Commute Time, Staffing, and Marketing are 3 of the biggest challenges for Mobile Physical Therapy businesses in 2022.
Commute Time Costs $$$ in a Mobile Physical Therapy Business
One of the largest revenue losses a mobile operation will experience is in commute time. If a typical mobile therapist will spend 30-minutes between sessions from the last billable minute of the previous treatment session to the first billable treatment minute of the next treatment.
In this scenario, another name for commute time could be transition time because you are transitioning between sessions.
If a mobile therapist is treating 4 patients in a morning and spending 30-minutes of transition time between patients that would equate to 90-minutes of non-productive transtion time.
| Treatment 1 – 8:00 to 9:00 | 60 Treatment Minutes | |
| Transition time – 9:01-9:30 | 30 Non-billable Minutes | |
| Treatment 2 – 9:31-10:30 | 60 Treatment Minutes | |
| Transtion time – 10:31-11:00 | 30 Non-billable Minutes | |
| Treatment 3 – 11:01-12:00 | 60 Treatment Minutes | |
| Transition Time – 12:01-12:30 | 30 Non-billable Minutes | |
| Treatemnt 4 – 12:31-13:30 | 60 Treatment Minutes | |
| 240 Treatment Minutes | 90 Non-billable Minutes | |
| $100/60 min = $1.6666 | $400 | $150 |
Staffing a Mobile Physical Therapy Business
Finding, attracting, and hiring stellar clinicians are among the most challenging components of scaling a mobile physical therapy business.
Reduced Medicare reimbursement along with lost revenue attributed to commute time makes profit margins small and having enough profit to pay an amazing physical therapist is getting harder.
The best way to handle this challenge is to open new opportunities for income generation. Adding self pay services that are not medically necessary and not covered by Medicare allows a mobile therapy operator to increase revenue and profitability for a typical treatment.
A second strategy is to consider renting equipment that both benefit the patient’s specific disability or impairment while increase profitability for the operating physical therapy business.
Marketing a Mobile Physical Therapy Business
Brick and mortar clinics inherently gain the benefit of location visability. Secondary benefits to a clinic location include perceived stability in the minds of potential referral sources.
Many mobile physical therapy businesses are spending $1,000 per month or more on marketing and brand identity.
My favorite low cost marketing strategies include:
- Physician Interviews
- Attending Patient Follow-up Appointments
- Builing a Personal Brand
Anthony Maritato, PT
Private Practice Owner / Physical Therapist
After starting a private practice physical therapy clinic in 2022 with his wife Kathy Maritato, PT, Tony and Kathy grew their practice to five locations across two states.
Now, Tony and Kathy enjoy spending time treating patients in the morning, coaching therapists in the evening, and being home to play with their dog Tucker and 4 boys.