Opportunities in the secondary healthcare market:
The self-payer sector as a sustainable mainstay
Health practice Richter & Lopez from Mönchengladbach
Confidently moving into the self-pay area in physical therapy
Since 1999, the health practice Richter & Lopez has existed in Mönchengladbach, led by the physiotherapists Axel-André Richter and his colleague Victor Lopez. On 230 square meters of practice space, they offer their patients much more than a traditional physiotherapy practice. While Victor Lopez devotes himself more to classical physiotherapy and is mainly concerned, for example, with the health of chronically ill or cancer patients, Axel-André Richter, and his colleague devote themselves to the offers in the self-pay area.
They integrated this into the practice at an early stage. With the early establishment of the self-payer area, Richter and his colleague wanted to be as independent as possible from the statutory health insurance (SHI) or the health insurance companies in the health care market. Due to the increasingly bureaucratic requirements in the health care system and especially in physiotherapy, the two dedicated themselves to the second health care market with the following thought: Either it is worth it to the people to make money in hand for their health. We offer them individual solutions and take the time, or not.
“We provide therapy far from traditional physical therapy, as physical therapy encompasses both physical therapy and exercise therapy procedures and has long gone beyond treating the ‘sick.’ ”
Mrs. Richter and the owners Axel-André Richter & Victor Lopez
Practice Profile |
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Location | Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
Founded | 1999 |
Practice Size | 230 qm |
Main Focus | Physiotherapy, Pain Therapy, Movement Science |
Employees | 3 therapists |
More Info | www.richterlopez.de |
Since 2009, they have also been offering their patients a new pain therapy, according to Liebscher and Bracht. Last year, Richter & Lopez opted for Pixformance’s digital training concept to expand the range of self-pay physiotherapy services.
“In pain therapy, patients are getting younger and younger. Pixformance fits in well with that, too, because it appeals to people 30+.”
The functional full-body workout, available on the healthcare market since 2012, was a good fit for her practice. “With pain management, patients are getting younger and younger. Pixformance also fits in well with that, as it appeals to both older and younger people 30+. Patients then are not about short-term aches and pains, the beach body or wellness per se, but people who are looking for a long-term, health-promoting workout,” Richter says.
It was not only in terms of the appropriate patient group addressed that Pixformance fit in with the new practice idea. For Richter and his team, it was always clear that standard equipment training, in which only individual muscle groups are trained, was out of the question. Axel-André Richter, therefore, prefers to focus on versatile, varied training:
“Patients are usually already sitting on the way to work, and at work, then they shouldn’t still have to sit during training therapy.” The breadth of Pixformance’s training offerings has won him over. At the Pixformance station, he has more than 200 full-body functional exercises available for his patients. These can be selected on the online platform and adapted according to the patient’s needs and state of health.
“The great thing is that I can customize the new workout for each of our patients. From competitive athletes to grannies, there’s something for everyone.”
He adds: “Thanks to the live feedback, the easily viewable training results, and the Pixformance app, you are super supported and can always see where you stand and what you have already achieved. The innovation is also catching on with customers. And it also has to be said that when I introduce the equipment to new people, they are immediately thrilled because the stations also look great.”
The approx. 1.30 m large training station, which at first glance looks a bit like an oversized smartphone, can be found four times on the premises of the health practice. Thus, Richter and his team have integrated a spacious training area into their self-pay area, suitable for individual training sessions and group courses. “There has been much positive feedback about the training so far. Even if competitive athletes are a bit hesitant at first, they’re convinced afterward when I then put together the right training for them.”
In this context, the possibility of virtually supervised training — even without constant 1‑to‑1 supervision — is also increasingly important for the therapists of the health practice. If their patients have already trained before coming to the station and personalized programs have been created accordingly, they may be able to carry out the training on their own.
“If ever a therapist is down, you can offer that as a backup and just compensate with Pixformance, so the therapy session doesn’t have to be canceled.”
“If a therapist ever drops out, you can offer that as a backup and just compensate with that, so the therapy session doesn’t have to be canceled,” Richter said. He trains in front of the equipment himself 2 to 3 times a week and finds “the corrections in real-time are a great support there so that our patients can always train safely and responsibly, even without staff.” Beyond the digital training at the station, the Pixformance online platform and the Pixformance app also help with uncomplicated patient care.
“Now, in times of the pandemic, the offer via the Pixformance app is also very professional. The people have very well received it we have shown that they can continue their training at home in an emergency. The advantage for patients is that if they can’t or don’t want to come to the practice, they can easily access their exercises at home. And we don’t then have to record private videos to share the exercises.”
Still, many patients rely on personal and human interaction. So, when possible, most patients prefer to take advantage of on-site training at the wards, which can be made possible during the pandemic thanks to the well-ventilated rooms and non-contact training.
With pain therapy and the Pixformance training concept integrated in 2020, Richter & Lopez have integrated an extensive self-pay area into their practice and thus further consolidated their foothold in the second health market.
The goal has always been to operate largely independently of statutory regulations and SHI and to concentrate fully on the recovery of patients. Their experience is that people who are aware of the added value of the therapy are also willing (if possible) to pay the money as self-payers. So this is very beneficial to their business because it has enabled Richter and his team to build up a thriving self-pay sector and convert and retain their patients as customers in the long term.
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