About this episode

The MSK industry is full of new technology, new ideas and new ways to sell healthcare. But how much of it genuinely improves patient care, and how much is simply hype?

In this episode, Michael sits down with Jack Chew to discuss longevity medicine, AI, rehabilitation technology, commercial incentives and the future of physiotherapy.

They explore the risks of overtesting, the role of gamification and objective measures, why younger clinicians need better mentorship, and how AI could reshape private practice.

They also discuss professional standards, innovation, the MSK Awards, and why success in healthcare should be measured by more than revenue, clinic size and growth.

Show Notes

• Longevity medicine, preventative healthcare and the risks of over-testing
• Technology, screening and the danger of always looking for something to “fix”
• Why pain and injury are more complicated than simple biomechanics
• Gamification, objective testing and measuring meaningful progress
• Why younger clinicians need better mentorship
• Commercial KPIs and the pressures facing clinicians in private practice
• AI scribes, productivity and what clinics should do with the time they save
• How AI could change the future of physiotherapy
• Professional standards, regulation and consistency of care across MSK
• Why the industry needs better incentives for genuinely good practice
• Innovation, treatment styles and unnecessary division within MSK
• The MSK Awards and recognising great clinicians, clinics and services
• What success should really look like for a clinic owner
• Why bigger clinics and higher revenue do not automatically mean better businesses
• Innovation across the MSK industry, from software to rehabilitation technology
• How Jack’s views on touch and hands-on care have changed over the last decade

What You’ll Learn

• Why preventative healthcare can become problematic when testing creates problems that were never causing symptoms
• How technology can be useful without becoming the reason patients are repeatedly treated
• Why rehabilitation should focus on meaningful function rather than simply correcting measurements
• How gamification can motivate patients when it is tied to the right goals
• Why objective testing needs to sit within a much wider clinical picture
• Why mentorship is one of the biggest challenges facing early-career clinicians
• How commercial incentives can influence the way clinicians assess and treat patients
• Why saving clinicians time with AI does not automatically make a clinic more productive
• How clinics could use AI-generated productivity gains to improve services, outreach and patient care
• Why AI could fundamentally change what patients expect from private physiotherapy
• Why the MSK industry needs better incentives for good practice and stronger consequences for poor practice
• How professional identity and attachment to specific treatment methods can prevent constructive debate
• Why innovation needs to be encouraged rather than automatically criticised
• Why a successful clinic does not have to become a large multi-site business
• How personal goals, family life and lifestyle should influence the way clinic owners define success
• Why profitability matters without needing to become the sole purpose of a healthcare business
• Why human touch may remain an important part of physiotherapy even as technology becomes more prominent

Who This Episode is For

• Clinic owners and healthcare founders
• Physiotherapists, osteopaths and other MSK clinicians
• Newly qualified and early-career physiotherapists
• Clinic managers responsible for performance and clinician development
• Healthcare professionals interested in AI and emerging technology
• Clinicians interested in rehabilitation, testing and patient experience
• Anyone working in or around the private MSK industry
• Healthcare professionals questioning where the industry is heading

Guest Details

Jack Chew:

Physiotherapist, founder of Physio Matters, co-creator of Therapy Live and co-owner of Choose Health. Known for calling out nonsense, modernising MSK reasoning and building genuine community initiatives. One of the few voices in MSK willing to say what others won't.

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

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