Of Course The Money is Important
Anybody ever watched the movie “Jerry Maguire” and the immortal quote – show me the money! Clearly a guy I recently bumped into at a medical conference hadn’t. He was the Practice Manager for a...
You Won’t Get A Higher Fee That Way!
Recently a private consultant - the colleague of a current client in fact - called me with a problem. Sadly it was a problem very much of their own making! In an effort to increase fees, the...
Watch Your Costs Please
At a recent on-line presentation, I was asked about the costs and use of accounting software. Bearing in mind the presentation was to consultants who had not yet established a private practice,...
Always Check You’ve Been Paid The Right Amount
Some consultants do not appreciate remittances sent to them are important. They are not just for tax reasons. They are not just to keep the accountant happy. There is a time-critical reason too....
Excellent Customer Service Comes with A Cost
Working for consultant surgeons is fun. However, since one particular private medical insurance company decided to outsource their help desk or their "advisors" late last year, there has been a...
Are You Making It Easy or Hard to get paid?
If you get the basics right many problems with getting paid don't happen. The basics mean the absolute minimum and mandatory requirements in order to present an account for your services. The basics...
The Fastest Way to Loose Money In Private Practice?
An MHM client held one of his twice-weekly outpatient clinics recently. Nine patients; so there should be NINE invoices. Except there are only EIGHT? A quick look at the list indicates...
Insurance Company Fees – check you are charging the maximum
A shortened version of a recent conversation with a well established private consultant surgeon. Very recently one of the major PMI players announced a further reduction in payable fees. The...
Charge the patients if we aren’t paid after 90 days
A group of surgeons I know is having problems getting paid by insurance companies. Not just an individual insurance company but all insurance companies. More specifically or so the surgeon's...
Do it one and do it right
When I begin to raise invoices for a new MHM client, for example, I'll check I have the right provider number. I'll check all the online systems and EDI protocol are 100% accurate. Is the...
It’s cost me how much??
A colleague called me last week. A case of "can I pick your brains for two minutes?" What's the problem? I'm always happy to take such calls for many times I have called others with precisely the...
Entrepreneur or Surgeon? Or Both?
At a on-line medical conference recently a friend of mine was discussing the future of the private practice industry and what lay ahead. My colleague shared the view that the "younger" newly...