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business idea
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| OLi_A |
this is purely a hypothetical scenario but i wanted the opinions of a broad demographic (sort of)
im thinking of starting a business targeted mainly at at-risk and special population individuals (heart disease mainly but including diabetes, COPD, osteoporosis etc) which involves delivering scientific based exercise programming targeted at improving general wellbeing and quality of life
my question is whether or not anyone here would consider paying for these services and if so, what would you think would be a reasonable price?
one of the major barriers i have here is that exercise physiology is not subsidised by medicare (though will be changed shortly) and only some health insurance companies offer rebates on use of this service (though top cover is generally required)
it sucks to be in a developing profession
/edit
basically id be marketing it mainly to gp's to identify those who could benefit from the service.
it'd span probably 5-12 weeks (similar to cardiac rehab) in which i would attempt to implement strategies in which to help them change their behaviours (working with other professionals where necessary). i the idea is to breed independence but will consist of periodic checkups and general "how ya goin" type meetings to see if the changes are becoming permanent |
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| A.J. |
Do your own marketing assignment :stongue:
Seriously, from one student to another, this sounds like some sort of marketing assignment that you are doing.
What uni are you at?
P.S. We were thinking of doing a similar thing for my e-marketing subject but decided against it. Gotta love those group assignments......:D |
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| OLi_A |
| quote: | Originally posted by A.J.
Do your own marketing assignment :stongue:
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haha, im at uws bankstown and its for a practice management unit:p
seriously though im thinking of doing physiotherapy or moving into the cardiac rehabilitation field and have been wondering about the prospects of doing something along these lines.
we have a reactive health system and im a firm believer that this type of service should fall under the medicare umbrella because it is a far more effective preventative intervention that would end up bringing the cost of government health expenditure down. in reality the only people that would miss out are the pharmaceutical companies:D |
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| eRRaTiK |
you may have something there. reminds me of that disney ice skating movie with Michelle Trachtenberg in it, kinda. Well she uses a pc to correct peoples' technique and charges them for the knowledge.
so yeah random off-topic right there.
anyways, i have no idea about how much i'd be willing to pay. How much does a personal trainer and/or nutritionist cost these days?
if i was told i could put a plan together, with some help, in order to increase my lifespan and improve general wellbeing -- then i'd be interested.
you could work with realage.com - they've got a quiz to determine "real age" (i was 17.7 last time i did it) and suggestions on how to live longer. if you are willing to pay, they give you more specific advice too.
oh and if you need a mod to take care of your forums i believe i might be available :toothless |
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| A.J. |
Like i said, we thought about an idea like this for our assignment. We have to create a marketing plan for a website idea and our first idea was to have some sort of site where you can get your exercise program devised for you online.
We decided it was unfeasable, or at least unlikely, because you need the physical presence of trainers to check your body conditions and monitor your training in person. |
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| OLi_A |
| quote: | Originally posted by A.J.
Like i said, we thought about an idea like this for our assignment. We have to create a marketing plan for a website idea and our first idea was to have some sort of site where you can get your exercise program devised for you online.
We decided it was unfeasable, or at least unlikely, because you need the physical presence of trainers to check your body conditions and monitor your training in person. |
yeah definately. the problem with anything web based is that yeah you can provide a resource for people to read, but without the face to face contact, you cant make a program that is tailored to them. without the testing component, a program is useless |
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| nicknack |
| i think it could work, and well regarding price, you would be surprised how much $$$ will fork out when it comes to becoming more fit and healthy, i however would be to pov but im sure there are people out there :P :P :) :) |
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| quidgydog |
| quote: | Originally posted by OLi_A
one of the major barriers i have here is that exercise physiology is not subsidised by medicare (though will be changed shortly) |
Actually - Under the Enhanced Primary Care Chronic Disease Management item numbers on Medicare that came into force 1 July 2005 patients with a Chronic Illness (of which all those you listed are) can be referred by GPs to Allied Health Practitioners, including Physiotherapists, for 5 sessions in 12 months. These sessions are then subsidised under Medicare and come as no charge to the patient.
Link
| quote: | basically id be marketing it mainly to gp's to identify those who could benefit from the service.
it'd span probably 5-12 weeks (similar to cardiac rehab) in which i would attempt to implement strategies in which to help them change their behaviours (working with other professionals where necessary). i the idea is to breed independence but will consist of periodic checkups and general "how ya goin" type meetings to see if the changes are becoming permanent |
This is not significantly different from many services provided by Physiotherapists at the moment. If you plan to investigate this as an option you need to find something that you will do differently. Obviously, people won't pay for something they can get free or subsidise somewhere welse. I don't see anything significantly 'different' in your plans, sorry.
I am a Rural Doctor. PM me if you would like to discuss. |
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| narcism |
| quote: | | at at-risk and special population individuals (heart disease mainly but including diabetes, COPD, osteoporosis etc) |
At risk populations are generally low income earners, who dont have health cover, therefore they probably couldnt afford the services, or only a limited amount. |
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| OLi_A |
| quote: | Originally posted by quidgydog
Actually - Under the Enhanced Primary Care Chronic Disease Management item numbers on Medicare that came into force 1 July 2005 patients with a Chronic Illness (of which all those you listed are) can be referred by GPs to Allied Health Practitioners, including Physiotherapists, for 5 sessions in 12 months. These sessions are then subsidised under Medicare and come as no charge to the patient.
Link
This is not significantly different from many services provided by Physiotherapists at the moment. If you plan to investigate this as an option you need to find something that you will do differently. Obviously, people won't pay for something they can get free or subsidise somewhere welse. I don't see anything significantly 'different' in your plans, sorry.
I am a Rural Doctor. PM me if you would like to discuss. |
yeah i know about the enhanced primary care program, but at present, exercise physiologists arent on the list of providors who fall under this umbrella. in terms of service, it may not sound like much, but specialised exercise is something that isnt readily available to people (except for purely cardiovascular work). the exercise physiology approach is more wholistic and deals with increasing quality of life by making ADLs easier to perform through functional exercise (combined with injury rehabilitation and other things)
in response to you jolz, this is too true, but it makes it possible under the aforementioned scheme to at least be able to provide some intervention for this population (at no direct cost to them).
taking everyones comments into consideration, id say that if any money is to be made, then it will be through this enhanced primary care scheme. |
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| jizza |
| quote: | Originally posted by eRRaTiK
you may have something there. reminds me of that disney ice skating movie with Michelle Trachtenberg in it, kinda. |
you mean before or after she became the key?
(buffy reference #17) |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by jizza
you mean before or after she became the key?
(buffy reference #17) |
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