, that most (not all) can’t see it any other way.

Like said, “until it hits them in the wallet, where it hurtsâ€.

In my opinion, the only way to “abolish this slavery†is to get the general

public involved. On our side. By exposing the finances behind it and making

BLUNTLY clear and public at large the FOR-PROFIT position and the greed behind

the [most] physicians’ position.

A lot of the perceptions the public has of the physical therapist in the US is

to be blamed upon our own selves: the physician is placed on the pinnacle of

healthcare and everyone else must fall below it. I read time and again (this

list serve included) physical therapists referring to physicians as “Docâ€,

or ‘doctor’. Indeed they are. Big deal, right? But in this day and age,

the term SHOULD cause confusion, as in what kind of doctor is this physical

therapist (or patient) referring to (?)...but it doesn’t. The individual

acknowledges its professional position below the “self imposed†pinnacle.

LET ME REITERATE SOMETHING: Physical Therapy is NOT Medicine. Medicine in NOT

physical therapy. Can I be more clear? We are all healthcare. Take the first

small step, for one, and refer to physicians as Physician, like you refer to the

dentist as Dentist and the physical therapist as Physical Therapist. Lets start

acknowledging that the physician is only at the pinnacle of Medicine. Stop

trying to be “medical†or physician wannabees. Lets ONCE AND FOR ALL

establish OUT LOUD that the physical therapists are at the pinnacle of physical

therapy, and start sweeping out the unwelcome guests (physicians, chiropractors,

podiatrists, AND SOON nurse practicioners, PAs, ATCs etc etc etc!!!). Practice

to say NO! It is a very liberating exercise! Say no individually. Say no to

your referring physician. AND lets say no collectively! LETS SAY “ENOUGHâ€!

We al should try it. Pick some personal fights. Lets pick a professional

fight! A class fight! – when the bell goes off, and the 12th round is up, for

the ones that like it, we can still go have a beer with our opponents.

Slavery will not end without a revolution!

Physiotherapists around the country need to rebel. We need to grow up.

It will take more than calling your senator or congressman when there is a bill

up for vote. All we have become is a nuisance. A white noise to lawmakers that

is not loud at all. The senator and congressman are equally as ignorant about

physical therapist as your dry cleaner, your accountant, your mechanic. If we

want our senator, congressman to know what goes on, we need to teach our

accountant, our mechanic, our policemen, our nurse, our hairdresser...then your

senator/congressman will know it too.

We need to get out from the shadows. We need to stop being junior. We need to

grow up and take what’s ours. We are a licensed profession with our own board.

We need to start acting like it. Maybe what we need to do is start a few class

action law suits (more to comment on it in the - short- future)...

AND...physical therapists NOT in private practice better start caring about this

issue just as well, because if private practice keeps getting unviable, we will

be competing for your jobs too and drive pay down by increasing physical

therapists supply.

The time is now and the fight is ours. It will not go away by miracle.

Most respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: Mulvey

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 2:24 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: RE: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

The trend of POPTS proliferation is moving into disturbing trends. Recently,

in Ft. Myers Florida a second large Internal Medicine Group has added a

" Physical Therapy " department. This is disturbing to me because it is more

than just the " Rock Doc " who is a crook in Miami stealing Medicare dollars.

This is organized prostitution of our profession! I can understand that

Orthopedists, Neurologists, Pain doctors, Neurosurgeons, and Physiatrists

all can feel " entitled " because of how often they refer for our services.

Not to mention the Podiatrist's who use the girl at the front deck to do

" therapy " or the chiropractors who offer " therapy " but that is altogether

another rant!

We have an obvious inability to police our own profession as many in our

profession will not care until it hits them in the wallet. They enjoy the

shortage side of supply and demand. I agree that we need to be vocal with

our legislators about the economic dangers of referral for profit but

honestly feel that is a tough battle against the AMA when the entire

spectrum of providers seek to profit from our labors. We have to stop

running to the next physician source with " script pads " and lunch for the

office as this has encouraged interest in " cashing in " on what they believe

is easy money for them. What do we think this is going to do to our

utilization number! At a time when our government is pressured to make cuts

to Medicare spending, our utilization numbers are going to skyrocket leading

to further cuts in our reimbursement.

I am all for the removal of PT from STARK exceptions but we are taking on

the entire AMA. We need to be bolder. We need to remove physicians from our

profession. It starts with using our limited direct access and ends with

removing to physician signature line from our " PT " Plan of Care...

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

Dick and group:

The only reason why the POPT can afford to pay 70-90K for the PT proves a much

deeper level of trouble, where the healthcare systems understand it for physical

therapy to be on the realm of the physician. So much so, that they get FAR

BETTER reimbursement for physical therapy codes than we - THE PHYSICAL

THERAPISTS – do!

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: Dick Hillyer

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 11:02 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: RE: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Interesting, Armin -

Once, a local new grad I'd interviewed for a $48K hospital OP job declined

it in favor of a $70K job with a POPTS.

That reminded me of a Ben lin quote:

" They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. "

We are now 50% of the way to 2020. We need to train up our young therapists

to grasp why we must -- must -- stand on our own two feet as a profession.

The $70K or $90K or whatever job is a disaster to the soul of physical

therapy if it does not fit with Vision 2020, the new Code of Ethics

(Principle #3) or our emergence as a doctoring profession.

Six months later, one of our DPTs gently helped the new grad to return to

our organization.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dick Hillyer, PT,DPT,MBA,MSM

_____

From: mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com

[mailto:mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com] On Behalf

Of Armin Loges

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 9:37 PM

To: mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback

Scheme: StopPOPTS.org

Group:

In my opinion, " realistically " means whatever our critical mass decides it

is going to be.

No one will fight our battles for us, and it seems a large percentage of our

" constituents " (PTs included), believe it is ok to be OWNED by physicians.

Had the dentists thought like that, they would still be part of medicine.

Physical Therapy is not medicine; It is not even " part " of medicine (unless

you still live in the 19th century), but ever since it has been existed in

this country, it has been a commodity to be bought and sold and exploited.

Until physical therapists see themselves as EQUAL in health care, the

" slave/master " relationship will continue.

It will take a true revolution to free us up.

If we don't hurry it up, it may end up too late.

The uphill part its not just the AMA, but within our own ranks.

Respectfully';

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: jonmarkpleasant

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 7:45 PM

To: mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com>

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Physicians simply view POPTS as another income opportunity in a free market.

We may not like it, but, since it's not specifically prohibited, physicians

are going to continue to capitalize on this opportunity to make some extra

cash.

Realistically, what are the chances that POPTS will be specifically

prohibited?

Jon Mark Pleasant, PT

Methodist Medical Center

>

> Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

>

> There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

>

> Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

>

> Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

>

>

> Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

>

> #end

> PKovacek@...

> Cell

> Personal Fax

> www.PTManager.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Armin,

I really appreciate your passion on this topic.  Man, I could feel your energy

writing the email!!  I couldn't agree with you more.  We have to change OUR

attitude before we change the consumers.  My question to you/the group though

is how do we make the consumer a) more aware, and care enough about this? 

Most people don't know the difference between " good, better, and best " PT

practices.  I would argue that many people assume that the care that at an MD

office by " office girls " is how PT actually is, or that when they go to XYZ

clinic that does hot packs, ultrasound, and massage is " PT. "  

 

 Is it going to take spending millions during the Super Bowl for a commercial,

or for a 30 second spot during American Idol or Jersey Shore to get people's

attention on POPTS as well as physical therapy in general?  Should we be taking

celebrities/pro athletes and using them as spokespeople for the profession? 

 

Bottom line is we have to make people care enough and have that feeling about

therapy that people get when they drink Starbucks, drive a nice car, or have a

nice meal...but how do we do it?

 

Dan Lorenz, DPT, PT, LAT, CSCS

Olathe, KS

 

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

To: PTManager

Date: Monday, February 28, 2011, 8:41 AM

 

One of the many roots to our many [PT] problems is the slave-master relationship

we have allowed to perpetuate into the 21st century, when we are still not

recognized by the general public as “independent & autonomousâ€, and clearly

not seen or treated as equals in health care. A large PT population still have

trouble accepting this very notion of independence!

In this situation the “slave master†still demands the slave’s allegiance

(POC requirements, referral requirements, written goals, physician’s signature

etc etc), obviously keeping the profits of the crop. The slaves have been so

used to this relationship, that most (not all) can’t see it any other way.

Like said, “until it hits them in the wallet, where it hurtsâ€.

In my opinion, the only way to “abolish this slavery†is to get the general

public involved. On our side. By exposing the finances behind it and making

BLUNTLY clear and public at large the FOR-PROFIT position and the greed behind

the [most] physicians’ position.

A lot of the perceptions the public has of the physical therapist in the US is

to be blamed upon our own selves: the physician is placed on the pinnacle of

healthcare and everyone else must fall below it. I read time and again (this

list serve included) physical therapists referring to physicians as “Docâ€,

or ‘doctor’. Indeed they are. Big deal, right? But in this day and age, the

term SHOULD cause confusion, as in what kind of doctor is this physical

therapist (or patient) referring to (?)...but it doesn’t. The individual

acknowledges its professional position below the “self imposed†pinnacle.

LET ME REITERATE SOMETHING: Physical Therapy is NOT Medicine. Medicine in NOT

physical therapy. Can I be more clear? We are all healthcare. Take the first

small step, for one, and refer to physicians as Physician, like you refer to the

dentist as Dentist and the physical therapist as Physical Therapist. Lets start

acknowledging that the physician is

only at the pinnacle of Medicine. Stop trying to be “medical†or physician

wannabees. Lets ONCE AND FOR ALL establish OUT LOUD that the physical therapists

are at the pinnacle of physical therapy, and start sweeping out the unwelcome

guests (physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, AND SOON nurse practicioners,

PAs, ATCs etc etc etc!!!). Practice to say NO! It is a very liberating exercise!

Say no individually. Say no to your referring physician. AND lets say no

collectively! LETS SAY “ENOUGHâ€! We al should try it. Pick some personal

fights. Lets pick a professional fight! A class fight! – when the bell goes

off, and the 12th round is up, for the ones that like it, we can still go have a

beer with our opponents.

Slavery will not end without a revolution!

Physiotherapists around the country need to rebel. We need to grow up.

It will take more than calling your senator or congressman when there is a bill

up for vote. All we have become is a nuisance. A white noise to lawmakers that

is not loud at all. The senator and congressman are equally as ignorant about

physical therapist as your dry cleaner, your accountant, your mechanic. If we

want our senator, congressman to know what goes on, we need to teach our

accountant, our mechanic, our policemen, our nurse, our hairdresser...then your

senator/congressman will know it too.

We need to get out from the shadows. We need to stop being junior. We need to

grow up and take what’s ours. We are a licensed profession with our own board.

We need to start acting like it. Maybe what we need to do is start a few class

action law suits (more to comment on it in the - short- future)...

AND...physical therapists NOT in private practice better start caring about this

issue just as well, because if private practice keeps getting unviable, we will

be competing for your jobs too and drive pay down by increasing physical

therapists supply.

The time is now and the fight is ours. It will not go away by miracle.

Most respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: Mulvey

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 2:24 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: RE: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

The trend of POPTS proliferation is moving into disturbing trends. Recently,

in Ft. Myers Florida a second large Internal Medicine Group has added a

" Physical Therapy " department. This is disturbing to me because it is more

than just the " Rock Doc " who is a crook in Miami stealing Medicare dollars.

This is organized prostitution of our profession! I can understand that

Orthopedists, Neurologists, Pain doctors, Neurosurgeons, and Physiatrists

all can feel " entitled " because of how often they refer for our services.

Not to mention the Podiatrist's who use the girl at the front deck to do

" therapy " or the chiropractors who offer " therapy " but that is altogether

another rant!

We have an obvious inability to police our own profession as many in our

profession will not care until it hits them in the wallet. They enjoy the

shortage side of supply and demand. I agree that we need to be vocal with

our legislators about the economic dangers of referral for profit but

honestly feel that is a tough battle against the AMA when the entire

spectrum of providers seek to profit from our labors. We have to stop

running to the next physician source with " script pads " and lunch for the

office as this has encouraged interest in " cashing in " on what they believe

is easy money for them. What do we think this is going to do to our

utilization number! At a time when our government is pressured to make cuts

to Medicare spending, our utilization numbers are going to skyrocket leading

to further cuts in our reimbursement.

I am all for the removal of PT from STARK exceptions but we are taking on

the entire AMA. We need to be bolder. We need to remove physicians from our

profession. It starts with using our limited direct access and ends with

removing to physician signature line from our " PT " Plan of Care...

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

In my humble opinion, we need to do it ALL.

I don’t necessarily think we need celebrities or pro-sports stars.

We need to let this energy/passion you mention sip through each of us every day,

with everyone we meet.

We need to let the physicians we come in contact with to no mess with us,

because we are through playing nice.

The BEST thing we have going for us is that we are the underdog. But we are not

only the underdog: we ARE being bullied.

We need to get the crowd, the general public to see that and the job is done.

Everybody knows physicians are powerful in this country. Except, everybody sees

them as the good guys. The do-gooders all the time. No one associates a

physician with greed or making decisions based on financial gains. I am very

blunt explaining things to my patients and their families. They are ALL

“educated†that the next time they suffer an MSK problem, they have to seek

a PT (not even just seek me, but a PT wherever they are!), because ultimately

their physician will be incompetent in helping them. They all come back to me.

This very morning I discussed this very topic of California with a returned

(self referred) patient of mine. She was in awe to learn of their greed. I had

patients get second opinions from orthopedists that ran POPT and tried to steal

the patient from to their POPT. If we educate each patient, each friend, each

neighbor, each time, it goes a long way. But that alone is not enough. I

suggest we also start a SOCIAL NETWORKING PR campaign of our own. The folks

reading this alone are enough to make it go viral really quick. We can add YOU

TUBE statements to it. We need to make it countrywide. I’ll see what I can

come up with here in Florida. The Florida PTs in Private practice are

organizing to join the fight. We are the bullied underdogs. We can have all

this work for us.

But that alone is not enough.

Call all the private practice PTs in your state. Get to know them. Stop

worrying that they are your competition. They are the least of your

competition. If nothing else, they are your healthy competition. Get your

state organized. Create a group, society or cooperative. New Jersey did it.

Others are fomenting. Don’t wait for the APTA. This is really not their job.

It is the private practices job to get it started, but everyone will benefit

from it. Even the APTA. In Florida we are getting ready to register FLPTPP

(Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice) non-profit.

Submit story lines to your local newspapers, TV stations etc etc.

As these PTPP groups gather funds, more can be done. Billboards, TV and print

ads. The U.S Healthcare needs it.

We hammer the drugs, imaging, surgery deal.

We hammer greed and financial interests (ie. follow the money).

We hammer the cost of healthcare.

Its not like we are making anything up.

Like I said, ALL.

But don’t underestimate the power of local meetings and the power of social

networking.

Obama was elected president of the United States as a black man middle-named

Hussein after 911. If that is not against the odds, I don’t know what is.

They harnessed it all.

I am going to start a Facebook page. If the moderator of this list serve agrees,

I will post it here for everyone to join and spread it.

Last night I signed the stoppopts petition. It gave the opportunity to email it

to whomever you wanted. I literally email it to my entire address book.

We don’t need to do PR to ourselves. We need to PR the non-PTs. They are

the ones that don’t know what happens.

Here we have laid out in our laps the greatest opportunity to spread ideas and

do PR with facebook. AND ITS FREE! And all we do is PR to ourselves.

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: Lorenz

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 11:07 AM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Armin,

I really appreciate your passion on this topic. Man, I could feel your energy

writing the email!! I couldn't agree with you more. We have to change OUR

attitude before we change the consumers. My question to you/the group though is

how do we make the consumer a) more aware, and care enough about this? Most

people don't know the difference between " good, better, and best " PT practices.

I would argue that many people assume that the care that at an MD office by

" office girls " is how PT actually is, or that when they go to XYZ clinic that

does hot packs, ultrasound, and massage is " PT. "

Is it going to take spending millions during the Super Bowl for a commercial, or

for a 30 second spot during American Idol or Jersey Shore to get people's

attention on POPTS as well as physical therapy in general? Should we be taking

celebrities/pro athletes and using them as spokespeople for the profession?

Bottom line is we have to make people care enough and have that feeling about

therapy that people get when they drink Starbucks, drive a nice car, or have a

nice meal...but how do we do it?

Dan Lorenz, DPT, PT, LAT, CSCS

Olathe, KS

From: Armin Loges <mailto:armin%40restoretherapies.com>

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

To: mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com

Date: Monday, February 28, 2011, 8:41 AM

One of the many roots to our many [PT] problems is the slave-master relationship

we have allowed to perpetuate into the 21st century, when we are still not

recognized by the general public as “independent & autonomousâ€, and clearly

not seen or treated as equals in health care. A large PT population still have

trouble accepting this very notion of independence!

In this situation the “slave master†still demands the slave’s allegiance

(POC requirements, referral requirements, written goals, physician’s signature

etc etc), obviously keeping the profits of the crop. The slaves have been so

used to this relationship, that most (not all) can’t see it any other way.

Like said, “until it hits them in the wallet, where it hurtsâ€.

In my opinion, the only way to “abolish this slavery†is to get the general

public involved. On our side. By exposing the finances behind it and making

BLUNTLY clear and public at large the FOR-PROFIT position and the greed behind

the [most] physicians’ position.

A lot of the perceptions the public has of the physical therapist in the US is

to be blamed upon our own selves: the physician is placed on the pinnacle of

healthcare and everyone else must fall below it. I read time and again (this

list serve included) physical therapists referring to physicians as “Docâ€,

or ‘doctor’. Indeed they are. Big deal, right? But in this day and age, the

term SHOULD cause confusion, as in what kind of doctor is this physical

therapist (or patient) referring to (?)...but it doesn’t. The individual

acknowledges its professional position below the “self imposed†pinnacle.

LET ME REITERATE SOMETHING: Physical Therapy is NOT Medicine. Medicine in NOT

physical therapy. Can I be more clear? We are all healthcare. Take the first

small step, for one, and refer to physicians as Physician, like you refer to the

dentist as Dentist and the physical therapist as Physical Therapist. Lets start

acknowledging that the physician is

only at the pinnacle of Medicine. Stop trying to be “medical†or physician

wannabees. Lets ONCE AND FOR ALL establish OUT LOUD that the physical therapists

are at the pinnacle of physical therapy, and start sweeping out the unwelcome

guests (physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, AND SOON nurse practicioners,

PAs, ATCs etc etc etc!!!). Practice to say NO! It is a very liberating exercise!

Say no individually. Say no to your referring physician. AND lets say no

collectively! LETS SAY “ENOUGHâ€! We al should try it. Pick some personal

fights. Lets pick a professional fight! A class fight! – when the bell goes

off, and the 12th round is up, for the ones that like it, we can still go have a

beer with our opponents.

Slavery will not end without a revolution!

Physiotherapists around the country need to rebel. We need to grow up.

It will take more than calling your senator or congressman when there is a bill

up for vote. All we have become is a nuisance. A white noise to lawmakers that

is not loud at all. The senator and congressman are equally as ignorant about

physical therapist as your dry cleaner, your accountant, your mechanic. If we

want our senator, congressman to know what goes on, we need to teach our

accountant, our mechanic, our policemen, our nurse, our hairdresser...then your

senator/congressman will know it too.

We need to get out from the shadows. We need to stop being junior. We need to

grow up and take what’s ours. We are a licensed profession with our own board.

We need to start acting like it. Maybe what we need to do is start a few class

action law suits (more to comment on it in the - short- future)...

AND...physical therapists NOT in private practice better start caring about this

issue just as well, because if private practice keeps getting unviable, we will

be competing for your jobs too and drive pay down by increasing physical

therapists supply.

The time is now and the fight is ours. It will not go away by miracle.

Most respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

From: Mulvey

Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 2:24 PM

To: mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com

Subject: RE: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

The trend of POPTS proliferation is moving into disturbing trends. Recently,

in Ft. Myers Florida a second large Internal Medicine Group has added a

" Physical Therapy " department. This is disturbing to me because it is more

than just the " Rock Doc " who is a crook in Miami stealing Medicare dollars.

This is organized prostitution of our profession! I can understand that

Orthopedists, Neurologists, Pain doctors, Neurosurgeons, and Physiatrists

all can feel " entitled " because of how often they refer for our services.

Not to mention the Podiatrist's who use the girl at the front deck to do

" therapy " or the chiropractors who offer " therapy " but that is altogether

another rant!

We have an obvious inability to police our own profession as many in our

profession will not care until it hits them in the wallet. They enjoy the

shortage side of supply and demand. I agree that we need to be vocal with

our legislators about the economic dangers of referral for profit but

honestly feel that is a tough battle against the AMA when the entire

spectrum of providers seek to profit from our labors. We have to stop

running to the next physician source with " script pads " and lunch for the

office as this has encouraged interest in " cashing in " on what they believe

is easy money for them. What do we think this is going to do to our

utilization number! At a time when our government is pressured to make cuts

to Medicare spending, our utilization numbers are going to skyrocket leading

to further cuts in our reimbursement.

I am all for the removal of PT from STARK exceptions but we are taking on

the entire AMA. We need to be bolder. We need to remove physicians from our

profession. It starts with using our limited direct access and ends with

removing to physician signature line from our " PT " Plan of Care...

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

All

About a decade ago I had a client in lin, PA that ran up against this

issue. He was competing against POPTS and Hospital Owned therapy clinics (not

to mention poor reimbursement rates by the state in general). This particular

client was able to fight back through local cable TV ads that didn't cost him a

lot of money to produce. In this particular case, his town had about 10,000

people in it (if my memory is holding) and about 50,000 people in the county.

The message in his cable TV ad was that if you need physical therapy, then you

have a choice to make. He didn't put down the competition, he just pointed out

that even though the physician could recommend PT, it was up to the consumer to

choose where they wanted to go to receive it. These ads went out over a wide

variety of cable TV stations and at all hours of the day. I believe the

production of the commercial cost him less than $1,000 and the monthly cost of

running these ads was under $500 per month.

A couple of points to make-the commercial spoke to the consumer. The therapist

in this instance didn't have to try and secure time with a doctor and " market "

for their referral. Another plus is that these commercials reached not only

patients, but doctors, their receptionists and many other physician support

personnel..., so the therapist did not have to fight to get an appointment. The

biggest news is that this client's case load doubled to tripled on most days.

The therapist could not account for anything they did to create the increased

case load other than these commercials. An interesting side note is that people

that are sick or in pain while quite often stay up at nights cable surfing. So

his ads were meeting an audience that was interested and motivated to change

their physical well being.

Most consumers do not know what physical therapy is. The ones that do are the

ones that have had to use it. And their experiences are varied based upon what

type of physical therapy they receive. If they received massage every time they

went in for treatment, then PT is nothing more than massage therapy (i.e., their

perception is their reality). I believe that many people reading this will

might become angry with this message. But truly, if you want people to know,

then you need to raise your voice in your community. You can speak to organized

groups. You can fight to speak with the doctors in your town. You can take

charge of the radio and TV airwaves and produce a commercial. I do know that

this therapist in lin, PA had video of his clinic, staff, workout areas and

facilities. I also expect that people who had been to see him pointed his

commercials out to their friends and neighbors. He was tired of letting

Physicians dictate his case load, so he abandoned the usual forums and instead

went to the air (waves).

I hope this post helps,

Jim <///><

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

I believe the term I have heard others use is that physicians are practicing

“entrepreneurial medicineâ€! Some of you may disagree but this is not

capitalism at its finest, this is at a minimum “abuse†and borders on

criminal fraud and racketeering. It’s Abuse of power! I believe this is one

of the greatest driving forces behind why healthcare costs are spiraling out of

control. So many unnecessary tests, scans, surgeries etc… Why aren’t we

starting grass-root efforts to educate the public about what “entrepreneurial

medicine†is and how is waists money and endangers the public.

Mulvey, PT, DPT

Fort Myers, FL

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

I believe the term I have heard others use is that physicians are practicing

“entrepreneurial medicineâ€! Some of you may disagree but this is not

capitalism at its finest, this is at a minimum “abuse†and borders on

criminal fraud and racketeering. It’s Abuse of power! I believe this is one

of the greatest driving forces behind why healthcare costs are spiraling out of

control. So many unnecessary tests, scans, surgeries etc… Why aren’t we

starting grass-root efforts to educate the public about what “entrepreneurial

medicine†is and how is waists money and endangers the public.

Mulvey, PT, DPT

Fort Myers, FL

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

There was once, long long time ago a people that lived happy forever after.

Their entire village sat in a mountain of gold.

These people were nice and looked up to help everybody.

However, they never noticed the mountain of gold they sat on.

All they new was the air was clean and fresh, the breeze smelled like flowers,

the water that ran trough the village was clear like crystal and everything they

planted flourished in abundance.

They were not shy about sharing or telling the world how anyone was welcome to

stop by for as long as they care to stick around:

- “sure! drink some of our fresh water! it will refresh you!†they would

say...

- “by all means, take some of our crops, it will help the hungryâ€...

But the riches of their land certainly did not go unnoticed for long.

Although the simple villagers felt blessed for the praise of their land and the

fruit of their labors would be given time and again, outsiders soon realized

this simple folk had no idea they sat in this rich mountain of gold...

First, a few outsiders arrived with a couple of shovels. They excused

themselves to some of the dirt under the village and took the a lot of gold.

Not long after that more came, with heavier machinery.

The villagers not quite understanding, never tried to stop anybody, as nature

had always provided them with everything they needed and nothing ever was in

shortage.

A few years later, the gold was nearly gone...the creek was no longer clean and

clean water was in shortage; the harvest was poor and the air polluted. A few

voices shouted from the village that their lair had been invaded....that we

needed to protect what was hours or there would be no mountain or gold left for

the next generation of villagers...that their paradise would be gone!...some of

the villagers themselves made the case that these invaders were here to stay.

They not only welcome them, but they showed the the routes to the left over

gold...they claimed we could not run the invaders away, therefore we needed to

join them , even if as slaves... Like any traitor, they were getting paid off to

turn their brothers into slaves, so they could get some of the gold

themselves....

....

For the last few decades, PTs have sat in this very lucrative industry, like

innocent uninformed simple folk villagers, we allowed any and everybody to take

turns at our mountain, unaware of our own riches and the riches of our folk...

First were the hospitals...

Then came the “Corporate†PT industry...

The orthopedic surgeons were an obvious close following as they learned quickly

from the previous two how to make riches off physical therapists... All along we

are being fed the high demand for physical therapy jobs, all the way from our

government statistics, to our PT schools, to the ones that “represent usâ€...

Not long after the chiros too saw the gold mine and they too started taking a

piece of the mountain.

Many PTs are happy to work for the physician...after all, gold will not be there

forever, one might as well capitalize on the times...right?

Some may even corporatize the very POPT practice from the inside of physical

therapy, after all “POPTS are here to stayâ€...right?

The family practice and the internal medicine, the podiatrist...none of them

would like to miss the action, so they too started to take a slice of the pie.

Not long go and the EPA claims that all this mining is causing pollution....that

the gold is of lesser carat and quality and there come the fines against the

villagers...and their own product is downgraded...

Physical Therapy utilization is on the rise. Fraud and abuse by “physical

therapy†(not by physical therapists) is on the raise as well.

Ultimately we are the ones blamed for and certainly the ones that will be left

with the consequences.

What was once a prized landscape, is now becoming a useless unprofitable

wasteland...little by little.

The villagers, many times tried to call for help to the next villages...but the

neighbors would ague they don’t see the bad... they don’t see the danger...

Now, when this gold mountain is gone and the pestilence is all there is left,

these villagers will have to leave...they will migrate to the next village, to

live with their neighbors.

REMEMBER:

Physical Therapy is not medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc etc

etc].

Medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc etc etc] is not physical

therapy.

If we don’t gather together – folks from every village – we will all be

left with a used up waste land, foraging for scraps, just to see the invaders

move on to the next best deal with their pockets full from the riches of our own

profession...

There is no time like today to start a cultural revolution.

Respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

They were motivate

From: JHall49629@...

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 4:04 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

All

About a decade ago I had a client in lin, PA that ran up against this

issue. He was competing against POPTS and Hospital Owned therapy clinics (not to

mention poor reimbursement rates by the state in general). This particular

client was able to fight back through local cable TV ads that didn't cost him a

lot of money to produce. In this particular case, his town had about 10,000

people in it (if my memory is holding) and about 50,000 people in the county.

The message in his cable TV ad was that if you need physical therapy, then you

have a choice to make. He didn't put down the competition, he just pointed out

that even though the physician could recommend PT, it was up to the consumer to

choose where they wanted to go to receive it. These ads went out over a wide

variety of cable TV stations and at all hours of the day. I believe the

production of the commercial cost him less than $1,000 and the monthly cost of

running these ads was under $500 per month.

A couple of points to make-the commercial spoke to the consumer. The therapist

in this instance didn't have to try and secure time with a doctor and " market "

for their referral. Another plus is that these commercials reached not only

patients, but doctors, their receptionists and many other physician support

personnel..., so the therapist did not have to fight to get an appointment. The

biggest news is that this client's case load doubled to tripled on most days.

The therapist could not account for anything they did to create the increased

case load other than these commercials. An interesting side note is that people

that are sick or in pain while quite often stay up at nights cable surfing. So

his ads were meeting an audience that was interested and motivated to change

their physical well being.

Most consumers do not know what physical therapy is. The ones that do are the

ones that have had to use it. And their experiences are varied based upon what

type of physical therapy they receive. If they received massage every time they

went in for treatment, then PT is nothing more than massage therapy (i.e., their

perception is their reality). I believe that many people reading this will might

become angry with this message. But truly, if you want people to know, then you

need to raise your voice in your community. You can speak to organized groups.

You can fight to speak with the doctors in your town. You can take charge of the

radio and TV airwaves and produce a commercial. I do know that this therapist in

lin, PA had video of his clinic, staff, workout areas and facilities. I

also expect that people who had been to see him pointed his commercials out to

their friends and neighbors. He was tired of letting Physicians dictate his case

load, so he abandoned the usual forums and instead went to the air (waves).

I hope this post helps,

Jim <///><

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

There was once, long long time ago a people that lived happy forever after.

Their entire village sat in a mountain of gold.

These people were nice and looked up to help everybody.

However, they never noticed the mountain of gold they sat on.

All they new was the air was clean and fresh, the breeze smelled like flowers,

the water that ran trough the village was clear like crystal and everything they

planted flourished in abundance.

They were not shy about sharing or telling the world how anyone was welcome to

stop by for as long as they care to stick around:

- “sure! drink some of our fresh water! it will refresh you!†they would

say...

- “by all means, take some of our crops, it will help the hungryâ€...

But the riches of their land certainly did not go unnoticed for long.

Although the simple villagers felt blessed for the praise of their land and the

fruit of their labors would be given time and again, outsiders soon realized

this simple folk had no idea they sat in this rich mountain of gold...

First, a few outsiders arrived with a couple of shovels. They excused

themselves to some of the dirt under the village and took the a lot of gold.

Not long after that more came, with heavier machinery.

The villagers not quite understanding, never tried to stop anybody, as nature

had always provided them with everything they needed and nothing ever was in

shortage.

A few years later, the gold was nearly gone...the creek was no longer clean and

clean water was in shortage; the harvest was poor and the air polluted. A few

voices shouted from the village that their lair had been invaded....that we

needed to protect what was hours or there would be no mountain or gold left for

the next generation of villagers...that their paradise would be gone!...some of

the villagers themselves made the case that these invaders were here to stay.

They not only welcome them, but they showed the the routes to the left over

gold...they claimed we could not run the invaders away, therefore we needed to

join them , even if as slaves... Like any traitor, they were getting paid off to

turn their brothers into slaves, so they could get some of the gold

themselves....

....

For the last few decades, PTs have sat in this very lucrative industry, like

innocent uninformed simple folk villagers, we allowed any and everybody to take

turns at our mountain, unaware of our own riches and the riches of our folk...

First were the hospitals...

Then came the “Corporate†PT industry...

The orthopedic surgeons were an obvious close following as they learned quickly

from the previous two how to make riches off physical therapists... All along we

are being fed the high demand for physical therapy jobs, all the way from our

government statistics, to our PT schools, to the ones that “represent usâ€...

Not long after the chiros too saw the gold mine and they too started taking a

piece of the mountain.

Many PTs are happy to work for the physician...after all, gold will not be there

forever, one might as well capitalize on the times...right?

Some may even corporatize the very POPT practice from the inside of physical

therapy, after all “POPTS are here to stayâ€...right?

The family practice and the internal medicine, the podiatrist...none of them

would like to miss the action, so they too started to take a slice of the pie.

Not long go and the EPA claims that all this mining is causing pollution....that

the gold is of lesser carat and quality and there come the fines against the

villagers...and their own product is downgraded...

Physical Therapy utilization is on the rise. Fraud and abuse by “physical

therapy†(not by physical therapists) is on the raise as well.

Ultimately we are the ones blamed for and certainly the ones that will be left

with the consequences.

What was once a prized landscape, is now becoming a useless unprofitable

wasteland...little by little.

The villagers, many times tried to call for help to the next villages...but the

neighbors would ague they don’t see the bad... they don’t see the danger...

Now, when this gold mountain is gone and the pestilence is all there is left,

these villagers will have to leave...they will migrate to the next village, to

live with their neighbors.

REMEMBER:

Physical Therapy is not medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc etc

etc].

Medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc etc etc] is not physical

therapy.

If we don’t gather together – folks from every village – we will all be

left with a used up waste land, foraging for scraps, just to see the invaders

move on to the next best deal with their pockets full from the riches of our own

profession...

There is no time like today to start a cultural revolution.

Respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

They were motivate

From: JHall49629@...

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 4:04 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

All

About a decade ago I had a client in lin, PA that ran up against this

issue. He was competing against POPTS and Hospital Owned therapy clinics (not to

mention poor reimbursement rates by the state in general). This particular

client was able to fight back through local cable TV ads that didn't cost him a

lot of money to produce. In this particular case, his town had about 10,000

people in it (if my memory is holding) and about 50,000 people in the county.

The message in his cable TV ad was that if you need physical therapy, then you

have a choice to make. He didn't put down the competition, he just pointed out

that even though the physician could recommend PT, it was up to the consumer to

choose where they wanted to go to receive it. These ads went out over a wide

variety of cable TV stations and at all hours of the day. I believe the

production of the commercial cost him less than $1,000 and the monthly cost of

running these ads was under $500 per month.

A couple of points to make-the commercial spoke to the consumer. The therapist

in this instance didn't have to try and secure time with a doctor and " market "

for their referral. Another plus is that these commercials reached not only

patients, but doctors, their receptionists and many other physician support

personnel..., so the therapist did not have to fight to get an appointment. The

biggest news is that this client's case load doubled to tripled on most days.

The therapist could not account for anything they did to create the increased

case load other than these commercials. An interesting side note is that people

that are sick or in pain while quite often stay up at nights cable surfing. So

his ads were meeting an audience that was interested and motivated to change

their physical well being.

Most consumers do not know what physical therapy is. The ones that do are the

ones that have had to use it. And their experiences are varied based upon what

type of physical therapy they receive. If they received massage every time they

went in for treatment, then PT is nothing more than massage therapy (i.e., their

perception is their reality). I believe that many people reading this will might

become angry with this message. But truly, if you want people to know, then you

need to raise your voice in your community. You can speak to organized groups.

You can fight to speak with the doctors in your town. You can take charge of the

radio and TV airwaves and produce a commercial. I do know that this therapist in

lin, PA had video of his clinic, staff, workout areas and facilities. I

also expect that people who had been to see him pointed his commercials out to

their friends and neighbors. He was tired of letting Physicians dictate his case

load, so he abandoned the usual forums and instead went to the air (waves).

I hope this post helps,

Jim <///><

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com

[Guest guest]

Armin --

Interesting allegory, Armin. The time has come for concerned therapists to

read " The Road to Serfdom " by Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek.

No one -- no profession -- can really count on the docs (or anyone else) to

make decisions in their interest. Eventually, they become enslaved, either

directly or indirectly. In that case, we'd be better off making the

decisions which affect our own profession (or our own family). We have to

stand upon our own two feet.

We as therapists should understand better than ANYone else why being

dependent in any way is less desirable and more handicapping than being

independent, both at the physical and the philosophical levels.

Once independence is lost, is is exteremely difficult to regain, but it IS

possible!

Dr. Dick Hillyer

Cape Coral, Paradise

_____

From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf

Of Armin Loges

Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 2:29 PM

To: Name missing - PTManager@yahoogroups_com

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

There was once, long long time ago a people that lived happy forever after.

Their entire village sat in a mountain of gold.

These people were nice and looked up to help everybody.

However, they never noticed the mountain of gold they sat on.

All they new was the air was clean and fresh, the breeze smelled like

flowers, the water that ran trough the village was clear like crystal and

everything they planted flourished in abundance.

They were not shy about sharing or telling the world how anyone was welcome

to stop by for as long as they care to stick around:

- " sure! drink some of our fresh water! it will refresh you! " they would

say...

- " by all means, take some of our crops, it will help the hungry " ...

But the riches of their land certainly did not go unnoticed for long.

Although the simple villagers felt blessed for the praise of their land and

the fruit of their labors would be given time and again, outsiders soon

realized this simple folk had no idea they sat in this rich mountain of

gold...

First, a few outsiders arrived with a couple of shovels. They excused

themselves to some of the dirt under the village and took the a lot of gold.

Not long after that more came, with heavier machinery.

The villagers not quite understanding, never tried to stop anybody, as

nature had always provided them with everything they needed and nothing ever

was in shortage.

A few years later, the gold was nearly gone...the creek was no longer clean

and clean water was in shortage; the harvest was poor and the air polluted.

A few voices shouted from the village that their lair had been

invaded....that we needed to protect what was hours or there would be no

mountain or gold left for the next generation of villagers...that their

paradise would be gone!...some of the villagers themselves made the case

that these invaders were here to stay. They not only welcome them, but they

showed the the routes to the left over gold...they claimed we could not run

the invaders away, therefore we needed to join them , even if as slaves...

Like any traitor, they were getting paid off to turn their brothers into

slaves, so they could get some of the gold themselves....

....

For the last few decades, PTs have sat in this very lucrative industry, like

innocent uninformed simple folk villagers, we allowed any and everybody to

take turns at our mountain, unaware of our own riches and the riches of our

folk...

First were the hospitals...

Then came the " Corporate " PT industry...

The orthopedic surgeons were an obvious close following as they learned

quickly from the previous two how to make riches off physical therapists...

All along we are being fed the high demand for physical therapy jobs, all

the way from our government statistics, to our PT schools, to the ones that

" represent us " ...

Not long after the chiros too saw the gold mine and they too started taking

a piece of the mountain.

Many PTs are happy to work for the physician...after all, gold will not be

there forever, one might as well capitalize on the times...right?

Some may even corporatize the very POPT practice from the inside of physical

therapy, after all " POPTS are here to stay " ...right?

The family practice and the internal medicine, the podiatrist...none of them

would like to miss the action, so they too started to take a slice of the

pie.

Not long go and the EPA claims that all this mining is causing

pollution....that the gold is of lesser carat and quality and there come the

fines against the villagers...and their own product is downgraded...

Physical Therapy utilization is on the rise. Fraud and abuse by " physical

therapy " (not by physical therapists) is on the raise as well.

Ultimately we are the ones blamed for and certainly the ones that will be

left with the consequences.

What was once a prized landscape, is now becoming a useless unprofitable

wasteland...little by little.

The villagers, many times tried to call for help to the next villages...but

the neighbors would ague they don't see the bad... they don't see the

danger...

Now, when this gold mountain is gone and the pestilence is all there is

left, these villagers will have to leave...they will migrate to the next

village, to live with their neighbors.

REMEMBER:

Physical Therapy is not medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc

etc etc].

Medicine [chiropractic, podiatry, orthopedics, etc etc etc] is not physical

therapy.

If we don't gather together - folks from every village - we will all be left

with a used up waste land, foraging for scraps, just to see the invaders

move on to the next best deal with their pockets full from the riches of our

own profession...

There is no time like today to start a cultural revolution.

Respectfully;

Armin Loges, PT

Tampa, FL

They were motivate

From: JHall49629@... <mailto:JHall49629%40aol.com>

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 4:04 PM

To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com>

Subject: Re: Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

All

About a decade ago I had a client in lin, PA that ran up against this

issue. He was competing against POPTS and Hospital Owned therapy clinics

(not to mention poor reimbursement rates by the state in general). This

particular client was able to fight back through local cable TV ads that

didn't cost him a lot of money to produce. In this particular case, his town

had about 10,000 people in it (if my memory is holding) and about 50,000

people in the county. The message in his cable TV ad was that if you need

physical therapy, then you have a choice to make. He didn't put down the

competition, he just pointed out that even though the physician could

recommend PT, it was up to the consumer to choose where they wanted to go to

receive it. These ads went out over a wide variety of cable TV stations and

at all hours of the day. I believe the production of the commercial cost him

less than $1,000 and the monthly cost of running these ads was under $500

per month.

A couple of points to make-the commercial spoke to the consumer. The

therapist in this instance didn't have to try and secure time with a doctor

and " market " for their referral. Another plus is that these commercials

reached not only patients, but doctors, their receptionists and many other

physician support personnel..., so the therapist did not have to fight to

get an appointment. The biggest news is that this client's case load doubled

to tripled on most days. The therapist could not account for anything they

did to create the increased case load other than these commercials. An

interesting side note is that people that are sick or in pain while quite

often stay up at nights cable surfing. So his ads were meeting an audience

that was interested and motivated to change their physical well being.

Most consumers do not know what physical therapy is. The ones that do are

the ones that have had to use it. And their experiences are varied based

upon what type of physical therapy they receive. If they received massage

every time they went in for treatment, then PT is nothing more than massage

therapy (i.e., their perception is their reality). I believe that many

people reading this will might become angry with this message. But truly, if

you want people to know, then you need to raise your voice in your

community. You can speak to organized groups. You can fight to speak with

the doctors in your town. You can take charge of the radio and TV airwaves

and produce a commercial. I do know that this therapist in lin, PA had

video of his clinic, staff, workout areas and facilities. I also expect that

people who had been to see him pointed his commercials out to their friends

and neighbors. He was tired of letting Physicians dictate his case load, so

he abandoned the usual forums and instead went to the air (waves).

I hope this post helps,

Jim <///><

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme:

StopPOPTS.org

Referral for Profit is a Medical Kickback Scheme!!

There is no other issue that is more important for our Profession

Visit www.STOPPOPTS.org today

Donate to support our colleagues in California fight the good fight!

Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA

#end

mailto:PKovacek%40PTManager.com

Cell

Personal Fax

www.PTManager.com