Starting your own practice grants you several freedoms regarding patient selection, management, and scheduling, but it can also pose significant challenges:
How do you know you’re ready to branch off on your own? How do you drive patients to your door? How do you ensure your armamentarium is robust enough to not only support your patients but also strengthen your reputation as a practitioner?
In this month’s Practice Success Story, we’ve joined forces with Dr. Kurt Relation to learn how he determined the best course of action for starting his own practice.
Setting Down the Scalpel: Discover One Podiatrist’s Non-Invasive Approach with Shockwave and EMTT
Board certified podiatric surgeon Dr. Kurt Relation, DPM., keeps his patients at the center of attention at his practice, Bluestone Podiatry. He offers personalized care at every appointment, creating a safe, comfortable patient experience while finding and addressing the root causes of their discomfort.
Dr. Relation was no stranger to Radial Pressure Wave (EPAT), Focused Shockwave (ESWT), and Magnetotransduction (EMTT) when he decided to open his own practice in 2024. He had previously worked with another practice that already had shockwave in its armamentarium, and he was able to see first-hand just how effective the technology was. As such, he knew he’d be incorporating shockwave and EMTT immediately when his doors opened. At his previous practice, shockwave and EMTT were delivering extraordinary results, but he felt that there was a disconnect between the way treatments were performed, and the way patients were addressed. It was then that he decided to branch out and start his own practice.
A New Approach To Patient Care
In addition to treating patients and getting them back on track, Dr. Relation’s main focus was to make shockwave and EMTT feel like more of a specialty treatment. Because it is a cash pay modality, his goal was to create an experience that patients felt was worth the investment. To ensure his practice was set apart from others, he took a calculated approach - everything, from the wall color to the treatment routine itself, has a specific purpose. He dedicated a specific room in his practice to shockwave and EMTT technologies - appropriately named the “EPAT room.” It’s set up like a spa, with a soft massage table, plants, a fountain, and art work.
With the majority of Dr. Relation’s clients working stressful corporate jobs, Dr. Relation designed his practice as a place for his patients to unwind and relax.
If you have a MAGNETOLITH, then you’ll know that EMTT is considered the “hands-off” portion of treatment. As a “set it and forget it” type of technology, practitioners are free to take part in other tasks while the EMTT is working its magic on patients. Dr. Relation starts his treatment session with radial and focused technologies (if applicable), and purposefully ends his treatment sessions with EMTT. He uses the EMTT as an opportunity to give his patients a spa-like experience - even dimming the lights and playing soothing music to help them relax. By creating a luxurious experience for patients, it can help them mentally justify the price, thus making it even more “worth it” in the eyes of the customer.
The Benefits of Marketing, Promotion, and Proper Training
If there is one piece of advice that Dr. Relation could give to those who are considering branching out on their own, it’s this: it is nearly impossible to run a successful business without strong marketing and promotion. He puts his heart and soul into making sure patients (old and new) know about the regenerative technologies he offers, and how they can benefit from them.
He uses every opportunity he can to promote EPAT, ESWT, and EMTT - social media posts, setting up booths at local runs, and even sponsoring the Capital Sweat Festival in Schenectady, New York. He also joined a running influencer on their podcast to promote EPAT, and offered discounted sessions in exchange for exposure.
Of course, without knowing how to use these devices, success would be minimal, at best. By purchasing his devices from CuraMedix, Dr. Relation was guaranteed unrivaled service, marketing support, and training. Clinical Applications Specialists from CuraMedix visited him on-site, set up all of his equipment, then spent time explaining the proper application techniques and protocols that he would be using in his practice.
CuraMedix also offers two annual Institute for Tissue Regeneration & Repair conferences, on both the East and West Coast. These conferences are a marathon of all things shockwave, with marketing tips & tricks, hands-on education, panels with international shockwave experts, and more. Dr. Relation attended our December 2024 conference in Boston to learn as much as he could from the experts.
Taking a Leap of Faith
Once Dr. Relation’s devices were installed and his training was complete, he took a leap of faith - starting out slowly by treating plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis. Once he realized how easy it was to use the technology, and how beneficial it was to both his practice and his patients, he moved on to treating more challenging cases - posterior tibial tendonitis, elderly, pediatric, and athletic patients, and even semi-pro golfers.
With the addition of shockwave and EMTT, Dr. Relation has seen a dramatic improvement in business. His daily routine has undergone a significant change, however - diving deeply into a regenerative approach, and setting the scalpel to the side for when it’s absolutely necessary. His last plantar fasciotomy was more than five years ago, and his last achilles tendon surgery was also several years ago.
In an interesting turn of events, his customer base has changed as well. He started his practice in January of 2024, and by April of 2024, his number of patients skyrocketed. Dr. Relation is only in the office twice a week, but he sees as many patients as a full time practitioner. Most of his patients are new - learning of him from his marketing, word of mouth, and outreach through the local community.
In some cases, of course, surgery is inevitable, but Dr. Relation is still able to make use of his devices, even when an operation is required. Dr. Relation offers EMTT at a discounted rate for his postoperative patients, giving them time in the spa-like “EPAT room” to mentally and physically recover from the stress of an invasive procedure.
The Evidence Doesn't Lie
Don’t just take our word for it - we’ll let the evidence and patient testimonials do the talking. In healthcare, challenging cases can be as intriguing as they are frustrating. Dr. Relation’s mantra for cases like these? When in doubt, try shockwave.
From chronic wounds (treated completely after just five shockwave therapy sessions) to a 50% achilles tendon tear who wanted to avoid surgery at all costs (healed fully after just three months of EPAT and ESWT), shockwave therapy is a formidable opponent for those seemingly unsolvable cases.
One of Dr. Relation’s first cases was a drummer suffering from chronic achilles tendinosis - an unfortunate ramification of using the double bass pedal in his rock band. Dr. Relation treated him initially with EPAT, then after a rest period, treated with both EPAT and ESWT, and a final touch-up session with EMTT. Today, the drummer is markedly improved and performing on stage at his fullest potential.
Advice From the Expert
For those who wrestle with how best to position and offer shockwave and EMTT to your patients, Dr. Relation has some advice:
Don’t be afraid to offer these technologies. Don’t get in your own head about insurance options, or about shockwave and EMTT being cash pay modalities. When you’re consulting with patients, be sure to list shockwave and EMTT as treatment options. Highlight that it’s backed by research, emphasize its tremendously high success rate, and mention that it’s non-invasive with no down time.
Most importantly: be upfront about the cost. For their own health and wellness, people are willing to pay more than you think, especially if they know it’s backed by proven results. Society as of late has been turning towards a more holistic approach for everything, including healthcare. Patients want something that’s non-invasive with no needles, no anesthesia, and no down time. If you can give them all of that, chances are very high the cash-pay modality will be inconsequential to them, and you can provide top-level care, knowing it’s what’s best for your patients.
Harness the Power of Shockwave and EMTT in Your Practice
As the leading US distributor of STORZ Medical devices, including Radial Pressure Wave (EPAT), Extracorporeal Shockwave (ESWT), and Magnetotransduction (EMTT), CuraMedix is known for unrivaled service, support, education, and training. With the right tools in your armamentarium, and training and guidance from CuraMedix, you can not only increase your caseload, but increase the number of positive outcomes achieved on a weekly basis.
As regenerative technologies evolve, more practitioners like Dr. Relation are using EPAT, ESWT, and/or EMTT technologies to build a successful practice. Ready to join them, and provide next-level patient care for your patients? Contact us and we can connect you with one of our shockwave or EMTT experts today.
