Adapting to Change Part 5: The Future is Collaborative: Creating Sustainable Clinics and a Stronger Profession
A Five Part Series on the Business of Private Practice Physiotherapy in British Columbia
This article has been posted originally in the BC Physio Members App - join the discussion on the app.
Yes, physiotherapy is expensive, and it will likely continue to become more expensive. But so is all the training we go through, the overhead we absorb, and the costs of simply running a clinic and keeping the lights on. In order to continue offering high-quality care, keeping our medical system less burdened, paying practitioners well, and providing living wages for our support staff, something needs to change.
And the only way this works is if we change it together.
If the profession aligns on fees, commits to the new PABC Fee Guide, and supports one another in implementing those changes consistently, we shift the power dynamic. Instead of responding to insurance companies, we lead. We set the value of what we do and we stand behind it collectively.
This is also our opportunity to push hard for better public funding and more equitable access. We need to see more physiotherapists embedded in urgent care centres, outpatient rehab teams, and community health programs. We need to grow access to publicly funded, physiotherapy-led group classes for things like osteoarthritis, falls prevention, and neurological rehab.
In an ideal future, people with extended health benefits (and decent MSP coverage) can access care in the private system, with their insurance covering the majority of the cost. Those without coverage have robust options available through publicly funded services and municipal programs. Rural and remote communities are served by travel physiotherapists and assistants, supported by telehealth and mobile care teams. And the government is not only investing in pilot programs and rural initiatives, but also paying physiotherapists fairly to deliver that care.
I dream of a time, not far from now, where clinic owners feel excited again about the work they do, rather than burned out, financially stretched, and stuck in a system that feels unsustainable where they are just treading water. When clinics are resourced properly, when staff feel valued, and when business owners aren’t paying themselves last, everyone benefits. Most importantly, our clients benefit.
Aligning our clinic fees with the PABC Fee Guide is a huge step toward that future. It’s a starting point in the journey towards improving access to physiotherapy and making the profession enticing again, but a meaningful one. Because if enough of us take that step, insurers and government will have to follow.
We can only do this together. Be an advocate. Be a leader. Start a trend in your clinic. Talk to your colleagues. Share your experience in the PABC Forum app. Help us build a future that actually works—for patients, practitioners, and the profession.
This is about more than a fee guide. This is about building a stronger, more sustainable, more respected physiotherapy profession in BC.