Six Reasons to Consider Concierge PT
You might be wondering why you should consider paying for an out of network (or, concierge) physical therapist. You’ve paid your premiums and you want to use your benefits, such as they are. But then, you find a provider who is everything you’re looking for, and boom. You’re considering paying out of pocket. So how do you know whether cash pay is for you?
You want to know your price up front: no hidden costs!
So many times at traditional clinics I’ve overheard somebody checking in saying “what?! Eighty five dollars? But I have insurance!” If you’re new to PT or have new coverage, you may not realize that co-pays can be pretty high, and really add up if you’re scheduled more than once per week. What you may not realize even then is, that co-pay might just be the beginning. If you have a high deductible plan (the plan most healthy, active people choose), your insurance won’t be paying until you hit your deductible. You can expect a follow up bill for any charges that your copay didn’t cover. In those cases, you’re essentially paying out of pocket even though you have insurance! On top of that, many clinics offer extras and add ons that aren’t covered, like dry needling or cold laser therapy. With concierge PT, what you see is what you get. You know the cost going in and won’t see any additional charges coming in on the back end.
You don’t have time for a cookie-cutter experience
My biggest pet peeve is therapists who never change their treatment between patients. Every back, every shoulder, every knee gets the same exercises. That’s what I mean when I say “cookie-cutter.” You walk in with a prescription, go through a quick evaluation, maybe never really feel heard, and then it’s off to the races with the exact same plan of care as every other person they’ve ever treated with a similar complaint. I believe that every treatment should be as unique as the person behind the injury.
Traditional physical therapy clinics will schedule you 2-3 times per week for months at a time. They do this to combat noncompliance with home programs and make sure that there’s good consistency of care.
Insurance companies tend to have low reimbursement rates for physical therapy services. To stay afloat despite the rates, most clinics rack and stack patients into 30-40 minute time slots, often overlapping with other patients. The doctorate in physical therapy provides PT with so many tools and skills to diagnose injuries and promote recovery, but that is not nearly enough time to do a thorough physical exam and make a solid plan.
Concierge PTs typically spend more time with patients, booking in a 1 hour time slot and dedicating 100% of that time to one-on-one care. Without the dictation of insurance, you’re not limited in the amount of sessions or what is completed during that time. Your provider will have more time to thoroughly investigate what’s really going on and provide you with a solid home exercise program for between visits.
If you don’t have time to squeeze in several appointments per week or to be repeating the same exercises you do at home while a technician is watching you, find yourself an out of network provider to partner with you instead!
You suspect your injury may cross over more than one joint or body part
I can’t tell you how many times my hands were tied as an insurance-based provider when a patient would say “my knee hurts but I think it’s really coming from my hip,” or that they were sent for back pain but were also concerned with shoulder symptoms. Sometimes I’d be able to work around the restrictions, but often we’d have to complete a course of rehabilitation for the prescribed body part before opening a new case to investigate another body part. If this sounds familiar to you, concierge PT may actually be the most time- and cost-efficient option!
You don’t want to be passed around to several therapists or techs or to deal with wait lists
Often in typical physical therapy clinics you end up being evaluated by a therapist and then seeing a technician or other therapists throughout your course of care. Nobody wants it to devalue your experience; they’re just doing what they can to function in the world of insurance-based PT. Even if you do stick with one PT, you’re usually only booked into 30 dedicated minutes of their day.
In a concierge PT setting, you see the same provider each and every time. You’ll get a full hour of care with someone who spends enough time to notice small changes and get to the bottom of complex injuries.
Your symptoms have been present for a long time or you’ve tried physical therapy before without seeing much improvement
When I worked with the special operations population of the military, I’d often start a session by saying “okay, what are we working on today.” When you’re functioning at a high level, it’s pretty rare that you only have one sore region of your body to think about. That’s where a specialist comes in who can adjust on the fly and care for you as a whole person, rather than a single injury.
Has your doctor told you that they can’t or won’t do surgery, or maybe that there is no injury that they can find? Maybe you’ve tried PT in the past but you’re still not where you want to be? Some injuries are beyond the scope of traditional physical therapy and require more intensive care. If you’re not ready to give up, give it a try!
You want highly specialized care with a focus on prevention of future injury
When you schedule your first visit with a physical therapist, your hands are usually tied as far as deciding who exactly you’ll be seeing. You may end up with a great match for you - or you could have a PT who’s more interested in treating an entirely different age, gender, or injury type than what you’ve got going on. It’s really hard to match the ideal patient to a PT with the same treatment skill set in the traditional setting.
For example, I’m a board-certified sports and orthopedics physical therapist with a specialty in pelvic floor physical therapy. This means that I’ve completed 2 residencies, extensive post-graduate training, and passed a few hardcore exams all on top of my doctorate in physical therapy. It’s pretty hard to find that group of specialties in one provider, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve found me! If instead you’re hoping for a vestibular specialist, certified hand specialist, or pediatric specialist, those people exist, too. If you’re trying to dial in your treatment to get better as fast as you can, your best bet is to find someone uniquely skilled in treating exactly what you’ve got.
As you can see, concierge PT breaks the mold from traditional physical therapy care. It may not be right for everyone, but if done correctly it may be a better value based on time spent on recovery. If it sounds like something you want to try, hop on a free discovery call to see what it’s all about. Most concierge PTs will spend the time to understand your case and determine if they’re right for you.
