Overview

Most clinics don’t have an insurance problem.

They have a systems problem.

From the moment a patient walks out the door, clinics are relying on manual steps, outdated workflows, and disconnected software to get paid. What feels like “just admin” quickly turns into delayed payments, hidden under-billing, and avoidable cashflow pressure.

In this episode, Michael is joined by Ben Moorfoot, co-founder of EFFRA, to break down why insurance billing is still so broken in healthcare, what actually causes bad debt, and how speed, automation, and better systems can radically change how clinics get paid.

The conversation covers PMI workflows, patient excesses, insurer behaviour, open APIs, manual errors, and why many clinics think their billing process works, until they look closely.

This episode is about fixing what happens after the appointment, protecting cash flow, and building processes that scale without more admin.

Show Notes

• Why PMI billing creates bad debt by default
• What “aged debt” really costs clinics over time
• Why most insurance billing fails after the patient leaves
• The hidden risks of manual invoicing and outsourced billing
• How slow billing damages cashflow and patient relationships
• Why insurers respond better to speed and clean data
• The role of automation in reducing admin and errors
• How poor tech integrations create unnecessary work
• Why billing problems don’t disappear as clinics scale

What You’ll Learn

• Why insurance billing feels harder than it should
• How speed dramatically improves payment rates
• Where clinics are losing money without realising
• Why manual processes increase errors and bad debt
• How patient experience is affected by poor billing workflows
• What “end-to-end” billing actually looks like in practice
• How to reduce admin without hiring more staff
• Who This Episode Is For
• Clinic owners working with PMI or private health insurers
• Practices struggling with aged debt or slow payments
• Growing clinics adding sites or clinicians
• Owners relying on manual or outsourced billing processes
• Anyone frustrated by insurance admin and cashflow issues

Who This Episode Is For

• Clinic owners working with PMI or private health insurers
• Practices struggling with aged debt or slow payments
• Growing clinics adding sites or clinicians
• Owners relying on manual or outsourced billing processes
• Anyone frustrated by insurance admin and cashflow issues

Not for:

• Clinics expecting insurers to “just pay eventually”
• Owners unwilling to review or change broken processes
• Practices comfortable with high levels of bad debt
• Businesses avoiding automation in favour of manual work

Guest Details

Ben Moorfoot

Co-Founder, EFFRA

Ben is a former GoCardless product builder and co-founder of EFFRA, a platform designed to automate end-to-end insurance billing for healthcare clinics. His work focuses on removing manual admin, reducing aged debt, and helping clinics get paid faster through better systems, cleaner data, and smarter workflows.

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100

Overview

Choosing a coach should make running your clinic clearer.
For many owners, it does the opposite.

The industry is full of confident promises, packaged systems, and “proven frameworks” that look good on the surface but rarely fit the reality of running a clinic. When the advice doesn’t land, owners don’t just lose money; they lose confidence in their decisions.

In this episode, Michael and Celia explore what good coaching actually looks like, why so many clinic owners end up in the wrong programs, and how to spot the warning signs early.

The conversation also moves into planning, understanding your numbers, pricing decisions, and why many clinics are unknowingly running on guesswork rather than clarity.

This episode is about asking better questions and choosing support that genuinely helps your clinic move forward.

Show Notes

• Why coaching has become confusing in the clinic space
• How marketing disguises weak advice
• Early warning signs you’ve chosen the wrong coach
• Why most clinic owners don’t know their true profit
• The risks of running a clinic based on bank balance
• Planning beyond “we’ll see how this year goes”
• Pricing decisions that quietly cap growth
• Why more patients doesn’t always mean more money

What You’ll Learn

• How to tell if a coach actually understands clinics
• What to look for before committing time and money
• Why sector experience matters more than credentials
• How financial clarity changes decision-making
• Where small pricing shifts make a big difference

Who This Episode Is For

• Clinic owners considering a coach or consultant
• Owners questioning the advice they’re currently paying for
• Practices that feel busy but unclear
• Clinicians moving into business ownership

Not for:

• Anyone expecting a coach to “fix” their business for them
• Practices unwilling to look at their numbers honestly
• Owners chasing shiny systems without foundations
• Clinics resistant to pricing or strategic change

Guest Details

Celia Champion
Founder, Painless Practice

Celia has worked in the healthcare sector for over 20 years, supporting physiotherapy and MSK clinics with coaching, consulting, and strategic planning. Her work focuses on helping clinic owners build sustainable, profitable businesses through better decision-making, financial clarity, and realistic growth strategies.

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100

Overview:

Most clinics don’t fail; they stall.

They reach a comfortable size, decent revenue, and a full diary, and then everything gets harder. Margins tighten. Staff costs rise. Insurance work drags profitability down. Growth feels risky, but standing still feels worse.

In this episode, Michael sits down with Steve Hines, founder of Wandsworth Physio, to unpack what actually changes once a clinic moves beyond survival and into scale. From pricing strategy and tiered services to customer experience, technology investment, AI, and the shift toward polyclinic models, this is a candid look at how advanced clinics think defensively as well as offensively.

This isn’t about chasing growth at all costs. It’s about protecting margin, upgrading the offer, and building a clinic that can evolve as the market changes.

Show Notes

• Why most clinics plateau in the middle of the market
• The shift from growth obsession to margin protection
• Pricing strategy beyond annual price rises
• Tiered services and what they reveal about demand
• Moving beyond physio + massage into advanced services
• How technology and AI are actually being used in clinics
• Why customer experience drives retention more than CPD
• When insurance work stops making commercial sense
• Polyclinics, lifetime patient value, and service expansion
• Staff development, autonomy, and scaling leadership

What You’ll Learn

• Why “being busy” is not the same as being profitable
• How successful clinics think about pricing beyond yearly increases
• What actually differentiates high-end clinics from the middle
• How to upgrade your offer without racing to the bottom
• Why customer experience beats clinical excellence alone
• How advanced clinics use technology defensively, not just for growth
• Where AI genuinely saves time, and where it doesn’t
• How to retain staff without aggressive KPIs
• Why polyclinic models are becoming inevitable
• How to think about long-term patient lifetime value

Who This Episode Is For

• Clinic owners stuck at a revenue or growth ceiling
• Founders running “busy but squeezed” practices
• Clinic owners considering tiered pricing or advanced services
• Operators thinking about AI, automation, or admin efficiency
• Anyone exploring expansion, acquisition, or polyclinic models
• Physios transitioning from clinician to business owner

Not for:

• People looking for shortcuts or hacks
• Clinics unwilling to raise standards or prices
• Anyone expecting technology to fix a weak offer
• Owners who want growth without operational change

Guest Details

Steve Hines
Founder, Wandsworth Physio

Steve is a physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience, including a decade in professional football with Fulham FC. He founded Wandsworth Physio and has grown it into an advanced, multi-service MSK clinic through organic growth, technology investment, and a strong focus on patient experience.

His work spans clinical practice and clinic operations, with an increasing focus on expansion and acquisition.

Clinic: Wandsworth Physio
Location: London, UK

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100