Yes, the CA Board for PT found me with the help of an old employee of mine. He fingered me and 3 other therapists in my practice. I of course can't prove it, but you know when you know. Given that he took it upon himself to personally call one of my therapists a month ago during business hours to let her know that "she was working illegally and should quit her job or face repercussions." I think my deduction is justified. This idiot in the same conversation had the gall to ask her if she would consider working for him! God help us if this is where we are going. Hi, I'm going to report you to the board and then presume you'd consider working for me since you will be out of a job! The logic is staggering. It is however, the kind of story that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside doesn't it?
That being said, I can't say I was surprised. This individual's character is exactly the kind of disappointment I highlighted in my last post. And the CAPTA pretty much empowered him to do it. It leaves the kind of taste in your mouth that makes you not want to ever give another penny to the APTA. And in case you were wondering, I've been a member since I was a student, for over 14 years.
Nevertheless, life is going on. I am in the process of submitting my "plan" to become compliant with the assistance of a lawyer or two. I can't really get into specifics at this time, but all I can say to my whistle blowing adversary, there is a significant chance NOTHING is going to change for 2011 as I work on complying. And if plan A doesn't pan out, there are plans B and C behind doors numbered two and three. So I hope he doesn't get his hopes up just yet that a moving van will be backing up to my front door any time soon.
As he and many other out patient PT's are going to find, many of these clinics are not going to vanish. Many groups will arrange rent back agreements to satisfy leases, possibly even arrangements to handle billing services (all of which is completely legal) and as a result, will continue to carry on healthy referral relationships with their ex-employers. Who knows, they might even grow.... but how? Can you imagine that the docs might be a little vengeful against their neighbors that forced them to dump their PT clinics? Maybe they wouldn't be disappointed, seeing those smaller clinics in the community that lobbied against them, continue to struggle given that they have hurt their own practices. If you think I'm far off, ask Paul Gaspar how many referrals he is getting now a days from his neighboring docs after being the primary whistle blower for the CAPTA on the AB 783 debate. They aren't exactly wrapping their arms around him for his good work in Sacramento. At this point, shouldn't we all know there is policy and then there is reality. We shall see which one has a bigger impact on the field of PT.
Given how this thing is playing out and how this is being handled, it strikes a chord in me that makes me want to work even harder to put characters like my snitching ex-employee out of business. I will look forward to checking in on him in about a year to see how much different his bottom line looks when this all shakes out. Stay tuned, as I will fill you in first hand as this process unfolds over the upcoming months.
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