The Business of Allied Health - Episode 25: Stephen Lee

In Episode 25 of *The Business of Allied Health*, host Barry Nguyen sits down with Stephen Lee, Partner at Total Physio Care, a multi-location clinic in Melbourne. Stephen reflects on his 15+ year journey from a new grad under the mentorship of pioneering sports physio Barry Gavens to managing a large, long-tenured team of over 20 practitioners. They dive into the unique benefits of integrating hospital contracts into a private practice, the hard lessons learned from expanding and subsequently downsizing footprints, and the real secrets to achieving a 10+ year staff retention rate. They also touch on their collaboration in developing robust AI tools for clinical workflows. **Timestamps:** \[00:00] Introduction to Stephen Lee and his pathway into musculoskeletal physiotherapy \[01:42] Early career mentorship and working a hybrid hospital-private practice model \[04:42] Developing clinical reasoning and improving referral efficiency with surgeons \[05:47] Building a custom hospital software application for notes and billing tracking \[07:09] Lessons learned from expanding the clinic footprint and managing overheads \[09:28] Secrets to retaining staff for 10+ years and managing a team of 20 physios \[10:59] Why communication and personality outrank clinical skills when hiring new grads \[12:54] Advice for new practice owners on the initial hustle required for referrals \[14:46] Teaser: Upcoming episode on developing AI forms and treatment plans for CliniScribe AI