Why we introduced our monthly Wellness Booster™ Packages
One year after the launch of our industry first fixed fee unlimited access Physio Finish Line® Programs we launched a further service offering to our clients: fixed fee monthly packages. We called these monthly service packages Wellness Boosters™.
Before we delve too far into the mechanics of the Wellness Boosters™ and why we launched them it’s worth a quick recap on why we felt the need to tinker with the traditional session by session physiotherapy model in the first place.
Providing more than just session to session appointments
I have previously documented the numerous limitations of session to session care and the traditional fee for service model of remuneration in an 8 piece blog series titles ‘Problems of selling time in Physio’. You can read more HERE>> Problem 1: A conflict of interest
In 2015 we stopped to do an analysis on how well as a practice we were helping our clients ‘get done what they came to get done’. Sadly we were failing. We realised that we weren’t failing due to poor clinical care, poor customer service, or uncommitted clients, rather it seemed that the traditional session to session model of care, where clients booked the ‘next appointment’, had many limitations that were cruelling our clients efforts to get back to their physical best.
We set about measuring how many new clients to the practice in a 6 month period were successfully ‘getting done what they came to get done’. In other words how many clients were actually achieving the goal that they had when they came to see us.
Data on our client outcomes
We did a stocktake over a six month period of whether or not clients finished rehabilitation, or in POGO parlance whether our clients successfully crossed their Physio Finish Line®. We were disappointed to find that the initial measure of clients who had crossed their Physio Finish Line® was just 33% .
This represented one in three clients through the doors of POGO Physio that were getting done what they came to get done, that is crossing their desired Physio Finish Line.
The below image is an internal training document we use as the POGO Physio team that summarises our findings. This has been used as an ongoing graphic representation of how we are progressing with our organisational mission of achieving 80% Physio Finish Line® outcomes for our clients.
When it comes to the calculations of our clients crossing their Physio Finish Line. Our categorisation of our clients getting their goal ‘done’ or ‘not done’ was binary; either it ‘did’ or ‘didn’t’ happen.
For example client attrition when the client was ‘happy’ but self discharged from the remainder of required care was counting as a ‘didn’t happen’. It is an important distinction to make, even though 1 in 3 clients were crossing their stated and chosen Physio Finish Line®, it did not mean that 2 out of 3 clients were leaving unhappy.
We saw the 66% not crossing their Physio Finish Line® as a problem that someone needed to solve in the physiotherapy industry. As a physiotherapy practice owner of close to a decade at this point I was concerned that if these were out stats knowing the level of excellence we aimed to operate at, than the industry norm would likely be less than 33%.
Over the course of time the idea of offering unlimited access care and removing the many barriers to session to session care was incubated to become a reality in July 2016 when we launched our fixed fee unlimited access 2, 6, and 12 week Finish Line Programs®.
To read more about the problems of session to session care click HERE>> and peruse the ‘Selling Time in Physio series’.
More than to just be different
We were prepared to deviate away from the prevailing rules of our industry in order to improve our client outcomes. Read more HERE>>Solving the greatest physiotherapy conundrum.
Doing so was not driven by being ‘different’ in the fairly conservative physiotherapy industry but rather the pioneering of models beyond session to session care were developed with the end goal in mind-ensuring our clients crossed their Physio Finish Line (achieved their goal).
We saw the fixed fee unlimited access Finish Line® Programs as a great addition to session to session care in helping our clients go from pain or injury back to their physical best. The percentage change in overall Physio Finish Line® crossings to 69% one year following the Finish Line® Programs release verified how the Programs had positively supported clients on their rehabilitation journeys (see the diagram below):
Following one year of refining the Finish Line Program®s and their successful outcomes we were ready to launch the logical next step to support our clients on their journey of staying at their physical best following their injury rehabilitation.
Now what? Client requests for more than session to session care after crossing their Physio Finish Line®.
For example we had numerous post Physio Finish Line clients who were wanting to continue attending clinical pilates, or receiving occasional hands on therapies for ‘maintenance’ by way of physiotherapy or remedial massage therapy. After experiencing the savings and benefits and enormous value* derived from our fixed fee unlimited access Finish Line® Programs the value proposition for session to sessions was not compelling for them. They were after something similar to a Finish Line Program but without the cost and time commitment.
We began to think about how we could best support clients beyond their Physio Finish Line®. We settled with acting on the idea of a fixed fee monthly service offering. The fixed fee offering was consistent with our desire to move away from the limitations of session to session care, while concurrently providing great value and care at the same time.
*on average a Finish Line Program client will receive 33% more in value than the money paid for services.
Launch of the Wellness Booster™ monthly packages
So in late 2017 we introduced to our clients our three tiered Wellness Boosters packages. The capped nature of ‘x’ sessions per month under the Wellness Boosters, differed from the fixed fee unlimited access Finish Line Programs whereby clients could attend daily if the need was there.
One of the benefits of the Wellness Boosters being that the client still accesses great care, but also experiences significant financial savings. Hence our messaging around our Wellness Boosters has been ‘Save Money. Recover Faster’.
Clients receive great value from the low monthly fees: $195 Bronze Booster, $365 Silver Booster, and $595 for the Gold Booster. Click HERE>> to learn more about the inclusions of each Booster.
Packages vs Programs
These monthly three tiered service offerings (Wellness Booster Packages) were well received by clients. So our service offerings to help our clients get them across their Physio Finish Line now looked like the below (a combination of packages, programs, and traditional session to session appointments):
Unlike a Program where services were unlimited for physiotherapy and active rehabilitation, the monthly Wellness Boosters have capped services. Click HERE>> to learn more.
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What we have learnt about Wellness Boosters™ after 1 year
We came to realise that they represented a great way to assist clients who were wanting value beyond session to session appointment attendance to cross their Physio Finish Line.
These clients may not have had the time available to commit to a 2, 6, or 12 week Finish Line Program that was required to see a return on their investment and make the most of the opportunity to maximise their function that the Programs afforded them.
Or they may have had financial constraints that meant that they were unable to invest in a 2, 6, or 12 week fixed fee unlimited access Finish Line Program.
6 months into offering the Wellness Boosters™ as a ‘maintenance only’ service offering we made a decision to offer the Wellness Boosters™ as a legitimate means of rehabilitation and helping our clients get back to their physical best following pain or injury.
Since we made this shift we have seen the Wellness Boosters™ surge ahead of the Finish Line Programs in terms of client uptake.
Wellness Booster™ uptake
Internally we view the Wellness Booster™ monthly packages as a great way to assist client’s crossing their Physio Finish Line. Given the capped services available to clients with the Wellness Booster™ packages the fees can be kept very low. Internally we see the Wellness Booster™ packages akin to an ‘economy class’ offering to clients. That is the Wellness Boosters™ will get you from point A (injured or in pain) back to point B (back to your physical best) with certainty and savings. Since launching the Wellness Boosters we have seen over one hundred clients cross their Physio Finish Line® using the Wellness Booster™ packages. The Wellness Booster™ offerings are in contrast to the ‘business class’ concierge type service that the fixed fee unlimited access Finish Line Programs® offer clients.
A Wellness Booster Case Study-Garry
Garry first engaged physiotherapy services in order to ensure he would be able to complete an upcoming ultra trail run (100km) Ultra Trail Run Australia. Garry was suffering from proximal hamstring tendinopathy, and was not making things better through the loading Garry’s legs were being subjected to with his run training.
Garry accessed services as follows from late December:
- Initial 1hr appointment (Discover Recover Session)
- Gold Booster x 2: 3 x 30min physiotherapy sessions per month, clinical pilates classes, AlterG anti-gravity treadmill running, and remedial massage
- Silver Booster x2 : 2x30min physiotherapy sessions per month, clinical pilates classes, AlterG anti-gravity treadmill running, and remedial massage
In late March 2017 Garry and I celebrated the crossing of his Physio Finish Line (completion of his rehabilitation) and Garry was back to his physical best (see below). Garry had successfully returned to doing all of the running training he felt he needed to do ahead of the UTA, and was very happy.
In summary
We have found the addition of a monthly fixed fee service offering to have benefited our client journeys of going from in pain or injured back to their physical best and crossing their Physio Finish Line®. We enjoy that the Wellness Booster™ packages help our clients recover faster and save money.
Next steps
- If you are client looking for the certainty of going from injury or in pain back to your physical best click HERE>> to schedule your initial appointment.
- If you are a practice owner looking to improve your service to your clients and get more respected results than click HERE>> to subscribe to the POGO Partners™ mailing list. We will keep you updated on how you can benefit from our learnings around moving beyond exclusively offering only session to session time based billing services.
Physio With a Finish Line™,
Brad Beer (APAM)
Physiotherapist (APAM)
Author ‘You CAN Run Pain Free!’
Founder POGO Physio
Host The Physical Performance Show
Featured in the Top 50 Physical Therapy Blog
