The Wellness Industry is Doing Well

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A few years ago when I went to get some physiotherapy done (eg pulled a shoulder muscle or hurt my neck) it would all be fixed after two sessions, and we’d possibly have a third session just as a check up.

Two week ago I hurt my shoulder and went for some physio. The first session was mostly discussion and exploratory with a bit of actual physio and improvement. Next session was two days later. And then a third follow up for some more work on the issue. In the fourth session I was taken through my 3 Stage Treatment Pathway recovery plan which includes 4 more sessions and then a recommended global assessment program with an exercise physiologist.

So that will be 8 sessions in total plus a future program of unspecified length. Oh and also recommendations for regular remedial massage as a preventative.

Welcome to ‘The System’. It’s what happens when improving system efficiency (which is a good thing) gets too focussed on profit (not a good thing). It’s where too many meetings discuss customer up-sell, lifetime value, average customer engagement duration etc, and not enough discuss providing real value to the patient.

I’m all for proper treatment and full recovery. But lately I’m starting to feel as though I’m just a wallet being massaged down a revenue maximisation pipeline.

Which kinda makes me sick.

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