“It’s been 3-4 years since we got our first Piezowave2 machine at our private practice, and we haven’t looked back since then, to the point in which we have just got a second Piezowave2 for the Reading clinic!”
What was it that particularly interested you in getting a focused unit for your private practice?
“We’ve always wanted to be an innovative clinic looking at what technology is out there. For us, it’s not just about buying a gadget. Its something that we have to robustly test ourselves and be confident knowing it’s going to work and be useful for the patient”
You have a dynamic team at your private practice. How do you get them enthused with new technology?
“For us, it’s about training and development. The machine would just be sitting there if it wasn’t for the enthusiasm of the team wanting to use it for their patients. So you are absolutely right, you’ve got to get that buy-in from your team and that buy-in for us starts with education”
Shockwave is historically used for tendinopathy. I know that you’ve been using it for off-label areas too. How do you do that, and how do you clinically decide what it should be used for?
“The Piezowave2 can be used for a much broader spectrum of clinical indications compared to our radial shockwave machine”
What has been the feedback like about the service you are offering?
“It’s been really good. We’ve built over word of mouth and the business has grown, and we feel the Piezowave2 creates an important part of that. The feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly positive”
It’s an expensive system compared to other Shockwave units. So how has that worked for you from an ROI perspective?
“The idea is to make the technology as accessible as possible…. Our pricing point for the use of the machine is pretty nominal for self-funding patients…for us we haven’t looked back simply because of the really good clinical outcomes that we’ve received from our patients, and with that, we decided to invest in a second machine.”
You’ve had the system for three years now and I was quite impressed and surprised at how many shocks you’ve done. How do you monitor the number of shocks and treatments to understand financially what you’ve made from it, how do you pull that together?
“We collect a lot of stats and data because that provides us with a good understanding of what indications the machine has been used for, how frequently it’s being used and that always gives us an idea of whether the tech that we’ve purchased is a good investment or not… It’s certainly been one of the more reliable pieces of kits…. it’s been a really good investment for us over the last three years”
There is a minimum guarantee of 7.5 million shocks for the Piezowave2. I know that you’ve done pretty much double that in that time which is a testament to how much you’re using it. And you’ve not had any servicing or breakdown issues which is really good!
“Compared to something like the radial shockwave where you’ve got to replace the cartridges after so many million shocks, that isn’t the case with Piezowave2. It’s been really low maintenance in terms of servicing requirements and easy to use, which is what clinicians and physiotherapists would want”
“Thank you very much for sharing your story with the Piezowave2, and hopefully, it’s just the beginning of it as well. We love working with forward-thinking clinics like yourself and Angela, so we appreciate your time in speaking with me!”
