Inspiring Conversations with Owen Campbell of Simplify Motion Physical Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Campbell.

Hi Owen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been a physical therapist for 15 years and I spent a long time running clinics in the typical insurance model. It was a great opportunity to learn how to treat all different injuries, and achieve my board certification. As I went along, I realized I had a passion for treating golfers, and became a Titleist Medical Professional.

The swing is complex, and to evaluate and address pain and dysfunction in the golf swing, you need the time to do it. Unfortunately with declining reimbursement rates and increasing costs, the insurance model incentivizes volume. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to provide the care and attention needed to reliably fix golfers’ pain. So in 2023 I decided to open Simplify Motion Physical Therapy.

By opening a concierge practice, I am able to decrease the volume of patients I need to see. This means I can come to a patient’s house, take a full hour or more to evaluate the body and swing, and provide full and challenging follow up sessions to get golfers back to play fast. I’m also board certified in orthopedics, so I am able to treat pretty much any ache and pain.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No. Not at all!

The biggest struggle is that you start a practice to better serve patients, but you quickly realize you are in the sales and marketing business. Ideally a new patient will see me for 6-8 weeks and never need me for that issue again. It’s a great product, but then I need to get back out and find another patient.

Learning the ins-and-outs of networking, social media, and paid advertising has been a fun challenge, but an expensive one. I need to pay down my ignorance tax, and it’s particularly painful when you see hundreds of dollars go out the door without a new patient to show for it.

It’s also been rocky personally. I have been paid on salary my whole career. Now, every patient cancellation has an immediate impact on my ability to pay my bills. I’ve built my practice to a point that I don’t live and die with each cancellation, but it was a rough first year in that department.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Simplify Motion Physical Therapy is a concierge mobile physical therapy practice specializing in golf rehab and performance. We also treat orthopedic conditions. It’s owned and operated by me, and I’m the only employee.

I’ve been a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) for 15 years and board certified in orthopedics (OCS) for 10 years. Only 5% of the profession goes on to be board certified. I’ve worked with professional athletes, performers, and I coordinate with the Cleveland Clinic on VIPs in Scottsdale. I’m also certified through Titleist to treat golfers (TPI).

What sets me apart is experience and the ability to handle pretty much anything thrown at me clinically. There is a big difference between 5 years experience and 15 years. It is common for newer graduates to get 3-4 years in a clinic and then start concierge practice. Because the economic issues in PT have been more prominent in the past 10 years, it’s mostly younger clinicians in this space. What I offer is the security of knowing you have someone who has gotten the reps in.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Understand that you only find out what business you are REALLY in once you are in it. I thought I was in the “provide great care” business. That is the baseline expectation of a good practice. I soon found out I was really in the marketing and sales business if my goal was to have a healthy thriving concierge practice. Not everyone can afford to pay concierge prices, so you need to be a great communicator of why you are better than the busy clinic down the street.

Pricing:

• $175/in-home session (one hour)
• 10% off 10 in-home sessions (one hour)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simplifymotion.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplifymotion/?next=%2F
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550712405469
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arizona-health-and-performance/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimplifyMotion

Image Credits
BNelly Photography – Bryan Nelson