There's a funny irony in MSK physio.
The best clinical outcome is also the worst short-term business outcome.
You get someone better and they stop coming. Diary gaps appear and that much-needed revenue is gone.
But a discharged patient isn't lost revenue. They're your best marketing department. That wonderfully intangible word of mouth that infuriates every bean counter going.
They go back to their consultant and say "that physio was brilliant." They tell their mates at tennis. They tell their husband, their daughter, their neighbour, the running club, the Pilates teacher and whoever else is unlucky enough to hear about their knee.
Then six months later they walk the West Highland Way, finish the Ironman, ski again, lift their grandchild or just get through a normal week without thinking about their back.
That is the advert. Not the glossy website. Not the "evidence-based excellence" waffle. Absolutely not the room full of kit slowly gathering dust.
A person who got better and told someone else. That's the whole game.
The mistake is trying to cling onto patients for a few more sessions because the diary looks a bit skinny. That's not business. That's fear with a payment terminal.
Get them better. Properly. Honestly. As quickly as makes sense.
Cut the nonsense and do the job in front of you.
Because the patient you discharge well is often the one who comes back early when something new starts, sends you their best friend, leaves the review, tags you in the win and quietly builds your reputation while you're busy treating the next person.
Look after the patient and the pounds tend to follow.