In this episode of What’s Best for the Patient Is Best for Business, Jerry Durham delivers a solo deep dive into one of the most critical yet misunderstood areas of physical therapy business success: “Arrivals.”

Speaking from the stage of the APTA Private Practice Section (PPS) conference, Jerry shares the philosophy, process, and practical tools behind improving patient arrivals—and why mastering this concept can solve nearly every downstream business problem in a PT clinic.

Jerry explains how his years of studying the entire patient journey led him to realize that success doesn’t start in the treatment room—it starts at the front desk. He honors the admin and intake teams who carry enormous influence over patient outcomes but are rarely empowered or trained to own that impact.

In this talk, Jerry breaks down why PT clinics must stop trying to “fix problems in the weeds” and instead step back to design systems that guide the patient from their first call to successful completion of care. He introduces his five-step front desk sales process—a structured, relationship-centered approach to patient communication that builds trust, manages expectations, and prevents objections before they ever arise.

Whether it’s cancellations, no-shows, or poor reviews from patients who “got better but had a bad experience,” Jerry shows how the solution always leads back to understanding and optimizing the patient’s arrival experience.

Key Takeaways:
- Arrivals Solve All Business Problems: Every business metric improves when patients show up. Focusing here simplifies management and reduces chaos across billing, scheduling, and clinical outcomes.

- The Front Desk = Patient Success: The front desk isn’t administrative—it’s strategic. Their conversations determine not only who arrives, but how the entire journey unfolds.

- Solve from the Big Picture: You can’t fix recurring no-shows or cancellations by tweaking scripts. You must zoom out to understand the full patient journey and define success at every touchpoint.

- The 5-Step Front Desk Sales Process: Acknowledge → Find a problem to solve → Get expectations → Sell the expert → Tell them what they’ll get for their time, money, and energy → Ask how they want to pay.

- Objections Are Preventable: “It costs too much” isn’t an objection—it’s a sign you didn’t build value early enough. Great processes eliminate objections before they happen.

- Love the Work of the Front Desk: These are the true doers in healthcare—the team most capable of improving patient success when empowered with the right systems and mindset.

Tune in for a masterclass on patient experience design, front desk empowerment, and how truly understanding “arrivals” can transform your practice from chaotic to consistent, from transactional to transformational.

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