The Operator

The Operator is a healthcare business podcast about how clinics, platforms, and providers grow, scale, and sometimes fail.

Hosted by Larry Benz, this show breaks down private equity in healthcare, clinic ownership, leadership, compensation models, and the real-world decisions behind building health...

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Oct. 29, 2026

AI Saves You Time. So Why Are You Still Working More?

AI promises to give clinicians their time back. But who gets to decide what happens to that time? AI scribes are being marketed as a solution to one of healthcare's most persistent problems: the administrative burden that takes clinicians away from patients and contributes to burnout. The promise sounds straightforward. Less documentation. More efficiency. Better productivity. Maybe even a technology investment that pays for itself. But what happens when you actually examine the numbers? In

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Oct. 27, 2026

Building a “Yes” Culture: Bob Fontana on Investing in People & Expanding Care

Growth is easy to measure. Building an organization that gets better as it grows is much harder. Healthcare leaders spend enormous amounts of time thinking about expansion, performance, efficiency, and profitability. But what happens when an organization grows faster than its culture can support? Bob Fontana has spent nearly three decades confronting that question. Starting as an office manager in a dental practice, Bob went on to found Aspen Dental and build one of the largest dental organiz

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Oct. 20, 2026

Called to Care Spotlight: You Don't Need More Patients. You Need to Stop Losing Them.

You Don't Need More Patients. You Need to Stop Losing Them. What if your healthcare organization doesn't have a patient acquisition problem? What if it has a patient experience problem? Healthcare organizations invest heavily in marketing, lead generation, and patient acquisition. But what happens when someone finally picks up the phone? In this episode of The Operator, Larry Benz sits down with Amol, founder and CEO of Patient Prism, to explore one of healthcare's most overlooked growth oppo

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Oct. 16, 2026

Titans of Private Practice: AI Was Supposed to Save Time. Did It?

Healthcare AI promises to give clinicians their time back. But what should they actually get back? Less documentation? Earlier evenings? More time with patients? A better experience delivering care? Recorded live at Titans of Private Practice, Jimmy McKay sits down with Pedro Teixeira of Prompt Health for The Operator with Larry Benz to explore what happens when healthcare technology moves beyond the promise and into daily clinical practice. Pedro has been working with machine learning since

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Oct. 15, 2026

Titans of Private Practice: Your Practice Needs a Leader, Not Another Therapist

What if the biggest obstacle to growing your physical therapy practice is the identity that made you successful in the first place? Physical therapists are trained to care, solve problems, and take responsibility for their patients. But those same strengths can become limitations when a clinician becomes a business owner. Recorded live at the Titans of Private Practice conference, Jimmy McKay hosts Jamey Schrier of Practice Freedom U for The Operator with Larry Benz. Jamey challenges practice

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Oct. 13, 2026

Titans of Private Practice: Your Next 100 Patients May Already Know You

What if the next stage of growth for your physical therapy practice doesn't start with more advertising, but with the patients you've already treated? Physical therapy owners spend enormous amounts of energy trying to attract new patients. Yet many overlook the relationships, trust, and goodwill they've spent years building. Recorded live at the Titans of Private Practice conference, Jimmy McKay sits down with Chad Madden of Breakthrough for The Operator with Larry Benz to challenge how owners

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About the Host

Larry Benz, DPT

Healthcare Operator | CEO | Founder | Podcast Host of The Operator

Larry Benz is a healthcare executive, physical therapist, and founder with over 30 years of experience building and scaling healthcare platforms across physical therapy, musculoskeletal care, and multi-site clinical operations.

He is the co-founder and former CEO of Confluent Health, one of the largest musculoskeletal health companies in the U.S., supporting more than 800 physical therapy clinics nationwide. Earlier in his career, he founded KORT (Kentucky Orthopedic Rehab Team), growing it into a leading outpatient physical therapy company before its acquisition by Select Medical.

Larry is widely recognized for his expertise in:

healthcare operations
private equity in healthcare
clinic growth and scaling
workforce development
leadership in multi-site healthcare businesses

Through his podcast, The Operator, Larry shares real-world insights on what actually works inside healthcare platforms—covering private equity, EBITDA, clinic performance, leadership, and the operational realities behind scaling care businesses.

He has delivered over 250 presentations nationwide and has served in leadership roles with organizations including:

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties
Foundation for Physical Therapy Research
Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality & Innovation

Larry currently serves on multiple boards, including healthcare, education, and athletic organizations, and is a trustee at the University of Louisville.

He is the author of Called to Care: A Medical Provider’s Guide to Humanizing Healthcare and a Catherine Worthingham Fellow.

Before entering private practice and entrepreneurship, Larry served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps, where he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.