02. March 2022, by Olaf Tomscheit
Future and Challenges for Physiotherapy in Germany
Interview with physiotherapist Kirsten von Maier
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Self-employment is both a blessing and a curse. Most patients are open to holistic concepts.
Kirsten von Maier is a self-employed physiotherapist and an “old hand”. Next to the degree she obtained as a physiotherapist in 1988 she holds additional qualifications in osteopathy, as a natural healer for physiotherapy, systemics, medical hypnosis and methods of traditional Chinese medicine, to name but a few. She ran her own practice for over 20 years and switched to a joint practice three years ago. She predominantly treats pain in all types of patients across all disciplines, adults, teenagers and children. Her ambition is to look at the individual problem and understand the patients in their entirety.
FIBO: Kirsten, you have been self-employed for over 20 years now. What would you describe as your biggest challenge over that period?
Kirsten: Honestly speaking, there have always been challenges big and small, time and again. But two of the biggest challenges were doubtlessly setting up a practice in a very secluded district of Düsseldorf far from my original customerbase. I was completely unknown there and had to start from scratch. What’s more, I also had to deal with the then new concept of incorporating training therapy into physiotherapy. This was completely new at the time.
The second big challenge was to stop cooperating with the orthopaedic practice of my then husband after we separated. So I had to stand on my own two feet all over again; I had to reinvent myself, so to speak, and detach myself from the joint project not only on a personal level but also in professional terms!
FIBO: Can you imagine running a physiotherapy practice solely on the basis of prescription billing?
Kirsten: Today, I unfortunately cannot imagine doing this any longer. Starting out I actually wanted to sign up as a statutory health physiotherapist but this was rejected since this 400 year-old house did not comply with the criteria required for that. So I was soon forced to seek out new avenues to work in an economically profitable way.
I had already completed quite a lot of additional training but was still forced to be proactive, explore and try out something new in addition to completing new training courses. Luckily, this coincided with my own motivation to really be able to respond to patients’ individual needs and to broaden my horizon time and again. This would not have been possible at all with a statutory-health insurance approved practice. Today, this allows me to work in a such a personalised way that statutory health insurance approval is no longer under consideration. So, cancellation by the statutory health insurance back then turned out to be fortuitous for me.
FIBO: Kirsten, you also hold certificates in coaching and mental health. How do you use this training in therapy?
Kirsten: I agree with Hildegard von Bingen: “That is one of the great secrets of life – to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul.” And I learnt at an early age that health not only depends on the body alone; so using all the other paths to really work “holistically” came as second nature to me.
And I thank all patients for the absolute confidence they had, and still have, in me whenever I introduced them and introduce them to something new.
FIBO: How important do you think is equipment-assisted training therapy for physiotherapy practices.
Kirsten: I regard training therapy as very important but it is not everything. To my mind, it is tremendously important to have very good instructions and support at the beginning. Given we have an increasingly ageing society, it makes a lot of sense to expose our bodies to corresponding stimuli to stay as agile and fit as possible and to live independently into old age. I would also like to mention fall protection and resilience as additional training effects here. Since I no longer have my own weight-lifting room, I also personally accompany my patients to the gym. You just have to be inventive and flexible at times.
FIBO: Digitalisation does not stop short of physiotherapy. On the one hand, you now have a telematics infrastructure to operate and e-prescriptions to process. On the other, there is a plethora of new tools and Apps that might be of interest for physiotherapy.
Kirsten: To be honest, I have not taken an in-depth look at this yet. I have read about it but do not know what I will be facing. I am very excited and curious to see what FIBO has to offer in these fields and look forward to finding out about this here. Needless to say, the last two years have also left their mark on me. I have not lost any of my patients but I have also used little videos to support patients during that period.
I will be taking part with a lecture at FIBO myself and look forward to the challenge of presenting my perspective on the future of physiotherapy and new methods.
Kirsten von Maier will present the lecture “Bedarfsgerechte Erweiterung des Therapieangebotes durch zusätzliche Behandlungsmethoden” (Demand-Driven Extension of Therapy Ranges with Additional Treatment Methods) at 11.15 am on Saturday and will also take part in the expert roundtable on “Herausforderung Physiotherapie - Selbständigkeit und wirtschaftlicher Erfolg” (Physiotherapy Challenge – Self-Employment and Economic Success) at 1 pm.
Kirsten von Maier is a self-employed physiotherapist. Next to the degree she obtained as a physiotherapist in 1988 she holds additional qualifications in osteopathy, as a natural healer for physiotherapy, systemics, medical hypnosis and methods of traditional Chinese medicine, to name but a few