Listen to what your customer is asking of you
Recently a friend of mine called asking for a favour. I’ve known this guy years. We started our respective businesses around the same time. He has now reached the point where he needs to...
How hard can it be to invoice in the real world?
What follows is absolutely real and why medical invoicing can be more troublesome than it need be. One of my guys ran an outpatient clinic last Thursday The clinic list arrived with me on the...
What do you do if the patient hasn’t got pre-authorisation?
An MHM client has this problem currently. Pre-Authorisation In the majority of cases, her patient obtains authorization for a consultation. But sometimes, a patient arrives and hasn’t done so. First...
Working in the NHS is very different from working in the private sector
One of the most common remarks I hear from my guys is the number of patients they see in the NHS. They have patients queuing up to see them. Such a comment is normally followed by the opposite when...
What is next for a consultant’s fees?
Many MHM clients have asked what I think the future holds for their fees? A number of private insurance companies have reduced fees for consultations and for surgical episodes over the last few...
Running around and getting nowhere fast
I've been reading a really interesting book. The book goes into some detail on how decisions are made. What the process is? Which factors are included? Why are some factors excluded? When is a...
Time management tip for consultant surgeons – buy a tomato
The single biggest restriction on the performance of any private medical practice is: TIME. Sound surprising? It shouldn't be. There are only 24 hours in a day. Even Stephen Hawking (one of...
63% reduction in a fee!!
Following last week's article regarding how you should always keep good relations with a private medical insurance company, it is worth pointing out that this does NOT mean you have to agree with...
Three Assumptions when there is a knock on the office door.
My Top Three Assumptions when there is a knock on the office door are: Murderer The authorities have come to arrest me The book on positive thinking I ordered has arrived. What on earth has...
Don’t treat insurance companies as the enemy. Try talking to them instead.
It is depressing the number of times I hear potential clients rubbishing insurance companies. In my experience the reasons normally cited are incorrect. Far from it. I've lost track how often I've...
This is what happens if you let excess and shortfalls get out of control
A few weeks ago, I was checking what was happening with shortfalls and excess since the start of the year. Using a single private consultant surgeon as an example: Week ending Friday, March 22nd,...
Be efficient. Use this more than anything else
In one single sentence the cornerstones of how a private consultant surgeon can achieve the financial reward for all his efforts. Ritual Every single time you perform an outpatient clinic the...