The American Institute of Balance (AIB) is a privately held, global healthcare company specializing in the evaluation and treatment of dizziness and balance disorders in children and adults, headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida. Founded by Richard E. Gans, PhD in 1992, the Institute is known for its innovative world-class patient care, education, and research programs. Currently, over 5,000 healthcare professionals are AIB Certified. AIB licenses, owns, or operates 100 Centers of Specialty Care clinics in 32 US states.
Throughout their 30-year history AIB has grown to be the country’s largest network of neurodiagnostic and rehabilitation balance specialists. The Institute’s mission and vision are rooted in the science and medicine of empowering clinicians to help patients with dizziness, vertigo, and balance dysfunction. It’s education programs have trained over 13,000 physical and occupational therapists and our research, diagnostic, and therapy protocols are used by leading practitioners, hospitals, and universities worldwide.
In 2018, AIB launched its Centers of Specialty Care (CSC) exclusive licensing agreement, a practice development and support program. Through this program AIB supports audiology and medical practices in the addition of vestibular neurodiagnostic testing. The business model is quite simple: utilize the AIB co-branding, on boarding, training, practices and protocols, and support to grow a business unit that ultimately will generate the practice $300,000 – $500,000 in revenue annually. Adding these services allows audiology practices to diversify themselves in markets from retail and big box providers and establish revenue streams that are independent of any hearing aid market volatility.
In addition to this diagnostic revenue, which is all based on an insurance reimbursement model, CSC practices also see an incremental increase in hearing aid dispensing numbers. By shifting practice philosophy from retail to a medical model, practitioners can elevate their brand within the medical and patient communities, which ultimately drives hearing aid sales. Centers of Specialty Care practices strongly agree this has increased physician referrals and grown their bottom line.
The CSC program is ideal for audiology practices who may be interested in offering neurodiagnostic services but are intimidated or overwhelmed by learning a new clinical skill set and business model. The CSC license offers onboarding, training, and support in all 4 key areas of a successful balance practice:
- Clinical/technical/report writing
- Patient acquisition and marketing
- Scheduling and front office staff training
- Billing and coding
The American Institute of Balance onboards and trains practices in a unique hybrid model, which pairs online virtual education with hands-on practical competency-based training. The proprietary onboarding process allows practices to be up and running in about 30-60 days. Practices continue to receive extensive support for the duration of the 5-year licensing agreement. AIB also offers an over-read program that takes away practices dependency on needing a vestibular expert in their own facility. AIB has a large network of strategic partners from our CSC program, including 100% financing for all qualified CSC clients, digital ad design, patient acquisition, and much more.
There are many misconceptions within the field regarding vestibular specialized testing including “it requires a lot of space“, “you can’t make any money on these services“, “the equipment is too expensive“, etc. however any AIB customer would tell you this is all misinformation. The criteria for AIB CSC candidacy below outline who may be a good fit.
- ENT, Neurology, or Audiology practices that range from small single practitioner businesses to large hospitals or healthcare systems.
- Personal, professional, and financial goals to expand practice offerings, diversity services, and grow revenue.
- Belief systems and cultural buy-in to providing gold standard care to patients with vertigo, dizziness, and balance dysfunction.
- 90-100 square feet of space.
- Strong relationships and brand recognition within the patient and medical communities.
- Capacity and personnel, including clinicians, support staff, and administrative staff, to support offered services.
Dizziness is the most common complaint of individuals over the age of 65 to their primary care physicians and the third most common complaint of individuals across the lifespan. These conditions effect over 90 million Americans. With the recent advancements in vestibular testing and treatment, revenue generating opportunities, and question marks surrounding hearing aid dispensing over the next decade, there has truly never been a better time to consider the addition of neurodiagnostic vestibular testing within the audiology space. The AIB programs help practices to do well by doing good, produce excellent patient outcomes for an underserved population, differentiate your practice, and add revenue to your bottom line.
We encourage you to visit dizzy.com/csc to learn more about AIB’s Centers of Specialty Care or to complete a FREE practice analysis. Please contact AIB at csc@dizzy.com or 800.245.6442 ext. 208 to schedule a virtual call or onsite visit.
About the Authors:
Dr. Joseph Sakumura is Director of Clinical Innovations at The American Institute of Balance (AIB). He received the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center and completed his residency training at AIB. His primary interests are in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of balance disorders in a broad range of patients, children to adult. Dr. Sakumura is also a faculty member with the Institute and assists AIB’s Partners in Balance affiliates with practice development and in the application of new and emerging technologies.
Gina Lorenzetti is Director of Marketing at The American Institute of Balance (AIB) where she is responsible for strategic and operational management of activities related to marketing and communications. She received the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Marketing and the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from Central Connecticut State University. Founded in 1992, AIB is internationally recognized as a leader in patient care, research and professional education in the evaluation and treatment of vestibular and equilibrium disorders.
