Guest guest Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hi everyone, I know a lot of folks are at CSM and this may not be heard by all but I have to speak out. I am tired of the doom and gloom AND I am tired a discussion that hasn't once focused on the patient. At its root healthcare is and always will be about caring for people. Ask me if things are harder than 10 years ago and I would say firmly NO. I have more tools from equipment to outcomes tools and more research evidence than ever before to guide what I do and allow me options for care that are successful and repeatable. Patients/clients are receiving care that, even when limited by insurance, is still way better than I ever could have imagined 24 year ago when I started PT school. In addition, I have opportunities outside of traditional PT care to establish a business model with from fitness to wellness to women's health. 25 years ago a majority of PT practices survived only by contracting with home health or SNF's because the reimbursement was much worse than it was today. What is harder is to use physical therapy purely as a business to get wealthy but you know what - that's not what this profession is all about. I am about profit as much as any American business person and agree that we have too many regulations but at the same time my motivation is not profit but treating patients. Every day I am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. Yes, maybe our profession will become a profession that we cannot make a huge profit any more but does that diminish it or what we do day in and day out as healthcare professionals? I don't think so and I would bet many other colleagues would agree. Ask yourself if you would still be in the profession if you could only earn what teachers make in your area. Would you still be in the profession? I know plenty of PT's that would because patient care and making a difference in people's lives is the most important thing to them as it is to me. I am sorry to vent but this discussion thread was balanced in one direction and I could not let it go on without speaking up for those of us with a quite different view of our profession. M.Howell, P.T., M.P.T. IPTA Payment Specialist Meridian, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:57 AM To: PTManager Subject: Re: Future of OPPT , Just as I was begining to feel a little better about the country following the Clint Eastwood Superbowl commercial. Guess I should go back to my previous plan of stocking up on bullets and food. Seriously though regarding our profesion, I believe each generation of PT's would say that things are harder now than they were 10 years ago and that they will continue to get harder. I think this is unlikely to change. Joe Ruzich, PT > > > > > Dear Group, > > The math is simple. The cycle is coming. Actuaries explain to us that a deleveraging financial economy of debt deflation can only lead to a Japanese-style deflation spiral. Economists agree that deflation is much more painful to swallow than inflation. The developed nations (the West and Europe) are in a serious downward debt spiral...currently led by Europe. In this increasingly globalized world, the developing eastern nations led by China are flush with tremendous labor capacity (over a billion ready and able to make gadgets for you straight from China, a country 4x the size of USA). This will put HUGE downward pressure on US and European wage income. Falling wages for developed economies coupled with rising wages for developing econimies. This is in the NOW and the FUTURE. > > Debt/Deflation Downward Spiral: > > Retirees and Pensions will be exhausting SS/ Medicare and Govt Pension Funds ----> massive taxes on the working class----> less discretionary income----> falling asset prices----> falling wage income----> decreased tax receipts----> More Gov't Borrowing ----> UNKNOWN CLIFF > > > European Central Banks and the US Federal Reserve are resisting this deleveraging/deflation using opposite rules of economics. > > Europe is implementing Austerity to curb the debt spiral while the USA is implementingan opposite method called " quantitative easing " or printing money by giving it to banks at 0%. It is expected that banks will lend to you and me and make a 3-5% profit margin over 0%. > Japan tried the later for 20 years and it did nothing to stop prices and wages falling for over 2 decades. THE DEMAND FOR DEBT IS TOO LOW. > Who is going to buy that baby-boomer's 5500 sqft. home on Long Island when they are empty nestors left with 25k in yearly real-estate taxes? Your 30 year college-debt paying son making 65k per year? > > How will this effect Physical Therapy? I think it's much easier to just make Pizza and still earn over 200k a year in cash income. > > Meli > Bayside, NY > > > > > Re: Future of OPPT > > Todd, > I went to a continuing ed course a couple of years back given by Arnie Cisneros, the president of Home Health Strategic Management. He pointed out some interesting facts that may be applicable to the OPPT industry. Every time that to government would increase restrictions on HH therapy and revenues, therapists would always fear that the profession would not survive. Perhaps no other segment has been more regulated and restricted more than the HH therapy industry. Each time these restrictions are enforced, therapists have learned to adapt and change the way they do business. Increasing efficiency and decreasing costs, and yes, decreasing the amount of care. But insurance and therapy companies can still show that they can still achieve good outcomes with less. > > We will have to adapt and make the necessary changes in how we practice. We should also increase our support of the APTA to continue to fight the good fight. > > Duane > Mesa, AZ. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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