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Demand Soars for Non-Surgical Knee Pain Treatment in response to COVID-19 Pandemic…

By May 21, 2021 No Comments

Patented Non-Surgical Treatment Option, The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™, is helping thousands nationwide that have had their knee replacement surgeries delayed or canceled find relief and the best part is – it’s covered by most insurance including Medicare!

Arthritis is a serious health crisis in the US today. The CDC estimates that 1 in 4 (or 54.4 million) US adults have some form of arthritis, a figure that is projected to reach 78 million by the year 2040. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting 32.5 million US adults.1 The high prevalence of arthritis manifests in enormous societal and personal costs, amongst which Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), more commonly known as Knee Replacement Surgery, is a leading concern and crushing burden to our US healthcare infrastructure and the patient alike. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery published in 2010 4.7 million individuals (3.0 million women and 1.7 million men) underwent total knee replacement surgery.2 According to a leading healthcare finance company, the average cost for a total knee replacement in the United States is $57,000.3 If you do the math, that’s roughly $267,900,000,000 (Two-Hundred Sixty-Seven Billion Dollars) spent on knee replacement surgery in the US in 2010 alone! And that’s only the economic burden…

Knee Replacement surgery also comes with serious health and safety risks, as well as uncertain clinical outcomes. In a 2018 study published in The World Journal or Orthopedics titled “Why total knees fail-A modern perspective review”, it was found that over 60,000 TKA revision procedures were performed between 2005 and 2006 across the United States.4 The most common cause of revision knee arthroplasty was:

·      Infection at 25.2%

·      Implant loosening at 16.1%

·      Implant failure or breakage at 9.7%

While those statistics alone may seem concerning, up to 30% of patients are dissatisfied after only one year from surgery,5 and worst of all 1 in 200 Knee Replacement Patients Die within 90-Days of Surgery!6

Because of the high-cost associated with TKA, as well as the serious potential risks to the patients, and uncertain clinical outcomes, public opinion towards knee replacement surgery was already turning as more patients began to opt for less-costly and less-risky non-surgical alternatives, but that was before the world was overcome by the largest viral pandemic in human history, SARS-CoV-2 (or COVID-19 as it’s more commonly referred to). Suddenly the concept of going into a hospital or surgery center became overwhelming for millions of American’s over fear of contracting COVID-19 and potential death – and this on top of the existing risks associated with TKA that could already lead to death! But what’s more, even the patients who still wanted to have their TKA performed in 2020 often found they could not due to local health department regulations that classified joint replacement surgery as “non-essential”. According to The Journal of Arthroplasty during the lockdown period in early 2020 upwards of 1-Million TKA’s were delayed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.7 This left countless American’s stuck in pain, without their mobility and independence, struggling with oral NSAID’s, prescription pain-killers, cortisone injections and the like while unable to have their surgery performed. In response to this unfortunate situation a new consumer group was created, not just those that wanted to avoid knee replacement surgery altogether, but now also those that were simply looking for something, anything, that could provide relief while they waited for the eventuality of surgery. And that is where The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ comes in…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic we had sustained success in generating bountiful new patient flow for our clients around the country, as well as our own clinics. However, due to the nationwide stay at home order issued in April of 2019 by President Donald J. Trump it became highly uncertain if anything we had done before would continue to deliver results in what would become our nation’s “new normal” for more than a year. So just as we did before during the financial crisis of 2008, we had to rapidly adjust and evolve our business model to meet the demands created by a situation far outside of our own control.

Our first pivot came in response to our live new patient workshop events, which we previously held at venues such as Golden Coral and other casual dining restaurants popular with the elderly. But with these venues initially closed in response to the stay-at-home order, and limited by social distancing and mask mandates thereafter, what had become our most consistent and cost-effective means of generating new Osteoarthritis Knee Pain patients to our facilities nationwide disappeared in a moments notice. Now faced with a potential devastating interruption of new patient flow, we did what so many other businesses eventually had to do as well – we went virtual.

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While our initial hope was simply to manage some attendance to these Zoom presentations, and a couple conversions to initial consultation for care, we could have never imagined the monumental impact this one simple change was about to have on our business model… In our first event for Dr. Rafael Cruz, MD who practices in the small town of Jeffersonville Indiana, who had just installed our Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ into his practice only a couple months prior to the onset of the pandemic, we were able to generate seven new patients for him. Not too bad, it was enough to get his facility going and he was pleased with the results (you can hear it in his own words here: https://vimeo.com/channels/ips/443170161). But with each passing webinar we presented the results steadily improved, culminating recently with Dr. Timothy Jones, MD of San Luis Obispo California who had 39 new-patient consultations from a single webinar event (https://vimeo.com/channels/ips/548519791)!

But it’s not just virtual new patient workshops that changed our business model for the better, and ultimately allowed us to help more people relieve their pain, improve their mobility, and delay or avoid knee replacement surgery, but also television advertising. I know what you’re thinking if you’ve ever advertised on TV before the results just aren’t what they used to be with the advent of DVR’s, followed by so many Americans “cutting the cord” and leaving broadcast and cable TV in favor of streaming platforms like Netflix or Sling. The COVID-19 pandemic made TV popular again, or at least broadcast news programing that is, as so many millions of Americans watched their local and national news programs to get updates on the next great shortage from toilet paper to meat, and even most recently gasoline. Due to the lack of access to knee replacement surgery, which had been deemed “non-essential” in so many parts of the country, and the increase in viewership of news programing we took our already successful library of direct-response TV commercials and added a little disclaimer letting people know “If your knee replacement surgery has been delayed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic an alternative natural treatment could provide relief”. We immediately saw a dramatic increase in response across the country to this updated commercial: https://vimeo.com/channels/ips/405566631

Due in no small part to these evolutions of our new patient marketing strategy, not only were our clients able to survive the impact of the COVID-10 pandemic, but they were able to thrive and even reach all-time high-performance watermarks! One of our clients, a private investor from Athens Georgia, was able to increase their new patient flow to forty-nine in June of last year, and since then has expanded further to a second clinic site with a third in the works! You can hear Don tell his story first-hand in this testimonial video: https://vimeo.com/channels/ips/437933259

While I was personally pleased we were able to help so many of our existing clients turn what could have been a catastrophic event, instead into a time of great expansion, prosperity, and new opportunity our company that developed the AARP program, which trains, certifies, supplies, supports, and promotes our clients non-surgical treatment centers around the country, did not share in the same good fortune. You see; it had become increasingly difficult to convince a doctor to invest in a new treatment alternative that required a substantial investment into new technology, such as a compact, portable, low-dose, video fluoroscopy unit, when it was uncertain if they could even keep their practice open any longer due to the restrictions associated with COVID-19 and the government response thereto. So, we too had to evolve our business model to meet the demands of this “new normal” as well.

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Our breakthrough to newfound success, much like our clients, also happened in two phases. The first was finding new potential customers that did not exist in the same quantity prior to the pandemic. For our clients it was patients who no longer had access to the option of knee replacement surgery, but for us it was private investors that suffered losses in the volatile financial markets that followed the emergence of COVID-19 globally and were looking for a more stable, long-term investment that was considered to be “recession-proof”. These individuals weren’t scarred to make an investment at a time when the future truly was unknown, and they had the financial backing to do it as well. I’m proud to say that our company, Integrative Practice Solutions, was able to help nearly one new private investor each month in 2020 plan, staff, credential their facility with insurance, and launch a new non-surgical Osteoarthritis treatment center of excellence and that each and every one has seen positive growth without a single failure to-date!

But what about the doctors? Private practices have always been our core customer base, especially primary care physicians who are often the first to see the complaint of knee pain, loss of mobility, and onset of the debilitating effects of Osteoarthritis in their patients. It is far easier to offer a non-surgical treatment option that is 92.7% effective at significantly reducing the pain associated with Osteoarthritis,8 to people that are already suffering with it and are right in front of you.

Therefore, our challenge was to find a way to make it easier for the private physician, already struggling to adapt to the “new normal” of practicing medicine in a post-COVID-19 world, to add The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ to their practice without the fear of not being able to pay for the necessary equipment, supplies, and training to do so. As a result, we began searching for new financial backers, creative and aggressive sources of capital equipment financing that could develop low-risk programs that would allow our clients to add this much-needed, in-demand treatment option to their practices, but also allow them to pay for it later; after they were already producing results and experiencing increased collections and profitability. It was no easy feat, but we managed to secure four new financing sources consisting of a major national bank, a direct lender, a financial technology company, and a brokerage that were each able to offer unique financing programs to our potential clients. These programs allow three to six month “payment deferments” where the loan repayment does not start until well after the physician has had the ability to utilize the equipment, products, and techniques to generate substantial new revenue to the practice. Another alternative financing program allows the doctor to “Step-Up” their payments over an entire year; $99 a month for the first six months, then $500 for three more months, and $1,000 for three more, with their first full monthly payment not becoming due until the thirteenth month. Just to put that in perspective, that’s an entire year of owning and operating the equipment and system for only $5,094 when a single bilateral OA case value averages ~$11,409 at Medicare’s allowable fee schedule.9 In other words the proceeds of a single patient treated with The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ can more than cover the first years’ cost of ownership.

So, if you are in private practice, with an elderly patient population that struggles with knee pain and limited ambulation, and 2020 was a “down year” for your financially – this may be the solution to turn your fortunes around and make a new fortune in 2021 and beyond! All you have to do is schedule a risk-free webinar to learn more about The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ and how it may fit into your unique practice environment by entering your name and contact information here: https://integrativepracticesolutions.com/private-webinar-ips/

Ø The webinar and practice evaluation are free.

Ø The treatment protocol is 92.7% clinically effective, with no known side-effects, drug-interactions, and far less costly and risky than knee replacement surgery.8

Ø The average case value at Medicare’s allowable fee schedule is ~$11,409 per-patient, with many practices adding $2.1 Million or more to their annual collections!9

Ø What are you waiting for? Schedule your risk-free webinar today at: https://integrativepracticesolutions.com/private-webinar-ips/

With more than 175 clinics certified in The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol™ nationally, we are proud to help thousands of patients each year find relief from their pain, and improvement in their function, without the need for addictive pain medications, or risky surgeries, but there is so much more work to be done… Osteoarthritis is now the 3rd fastest growing condition in the US (75%), behind only diabetes (135%) and dementia (84%)11  and there is far more demand for help than there is supply. Please help us turn the tide in this fight against Osteoarthritis by adding a proven clinically effective non-surgical treatment alternative in your practice. Your patients have nothing to lose but their pain, and you have so much to potentially gain…

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To learn more about how adding this protocol to your practice can increase clinical outcomes, reduce risk, and provide substantial additional profits schedule a risk-free introductory webinar here or call (855) 854-6332 today!

 

About the Author: Lance Liberti is a nationally recognized healthcare consultant and new patient marketing professional with more than a decade of practical experience in the field. His experience spans multiple areas of practice including non-surgical spinal decompression, medically supervised weight loss, aesthetic medicine, and non-operative extremity pain management. The president and CEO of Integrative Practice Solutions, Mr. Liberti specializes in assisting health and wellness professionals to integrate boutique medical services into their practices to offer non-surgical solutions to those suffering from various degenerative musculoskeletal conditions. To learn more about Mr. Liberti’s extensive experience and see examples of his work products view his LinkedIn profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanceliberti

Sources:

1)    https://oaaction.unc.edu/oa-module/oa-prevalence-and-burden/

2)    https://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/Abstract/2015/09020/Prevalence_of_Total_Hip_and_Knee_Replacement_in.2.aspx

3)    https://www.lendingpoint.com/blog/knee-replacement-what-it-costs-and-how-to-pay-for-it/

4)    Lum ZC, Shieh AK, Dorr LD. Why total knees fail-A modern perspective review. World J Orthop 2018; 9(4): 60-64 [PMID: 29686970 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v9.i4.60]

5)    https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-020-3041-y

6)    https://journals.lww.com/clinorthop/Fulltext/2017/02000/Not_the_Last_Word__Safety_Alert__One_in_200_Knee.5.aspx

7)    https://www.arthroplastyjournal.org/article/S0883-5403(20)30448-4/fulltext

8)    Nicholas Ghanem, M.Sc. ““Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid in Tandem with Physical Therapy Program for the Treatment of Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis”

9)    https://integrativepracticesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OA-Revenue-Projections.pdf

10) https://integrativepracticesolutions.com/ips-practitioner-locator/

11) https://www.oarsi.org/sites/default/files/docs/2016/oarsi_white_paper_oa_serious_disease_121416_1.pdf

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