Putting patients first a winner

A physiotherapy business founded to fulfil a vision of providing high quality, evidence-based and cost-effective care has been crowned Moreton Bay Regional Council Business of the Year.

IntegratePHYSIO directors husband and wife team Sam Bhojwani and Yamini Kapoor say they were shocked by the win, which was announced only moments after the business won the Moreton Daily Award for Customer Service Excellence at the 2023 Moreton Bay Business & Innovation Awards in July.

“It was very unexpected – we were elated just to win the customer service category,” Sam says.

|“We were not expecting to win that because there were so many amazing local businesses – it was a massive surprise.|

“When we were being called on stage for Business of the Year, we were still outside having photos taken after winning customer service.”

Yamini says while she and Sam were surprised to win the region’s top business award, the reaction from clients has been humbling.

“It came as a shock to us, but our clients say they were not surprised at all,” she says.

More honours

The awards came in recognition of exceptional customer service, business growth and innovation delivered by IntegratePHYSIO, which launched in 2017.

The business also received the 2023 Pine River Small Business Award for Health and Fitness and Sam was one of the top five physiotherapists in the nation last year after being named as a finalist in the Physiotherapist of the Year at the Australian Allied Health Awards.

IntegratePHYSIO is a musculoskeletal and sports injury outpatient service with clinics at Warner, Narangba and North Lakes – as well as a growing mobile service, Physio on Wheels, which provides allied health care to people in their own homes.

Sam and Yamini have been in business in Moreton Bay since 2010 after moving to the region via Adelaide and Sydney when they migrated from India.

They started as a two-person practice, expanding gradually before launching IntegratePHYSIO, which now has about 18 employees.

Adapting to change

They’re well used to adapting and say they’re proud to have their base in Moreton Bay, with its well-deserved reputation for fostering innovation.

|“Moreton Bay has been exceptional to us,” Yamini says.|

“We love the natural environment, the support from other local businesses, council has been amazing and it’s our plan to stay here.”

As COVID-19 spread in early 2020, the business went from seeing 100 patients a week to about 10, but they remained committed to staying open for their clients.

Yamini says it was a steep learning curve, with hygiene requirements changing rapidly and the need for staggered appointments to accommodate rigorous cleaning regimes between patients.

“We introduced telehealth to help progress patients’ exercises and people appreciated having those other options,” she explains.

Video appointments were supplemented by photographs, and instruction sheets ensured clients were given access to comprehensive information to allow them to continue their healing journeys.

Embracing innovation

“Moreton Bay is innovative and we were too during COVID,” Sam explains.

“We decided to remain open because the community needed that support.

“We followed all the infection control guidelines as recommended by Queensland Health and had not even one instance where we had someone who got infected because of us being open.

“After that tough period, we have grown by at least three to four hundred percent in terms of revenue and staff.”

Focus on women

Yamini says the growth has been beneficial for patients and staff alike, creating the opportunity to deliver Women’s Health Physiotherapy, including pelvic examinations, pre- and post-natal physiotherapy, and treatment for bladder issues and mastitis.

“We would not be where we are without our team, and as our team grew, we could mentor more staff and expand our services into women’s health, hydrotherapy, exercise physiology and we’re running a lot of professional development and regularly upskilling staff.”

She says there are only a handful of clinics offering specialised services for women on the northside of Brisbane.

“It’s very expensive for women to access services for things like post-natal physio care and help for incontinence.

“They have had to travel to travel to Paddington or the city for a consultation and they can be on a six-month waiting list – that’s too long to wait.”

Decades of experience

Sam says IntegratePHYSIO’s staff collectively have about 80 years of clinical experience and have helped more than 25,000 clients across the Moreton Bay Region since 2010

“We’re seeing four to five hundred clients a week, including our community clients.

“Our most striking differentiating factor lies in our mobile service, Physio on Wheels.

“We have experienced extraordinary growth of over 300 percent in the past six months by delivering high-quality care at a fraction of the cost, particularly when competing against larger participants in the NDIS allied health sector.”

As business owners, Yamini and Sam firmly believe the key to a successful business is to never lose sight of its foundational purpose.

Listening to clients

They started their business with the aim of delivering impeccable service with a genuine smile and say that truly listening to clients’ needs and consistently meeting them is crucial to building a thriving enterprise.

“We want to know if there’s something we could do better to keep improving our service,” Sam says.

“If you don’t listen to your clients, it’s a downhill path from here.

|“Just remember why you started the business in the first place.|

“You did it to provide a service to the community.”

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