The Better Outcomes Show

What's one thing that you think was missing from your clinical education?

That's the question I got asked on a recent speaking engagement. We were covering the topics of clinical education, professional development, and growth into leadership roles within healthcare. Most clinicians graduate knowing how to treat patients. Very few graduate understanding the business systems that make patient care possible.

After speaking with students and faculty at Bowling Green State University, one question kept surfacing:

“What do you wish you had known coming out of school?”

The answer wasn’t another certification, clinical framework, or specialty area.

It was business literacy.

In this episode, we explore the hidden curriculum of healthcare — the financial, operational, and strategic realities that shape modern clinical practice but are rarely taught in OT or healthcare programs. Because whether you plan to own a practice, lead a team, negotiate compensation, or simply understand why healthcare organizations make the decisions they do, understanding the business side of healthcare changes everything.

The clinicians who advance aren’t just clinically skilled.
They understand the system they operate inside of.

What we cover in this episode:

-Why clinical excellence is not enough
-The gap between clinical education and real-world practices
-Why business literacy matters even if you never plan to own a practice
-The financial engine driving the healthcare industry (in the US)
-The future of healthcare reimbursement and delivery
-Viewing your clinical education as the foundation, not the ceiling. 

Full episode note: https://rehabupracticesolutions.com/better-outcomes-167

Podcast: https://www.betteroutcomes.show
Get the Book: https://amzn.to/3M2UZ6x
Book a call with me: https://calendly.com/rehabu/discovery
Connect with Me: https://www.rafisalazar.com

If you'd like to learn more about Strata EMR & RCM and achieving a 99.99% reimbursement rate for your PT, OT, or SLP Clinic head over to stratapt.com and book a demo with their team!

What is The Better Outcomes Show?

Exploring the possibilities of a new healthcare.



Let’s get real: Healthcare is broken. You know it. I know it. Every clinician who came into this field from a desire to care for others, knows this to be undeniably true. We feel it everyday when we enter our clinics, hospitals, and practices. We feel the burden of time-based productivity metrics, utilization rates, and the expectation to behave like cogs in a giant, soul-crushing machine aimed at extracting revenue from our patients in exchange for “units” of treatment.



Healthcare should be about one thing: PEOPLE! Yet how many clinics, organizations, or healthcare professionals live their lives by the numbers? Metrics & spreadsheets drive most of our healthcare decision makers and administrators. That leaves patients -the people we serve- lost in the mix. Patient’s feel lost, forgotten, and ignored by a system that prioritizes efficiency & productivity over their own personal experiences, priorities, or goals.



It’s time for clinicians to finally stand up and say what we’ve all been thinking for so long: enough is enough!



It’s time for healthcare organizations to commit to serving the individual needs of each unique patient that they are charged with serving.



Join Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi), principal of Rehab U Practice Solutions and host of The Better Outcomes Show as he explores the possibilities of a new healthcare. Guests range from clinicians trying new techniques and treatments to executives and entrepreneurs exploring new service delivery methods, business models, and organizational structures.