Shockwave and EMTT (Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy) have yielded extraordinary results in several industries - sports medicine, podiatry, chiropractic care, and pelvic floor, to name a few - but even so, it has a multitude of applications beyond these specialties. In this month’s Practice Profile, CuraMedix is highlighting one doctor who is progressing past traditional applications by using Shockwave and EMTT for an entirely different demographic: senior citizens.
Rethinking A Regenerative Approach: Expanding Beyond Sports Medicine
Dr. Beth Templin, DPT, of HouseFit Physical Therapy in St. Louis Missouri, works strictly in physical therapy, and strictly with geriatric patients who are often not surgical candidates. With pathologies ranging from knee pain, hip pain, osteoarthritis, and even Parkinson’s, she relies on alternative methods to help her patients stay healthy, active, and independent.
Dr. Templin has a cohort of patients who are over ninety years old and still living on their own. These nonagenarians need to find a reliable way to stay strong and healthy while also decreasing their pain and discomfort, so they can function at an optimal level. With insurance reimbursements going down every year, Dr. Templin knew she needed to find another way to continue with her exceptional quality of care, and simultaneously find a way to incorporate cash-pay modalities into her business.
Having heard of Shockwave in the past, and how it has helped athletes specifically, Dr. Templin was hesitant to look into this technology further. At the encouragement of a colleague, however, she looked into Shockwave and EMTT technologies and realized they were modalities that her practice, and her patients, would benefit from greatly.
Integrating Shockwave and EMTT: A New Approach to Geriatric Care
Dr. Templin started by adding Magnetotransduction (EMTT) and radial pressure wave (EPAT®) to her armamentarium, then added focused Shockwave (ESWT) not long after that. She uses all three technologies for every patient unless it’s contraindicated (i.e. patients with cancer, pacemakers, cochlear implants, etc.) because she knows these evidence-based technologies are easy to use, virtually risk-free, and require no down-time.
Almost immediately, she noticed a dramatic improvement in not only patient outcomes, but practice revenue as well. Dr. Templin asks patients to quantify how much better they feel after sessions in percentages, and one patient in particular reported an 80% improvement in their pain and range of motion after only a few weeks of Shockwave treatment. 
A standout case for Dr. Templin was a patient named Dick, whom Dr. Templin affectionately deemed a “tough cookie.” He was thorough in his research, and brought a multitude of questions to his first appointment in an effort to find a solution for his back and knee pain. After seeing over 78 different providers (yes, 78!), he had tried everything from physical therapy, to injections, acupuncture, and chiropractic therapies. Dr. Templin, however, was the first one to provide him with long-term relief by using Shockwave technology and EMTT. Dick reports he is now completely pain free and back to walking up the stairs, compared to once crawling up them.
Educating the Community: Dr. Templin’s Approach to Marketing Shockwave and EMTT
Dr. Templin, having spent several years in the Paul Gough Group, is no stranger to marketing efforts, and understands that without proper marketing, practices will struggle to thrive. To address this, she hosts a quarterly workshop on regenerative therapies at her practice, inviting current patients and curious outsiders alike to attend. In these talks, Dr. Templin discusses how Shockwave and EMTT can help address chronic pain and inflammation, how the healing cycle can become “stuck,” and how regenerative therapy is the solution.
As far as it being a cash-pay modality, Dr. Templin has not found any pushback from her patients. In her experience, patients are willing to spend money on passive treatments like Shockwave and EMTT if it means the effort they have to put in is minimal. When compared to other methods such as physical therapy, which require time and hard work, Shockwave yields the same results, if not better, with a fraction of the effort. Dr. Templin estimates about half of her client base are existing patients, while the other half are brand new patients who sought her out specifically for Shockwave and EMTT. These clients are the ones who found her as a last-ditch effort - elderly patients who didn’t want to participate in the effort required for physical therapy.
The Double Bottom Line: Achieving Both Clinical and Financial Success
When asked to define success, Dr. Templin reports “it’s equal parts patient outcomes and equal parts practice revenue.” The practice, of course, would be nothing without a steady stream of income, but it would also be nothing without a steady flow of patients and corresponding successful outcomes. In their first year with the devices, Dr. Templin’s practice generated over $200,000 in revenue from Shockwave technology alone, and she was achieving more successful patient outcomes than ever 
before. She acknowledges it’s what helped her practice thrive.
On working with the CuraMedix team, Dr. Templin reports she’s more than pleased with how quickly she gets answers from both the sales and service teams. She can count on her contacts to answer any questions regarding the technology itself, protocols, and the potential purchase of accessories, and the service team is always readily available to assist her, going out of their way to make sure she has what she needs to keep things running smoothly.
For anyone on the fence about adding Shockwave and EMTT to their armamentarium, Dr. Templin says “Shockwave is a win all around.” It’s a surefire way to generate more revenue, add more treatment options to your continuum of care, and achieve better outcomes for your patients. She wants to make sure other practices know that you don’t have to be in the sports medicine or chiropractic industries to invest in this technology. This sentiment is what slowed her down from investing in this technology in the first place, as she didn’t see how it could be applied to a geriatric based clinic, but now that she knows, she just wishes she’d invested in it sooner.
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. Templin 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 experts today.
