Evidence in Motion

Reviewed by Subha Nagasubramanian, PT, DPT, MS

Reading up on varied subjects has always been a passion of mine. But with a three-year-old and a practice to run, time is at a premium. I bike to work so that is my time to listen and catch up on audiobooks and podcasts. One that I enjoy is the Evidence in Motion podcast (www.evidenceinmotion.com/blog/category/podcast/), also available wherever you get your podcasts. The speakers are vibrant and ahead of the game on a variety of fronts. They launched May 2016 and post a new episode every few days. A major draw for me is that it has both clinical and entrepreneurial episodes. Even better is that they are short, 15 to 30 minutes for most episodes. If you prefer reading, this team also put out one of the first multiauthored physical therapy blogs.

The podcast features three different kinds of episodes:

1. Clinical, by John Childs, PT, DPT, and Jeff Moore, PT, DPT: They cover a number of different physical therapy specialties. Topics also include new scientific literature on evidence-based treatment.
2. Practice Leadership, by Larry Benz, PT, DPT: Dr. Benz covers the bigger picture concepts like setting yourself apart and taking your practice to the next level.
3. Inside Leadership, by Daphne Scott, PT, DPT: Scott reviews topics such as self-improvement and how to become a better leader.

Dr. Benz has valuable concepts that can be applied to both new and existing clinics. He separates day-to-day operations from human relations and says that all operations must be “commoditized”; that is, all operations that can be automated and scheduled, should be. Operational processes have to be as efficient as possible, minimizing staff time spent on this, thus sparing more time for human relations. While clinics may already do this, his point is that by automating operations as much as we can, the human relations piece becomes more effective. Essentially, the time we are not spending on operations can be used for scouting better opportunities and fostering relationships.

In “The Practice Freedom Method with Dr. Jamey Schrier,” an episode in the series, Dr. Schrier echoes some of the same sentiments. He is a small business owner turned business coach who helps clinicians become better business owners. He notes that in his business he had become “operationally irrelevant” as all day-to-day operations would have run sans him. He notes that running a business is based on 4 M’s: management, money, marketing, and mindset.

According to Dr. Schrier, clinicians fall into 4 categories:

1. Archetype – the committed clinician
2. Overwhelmed operator – someone who has become overwhelmed with management of multiple staff
3. Evolving entrepreneur – someone with some level of management
4. Lighthouse leader – able to manage their own responsibilities and impart this ability to others

Most of us new clinic owners fall into the category of overwhelmed operator, either because we are trying to do everything on our own to save money or because we are new to management.

Dr. Benz talks about how to go beyond being “pretty good at it” to sustained competitive advantage. He notes that in today’s world, a business thrives if it has a self-governing culture. The self-governing model is the most far-sighted since there is a shared purpose and common values. People at all levels are expected to take responsibility and collaborate. To evolve as a self-governing organization, the main principles are trust, friendship, and teamwork.

Subha Nagasubramanian, PT, DPT, MS, is a PPS member and owner of Capitol Physical Therapy LLC, based in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at subha@capitol.pt.