Doctors implying we're incompetent

[Guest guest]

Hi Group,

I'm looking for suggestions on how to handle the following: We have an

orthopedic group who has recently, that I am aware of, been telling their

patients who requested to come see me " they are Ok, but for this problem you

need to go to the other physical therapy place " . There is another OP PT clinic

in town, owned by a PTA who used to work with this group of orthopedic surgeons

in a different PT clinic in a nearby town. So, they have a relationship that I

have not had with them. They used to refer to us and were happy with the results

and told patients about how good we were. I understand the them wanting to refer

to their buddies, but now it has gone further than that, it feels to me like

they are telling their patients and citizens of my community that we do not have

the skills or knowledge to treat a simple ankle sprain or a piriformis syndrome,

that bothers me. They are telling their patients who requested us not to come,

isn't there some illegality here?

I'd like to know how best to handle this situation. Is there some policy/ruling

regarding these slanderous actions?

What is the best way to communicate my concerns to these physicians?

Thanks for your help.

Lydia Radosevich, PT

Ruidoso, NM

[Guest guest]

We have the same issue as we have 2 physician owned clinics in our city along

with a hospital and a handful of corporate owned or satellite clinics. We are

the only Private PT practice so we pretty much stay in front of the community

and have gotten very involved.

We make it a point to inform our patients that if they need care and feel that

we have provided them the best care to request to come to us/back to us. We even

half jokingly throw out the old " they will probably try to send you to their

clinic " but you can choose since it is your insurance and your copay! We also

then tell patients going to the physician to tell the physician that we said

hello and how much they enjoy our services. 9 times out of 10 this works

beautifully and the patient returns to our office even if a referral coordinator

tries to set them up at their own clinic. Half the time the physician has no

idea where their patients are going. Just stay in front of your current and

former patients and let them know your survival depends on their telling

everyone about you.

One last story to share, 7 years ago I walked out to our lobby to clean up at

the end of the day and was surprised to see a family physician from our area

sitting there. I greeted him and asked if there was something I could do for

him. He informed me he was here for his 5:30 initial eval. I was a little uneasy

as I thought we had messed up and not put him in the schedule by accident. Not

wanting to turn down his request to be seen I saw him, got him feeling better

immediately during that visit and had him on his way. As he was leaving he

thanked me, informed me he would definitely send all of patients who needed PT

our way and walked out.

Here is where it gets interesting. I called his office the next day to see if

there was a mix up on our end. I was informed by this physicians own

" gatekeeper " referral coordinator that even though he had requested to come to

our clinic she had scheduled him at the Hospital. She flat out told me that she

refers all of their patients to the hospital's outpatient PT because since they

are part of the Hospital system it will eventually come back to help her in the

end. We even went to that office and did a lunch a few months later. The

physician greeted us with a big smile and asked how his patients were doing? I

told him about the referral coordinator and he looked at me with a blank stare

in disbelief. To this day we have never received another patient referral, oh

and that was the last lunch we ever did in a physician office. Sometimes there

isn't anything you can do but just stay the course, build a connection with your

clients, and provide exceptional care!

In health,

Boyle, DPT

Gaston Rehab Associates

Sent from my iPhone

Cell: (704)241-0889

www.gastonrehabassociates.com

> Hi Group,

> I'm looking for suggestions on how to handle the following: We have an

> orthopedic group who has recently, that I am aware of, been telling their

> patients who requested to come see me " they are Ok, but for this problem you

> need to go to the other physical therapy place " . There is another OP PT clinic

> in town, owned by a PTA who used to work with this group of orthopedic

surgeons

> in a different PT clinic in a nearby town. So, they have a relationship that I

> have not had with them. They used to refer to us and were happy with the

results

> and told patients about how good we were. I understand the them wanting to

refer

> to their buddies, but now it has gone further than that, it feels to me like

> they are telling their patients and citizens of my community that we do not

have

> the skills or knowledge to treat a simple ankle sprain or a piriformis

syndrome,

> that bothers me. They are telling their patients who requested us not to come,

> isn't there some illegality here?

> I'd like to know how best to handle this situation. Is there some

policy/ruling

> regarding these slanderous actions?

> What is the best way to communicate my concerns to these physicians?

> Thanks for your help.

> Lydia Radosevich, PT

> Ruidoso, NM

>

>

>

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