Don Pelto, DPM - Podiatry Practice Mastery

Many podiatry practices struggle with unused schedule capacity while trying to grow revenue. Optimizing clinic flow and patient mix is essential for better practice management. This episode focuses on how to turn schedule gaps into high-value visits in a podiatry practice. Don shares real clinical cases involving shockwave therapy, orthotics, and in-office procedures. He explains how to improve pa...

Turning consultations into accepted treatment plans is a key skill in podiatry practice management. Many podiatrists see second and third opinions but struggle with patient conversion. This episode focuses on improving case presentation, diagnosis, and treatment acceptance in a podiatry clinic. Don shares real examples from clinic days, including plantar fasciitis, shockwave therapy, and fracture...

Title: Turning Daily Patients Into High-Value Visits ⸻ Description How do you turn everyday clinic visits into higher-value care without adding more hours to your schedule? And just as importantly—how do you avoid low-value visits that clog your day? In this episode, Don walks through a real week of patients, breaking down what made certain visits highly productive (MVPs) and others less efficient...

How do you stay ahead with shockwave therapy when the technology, protocols, and pricing models keep evolving? In this episode, Don shares practical insights from attending the American Society of Shockwave conference for the second time. He reflects on what worked well, what didn’t add much value, and—most importantly—what he’s changing in his own clinical protocols. From adjusting treatment inte...

Managing VAs, Patient Recall, and Treatment Acceptance Description Are your virtual assistants actually producing value—or just filling hours? Many practice owners turn to virtual assistants for marketing and administrative help, but managing them effectively can be a challenge. When work is billed by the hour, tasks can expand to fill the available time, making it difficult to control costs or en...

Unlocking Revenue Hidden in Your Patient List Description Are you sitting on thousands of past patients who could come back—but never do? Most practices focus heavily on attracting new patients, yet the biggest opportunity often lives inside your existing patient database. The challenge is figuring out how to reactivate those patients without overwhelming your staff with manual phone calls and rec...

Simplifying Shockwave Pricing in Your Practice Description How should you price shockwave therapy if your practice already offers laser treatments? Many podiatrists successfully implement laser therapy packages but run into confusion when adding shockwave therapy. Should the treatments be offered separately? Should the pricing change? And how do you keep it simple for patients and staff while stil...

Most Valuable vs. Least Valuable Patients Why are some pods stuck below $1M despite working nonstop? In this episode, Don reviews a recent run of patients and categorizes them into “most valuable” and “least valuable.” The difference isn’t about patient importance—it’s about revenue structure, service mix, and scheduling strategy. Certain visits generate only an X-ray follow-up. Others represent 5...

Late-Career Moves That Actually Increase Profit You’ve got 5–10 good years left—how do you grow without wasting money or energy? In this episode, Don answers a series of tactical questions from established podiatrists who want stronger profitability, better positioning, and more control over their schedule. From restructuring routine care to improving Google reviews, raising orthotic prices, and e...

Niche Down Without Losing Revenue Everyone says “niche down”—but what if 80% of your schedule is routine care? In this episode, Don answers a practical question many podiatrists face: how do you transition from a generalist, routine-care-heavy practice into a more profitable niche without blowing up your schedule? He outlines two paths. First, make routine care more profitable by expanding service...

Adding Fat Pad Injections to Your Practice Do you have patients with painful fat pad atrophy who aren’t improving with pads and orthotics? In this episode, Don shares his first experience using Leneva (fat pad replacement injectable) for a patient with severe forefoot fat pad atrophy. After hearing about it at a recent conference, he implemented the treatment in-office—complete with consent workfl...

Full Schedule, Flat Revenue? Fix Your Case Mix Is your schedule packed with routine nail care—yet your revenue doesn’t match your effort? In this episode, Don answers a question shared by Jim McDonald from Podiatry Growth: how do you shift toward higher-margin care without losing the steady income from routine visits? It’s a common challenge, especially for doctors inheriting established routine-c...

Busy but Broke? Fix the Real Bottlenecks Are you seeing 25–30 patients a day—and still not building wealth? In this episode, Don shares a listener win from Australia using “Good–Better–Best” treatment sheets, then dives into a bigger issue: why some podiatrists producing $300K–$500K still feel financially stuck. The problem isn’t always volume—it’s structure, service mix, and scheduling strategy....

What $1M Providers Do Differently How are some podiatrists producing $750K–$1M per provider—without working twice as hard? In this episode, Don breaks down the practical differences between busy practices and high-producing ones. It’s not magic—it’s math, structure, and service mix. From daily visit targets to packaging protocols and opting out of low-paying insurance, he outlines the operational...

Coverage Gaps and Ownership Mentality Are unplanned absences quietly straining your practice more than you realize? In a smaller private practice, even one physician out can create ripple effects across scheduling, workflow, and patient experience. In this episode, Don shares a candid look at what happens when a four-doctor practice temporarily loses one provider to paternity leave—while another i...

Why Visiting Other Practices Accelerates Growth ⸻ Episode Description What if one of the fastest ways to grow as a podiatrist had nothing to do with new marketing tactics or equipment purchases? In this episode, I share a recent experience hosting a visiting physician and why spending your own time and resources to learn from other practices can dramatically shorten your learning curve. We break d...

Eliminating Open Slots to Increase Practice Revenue ⸻ Episode Description What’s the least valuable patient in your practice? It’s probably not who you think. In this episode, I break down why the most costly problem in a podiatry schedule isn’t low-reimbursement visits—it’s empty appointment slots that go unfilled. I walk through real daily tracking sheets, contrasting least valuable patients wit...

Using Rollovers to Convert Hesitant Patients ⸻ Episode Description How do you move patients forward when they feel like they’ve already “wasted money” on treatments that didn’t work? One simple pricing and communication strategy can lower resistance without discounting your value. In this episode, I explain how to use rollovers—crediting prior patient spending toward higher-value treatments—to inc...

Turning Urgent Care Misses Into Referrals ⸻ Episode Description What if the biggest referral opportunity in your market is hiding in plain sight at urgent care? Many podiatry practices routinely see patients sent over late—after missed diagnoses, incomplete treatment, or delayed referrals. The question is: how do you turn that reality into a system that consistently drives new patients? In this ep...

What an Eye Doctor Visit Taught Me About Patient Experience Episode Description Have you ever walked out of a medical appointment knowing the care was good—but the experience could have been better? In this episode of Podiatry Practice Mastery, Don reflects on a recent visit to the ophthalmologist with his father and unpacks what podiatrists and practice owners can learn from it. From smart delega...

How to Use Treatment Sheets to Guide Care and Increase Clarity Episode Description How do you simplify complex treatment plans without overwhelming patients—or your staff? In this episode of Podiatry Practice Mastery, Don answers listener questions from two practicing podiatrists focused on growth, systems, and execution inside a busy practice. The first half of the episode addresses questions aro...

Surgical Wow Factors That Patients Actually Remember Episode Description What do patients remember most about surgery—the procedure itself, or how you made them feel before and after? In this episode of Podiatry Practice Mastery, Don breaks down the specific pre-procedure, intra-procedure, and post-procedure systems he uses to create consistent “wow” experiences for surgical patients. Rather than...

How to Talk About Cash-Pay Treatments Without Selling Episode Description How do you introduce high-ticket, cash-pay treatments without sounding salesy or uncomfortable? In this episode of Podiatry Practice Mastery, Don answers a listener question on how to communicate value and pricing for services like shockwave therapy, biologics, and other self-pay procedures. Don breaks down the mindset shift...

One-Sheet Protocols That Increase Revenue Per Visit Episode Description What if your biggest growth bottleneck isn’t marketing or reimbursement—but the way you present treatment? Many podiatry practices struggle to break past revenue plateaus despite being busy every day. The issue often isn’t volume alone, but how care is structured, communicated, and delivered. In this episode, Don Pelto joins G...

Finding Revenue in the Details Episode Description Are you already busy—but still leaving revenue on the table? Many podiatrists hit a ceiling not because of patient volume, but because of underutilized treatments, incomplete systems, or discomfort presenting higher-value care. In this episode, Don walks through two real clinic days, patient by patient, highlighting how everyday visits translate i...