Today we’d like to introduce you to Payel Banik, D.O.
Dr. Banik, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My husband and I were exceedingly frustrated with the current state of healthcare. It always made him really angry that none of his appointments started on time, and he would continually have to reschedule work meetings for a five minute time slot with a partially present and rushed physician. It always felt like half a day was wasted sitting in an office where our time wasn’t valued, and we would always get surprise bills because of no transparent pricing.
So, we saved money for five years on the dream that we would be able to provide the best healthcare that is the exact opposite of what we just described. We risked everything we had on the belief that you can not provide quality healthcare in five minutes and started our practice three years ago.
Thankfully, we have seen over 100% growth in gross margin every year we have been open, and recently hired our first amazing employee!
We continue to provide healthcare, removing the common frustrations stated above, and deliver care how we think it should be, where the people always come first and the patient comes second. We strive to help people make better decisions about their health and to brighten the day of anyone who enters our world.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are only 20 other dually board certified physicians in the entire state of Texas with my particular specialty. While this club is quite small, it also means many people do not know or understand what we do.
My husband and I modeled our practice after three mentors in different areas of the country, one of whom is publicly cited by Apolo Ohno as being a key component to helping him win many gold medals during the winter Olympics.
All mentors had the benefit of having an osteopathic medical school and/or residency program in their respective communities. This meant that patients were already familiar with this line of work, the value it provided, and how it can help.
Unfortunately, we did not have any of these luxuries. Thus we started our work on educating the community and patients on how we can help.
When speaking about healthcare, it is our experience that most people have made so many bad decisions with their health, they are just afraid to make any decision, which typically ends up with indecision.
It makes sense if you think about it. As a consumer, you are getting bombarded with many different options and are not sure where to go (or whom to trust). Should you listen to your friend or family member OR do what this person on YouTube said OR listen to your physician OR go to an acupuncturist OR go to the chiropractor OR take pills OR go to an osteopath….
While these are not mutually exclusive options and some can work well together, most people are overwhelmed and don’t know whom to trust. This is the reason we intentionally slow the conversation down to best understand your specific situation before even allowing new patients into our practice. There is no reason to waste your valuable time and/or money.
Osteopathic Healing Hands – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Have you ever been told to “just live with it”? My mentor Dr. Lavine taught me in most cases, this is simply not true. You do not have to live with old injuries. “They can be reversed in whole or at the very least in part. There is no time limit from injury to treatment. Injuries in 80 year olds that occurred in high school have been successfully reversed with a dramatic impact on quality of life.” In my office, injuries and trauma are approached from a holistic viewpoint.
We typically work with three types of patients: adults, pregnant (and postpartum) mothers, and infants/children. It is not uncommon to have patients travel from out of state and internationally to get treated.
We help keep adults active, mobile, and live with less pain – for the majority without medications or surgery.
We also help pregnant (and postpartum) mothers move easier, live with less pain, and give them the best shot of a natural delivery avoiding a c-section .
Finally, we NATURALLY help infants get a rounded head without a helmet, reducing parent stress while simultaneously addressing torticollis, reflux, colic, constipation and difficulty breastfeeding, all from ONE board certified holistic physician.
I would say that about 50% of our practice is with pregnant women and infants.
I am most proud when hearing the amazing life transformations patients have after coming here. For example: finally being able to pick up their child for the first time, getting back to work after losing all hope, getting back to old exercise habits, preventing unnecessary surgeries, sharing in the joy with a mother who had the delivery of her dreams helping her avoid a c-section, and helping parents feel relief that they received the best care possible for their children’s future without being judged. Some of the AMAZING stories are on yelp, and you can read the five star unedited reviews there.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Actually opening the doors three years ago and following our dream to find the health in our patients. As the founder of osteopathy, A.T. Still, M.D., D.O. said, “the object of the physician is to find health, anyone can find disease.”
Contact Info:
- Address: 2056 Sul Ross
Houston, TX 77098 - Website: www.omtworks.com
- Phone: 713-527-8499
- Email: info@osteopathichealinghands.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omtworks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OsteopathicHealingHands
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrPayelBanik
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/osteopathic-healing-hands-houston
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRpkBldfH_iXynKCV1Rbvuw/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
