New Social Media Site Spotlights PTs

$5M Venture Capital Backs Start Up

Move over Sermo…Hello Therapydia, a new health care online community created to connect physical therapists.  The site's goal is to mobilize all US PTs using social media to address key industry issues and elevate the profession.  It aggregates relevant content from 300 sites and offers a free assessment tool to aid PTs in building a professional branding online.  Site expansion will include patients, referring physicians and related wellness practitioners to benefit site users with potential referrals and patient engagement.  
Therapydia is backed with $5M from Peterson Ventures, de Anda Capital and Western Technology Investment.

PIC & New Investors Eye Expansion

Urgent care chain, Physicians Immediate Care (PIC), is now better equipped to increase its Midwest presence thanks to new investors LLR Partners, Wellpoint and former Walgreen's executive, Stanley Blaylock.  
Investor and new PIC President & CEO, Mr. Blaylock, expects the chain to grow from its current 20 clinics to over 100 in the next six years --- notably in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.  Dr. John Koehler, one of the founders of PIC, will remain with the company as shareholder and Chief Medical Officer.  He and the investors recognize the growth potential of urgent care and according to Dr. Koehler, it is in "the sweet spot of what needs to be done in terms of controlling costs and increasing [insurance] access." >>Read more

Hill-Rom Reaches Outside DME

...Acquires Aspen Surgical
Hill-Rom, a hospital bed and equipment supplier since 1939, enhanced its existing surgical platform with the acquisition of privately-held Aspen Surgical for $400M.  Aspen Surgical is a leader in surgical and specialty medical products including scalpels, operating room disposables and instruments and wound care products.  
Hill-Rom's move should be a positive one as growth of the disposable medical supplies market is anticipated based on aging demographic patterns, extended insurance coverage by Affordable Care Act, and rising incidence of disease and disorders.  The market is forecast to increase 4.3% annually to $47B in 2016.

"With the addition of Aspen Surgical, Hill-Rom is well positioned for growth and geographic expansion in our surgical business, particularly in the safety product segments," said John J. Greisch, President and CEO of Hill-Rom.

Source:  Deanna Pogorelc, MedCity News  >>Read more

Recent M&A Activity on Par with Q2, 2011

The recently published The Health Care M&A Report reveals a busy Q2, 2012.  Preliminary figures indicate that while total acquisition dollars dipped, the absolute number of deals matched that of an active Q2, 2011 ($75B). The health care technology segment accounted for over 60% of the $61B spent on deals from April-June, 2012.  The technology segment includes medical devices, pharmaceuticals, e-Health, biotechnology.  Sectors in the health care services segment include rehabilitation, labs, managed care, physician groups, hospitals, etc.  >>Read more
Source:  Irving Levin Associates

More Health Care Deals Expected

Unless you've been under a rock, you know that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in late June.  Analysts expect the ruling to spur consolidation of health care companies looking to cash in on an increase in Medicaid enrollment.  Wellpoint led the way with its $4.9B acquisition of Amerigroup. Antoine Gara's article (Health Care:  Obamacare M&A Trumps Weak Earnings Outlook) suggests Humana, Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealth could follow suit.  Recent comments regarding Centene may have elevated it to the takeover target frontrunner.  

Cloud-based Service Provider Lands at MedExpress

MedExpress Urgent Care recently selected Athenahealth for its cloud-based medical billing capabilities and live and automated patient communications service. 

Athenahealth's cloud technology offers a scalable platform...one that will grow with MedExpress’ expansion - enhancing the urgent care provider’s operational productivity as well as their patient’s experience.  According to Kevin Ruffe, MedExpress CIO "By streamlining processes based on the needs of our patients, we are able to facilitate an efficient information flow that allows our health care professionals to focus on each and every patient who walks through our doors."  >>Read more

DIY Healthcare?

Consumers Say Yes and NO

With increasing buzz around eHealth, the data points from a recent Accenture survey (June, 2012) are not too surprising.  Survey results from, Is eHealth Enough to Satisfy Patients' Desire for Self-service?, indicate significant interest among consumers in online health communication.

Despite their self-serve appetite, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a healthcare forecaster, confirms that consumers still value face time with healthcare providers. >>Read more

The Cloud - Ready for Take Off in Healthcare

Despite privacy and regulatory concerns that have restrained its use to date, cloud computing in the health care industry is on the rise. MarketsandMarkets, in a recent research report, forecasted the health care cloud computing market to reach $5.4B by 2017, a compounded annual growth rate of 20% (vs. 4% in 2011). This global estimate encompasses use in clinical (e.g.: EHR, software imaging, physician order entry) and non-clinical (e.g.: patient billing, claims management) applications.

Essentially, cloud technology enables users to use the Internet from anywhere to access computing capabilities and data hosted in another location, as opposed to onsite. The cloud enables hospitals, clinics, practitioners to share patient data across various settings and geographies to improve and expedite patient diagnosis and treatment. On the business side, it allows an IT staff or department to increase performance of their IT infrastructure while decreasing costs. >> Read more

Physical Therapy News...

Drayer Physical Therapy Institute                 Gets New Owner 

GS Capital Partners acquired Drayer, a leading care provider in the outpatient rehabilitation market, from Linden Capital Partners.

Based in Hummelstown, PA, Drayer owns or manages 80+ clinics that primarily treat sports-related injuries and orthopedic disorders.  Clinics, located across 14 states, are in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Northwest U.S.  With its new partner, Drayer's management will continue to focus on company growth, their patient-first culture and commitment to employees.

Rx for the Future?

Telemedicine – it’s not a new specialty, rather a means of delivering medical information...electronically (e.g.: telephones, website, email, webcams, etc.).  A 2010 Intel survey of health care decision makers suggests that this emerging market will transform the health care industry in the next decade.  In financial terms, a more recent study by BCC Research estimates growth of 18.6% from 2011 to 2016 to over $27B.

What’s behind the growth? Joan Voight, CNBC.com in a recent post, Telemedicine: A Prescription For Lower Health-Care Costs? cites examples of satisfied small business owners.  Along with employees enjoying the convenience of a virtual exam, health care providers are embracing the alternative delivery system. Although provider payment policies are evolving, many third party payers including Medicare and private health insurance plans are beginning to pay for online visits.  Typically, the online rate is lower than a face-to-face visit but it’s better than no reimbursement at all.  

Checklist: Physical Therapy EMR Search

An industry blogger, physical therapist and electronic medical records advocate, Nitin Chhoda, cautions against a “one size fits all” approach to an EMR solution.  As physical therapy EMR usage continues to expand, Chhoda suggests key criteria for an effective vendor search:  Specialization, Flexibility, Ease of Use, Requirements, Tech Support.  >>Read more

Physical Therapy Goes to Work...

A 2011 survey of employer health plans revealed that 31% of big companies offered on-site clinics with another 9% considering them.  Physical therapy is a frequent add-on to the traditional clinic "wellness" services.  Other offerings driven by the needs of workers, locale or industry include dental exams, mental health counseling, acupuncture, massage therapy, etc.  While not a revenue stream, add-on services have helped maintain productivity and proved to be an effective staff retention and recruitment tool.  >>Read more
Kaiser Health News - By Michelle Andrews - June 18, 2012

How Safe is Patient Data?

SmartMoney sounds the alarm...and prompts the question: 

How well are health care providers protecting sensitive patient info?

A Risky Rx for Your Digital Records

SmartMoney Magazine - By Tania Karas - June 12, 2012

Few health care trends have gotten as much press of late as the mad rush into electronic health records.  Physicians, driven by the promose of better care, cost savings and nearly $23 billion in new federal incentive payments, are racing to turn their scribbled medical records into digital files.  Thirty-five percent of hospitals now use such systems, more than double the share two years ago, according to U.S. government figures.  bur for all the hype about electronic records, little attention has been paid to what some say is a serious weak spot:  When those sensitive bits and bytes fall into the wrong hands, it's often patients who feel the pain.

 

Since 2009, there have been more than 420 security breaches involving the records of some 19 million patients, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.  And such breaches are on the rise. >>Read more

Urgent Care News ....

In a press release dated June 12, 2012, we learned Hometown Urgent Care was acquired by Ridgemont Equity Partners.

Hometown Urgent Care operates about 25 urgent care centers in Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky and was privately owned.

Ridgemont Equity Partners is a private equity firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. This acquistion will be a platform business for Ridgemont.

If you have questions about selling your urgent care business, please contact MT Consulting- we have represented urgent care business owners including, in 2007, Med Express Urgent Care [Morgantown, West Virginia] when it was sold to Excellere Partners.

Patience ....

......is a key ingredient to getting the best deal when you are selling your business.

Don't put your business for sale after your sales have dropped or you lose a key contract. Get yourself and your business prepared. A good time to sell is when your historical figures show favorable trends and when you can be patient to wait until you have the right offer and the best buyer.

If you can be patient - you will get more money and a better deal for your business.

I am selling my business and one buyer has asked me to agree to a "No Shop" clause

A "No Shop" clause is part of a letter of intent in which a qualified buyer says he will pay "x, y and z" for your business, the deal will be completed by a stated date and AND the buyer wants the seller to take his business off the market and refrain from discussions with other potential buyers. Hence the term "No Shop".

It is a reasonable request from a buyer who has met past deadlines and commitments. It is not a reasonable request from a buyer who has shown signs of being unfocused, or is inexperienced, or needs multiple levels of approvals and financing to close the deal.

We recommend "no shop" periods be as short as possible. If a deal moves forward to closing at a reasonable place, the buyer and seller can agree to extend the no shop period.

No Extra Charge For The Warts

Business owners tend to fret about small imperfections that will be identified when their business is put up for sale. I call these small and fixable items "warts". And every business has warts. A smart and experienced business buyer also knows every business has warts. That buyer will try to use the warts to negotiate a small price concession.

I encourage my clients "Don't sweat the small stuff (or warts)" and if a potential buyer sweats the small stuff, then there was really no deal to be had anyway cause that buyer is just kicking tires. If you have questions as to what constitutes a wart in your business, give us a call. We are wart experts.

Three Key Questions

Since a big part of an entrepreneur's success is intuitive, we like to give a "Pop Quiz" by asking three simple questions regarding their outlook on business in the next year or two:

Do you think your prices will go up or down or stay the same?
Do you think your expenses will go up or down or stay the same?
Do you think your sales volume (widgets, etc) will go up or down or stay the same?

The answers to these questions can tell us a lot about the client and his business.

Business Of The Week

Do you like to swim, snorkel or sail? Don't you wish you could do that 12 months of the year? Well if you are a licensed physical therapist, we have a great business acquistion opportunity for you. Treat patients in your own business and enjoy your water sports every day of the year. This is a well-established and very profitable practice on a Caribbean island. Contact us for details!

Our Average Client Is 49 Years Old

We keep track of many statistics. One statistic which we track is the age of our clients when they first ask us to help them to sell their business.

To get the best deal and sale price, a business owner should be prepared to work for several years for the buyer (there are exceptions to this rule so don't panic). By doing so, the buyer gets a comfort level that the seller is not just taking his money and retiring. In addition, the buyer generally views this as a positive commitment by the seller. In some cases, it can influence the buyer to pay a higher price for the business and/or include an incentive plan that entices the seller to continue to work hard and grow the business.

That is why 49 is somewhat of a golden age. It gives us sufficient time to find the best deal for our client and the client is young enough to work for a few more years but still be on his own and retired by age 55.

It's hard to beat that so don't wait too long to plan your sale or it will cost you some money and several years or so of your work-free retirement.