Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1070090
Gauging Payment Patterns May Boost Cash Flow A S U R V E Y B Y Spark Business, a unit of Capital One geared to small-business owners, found physicians in private practice often face serious challenges in getting reimbursed promptly for services and in sustaining cash flow. Circling back with patients about late payment is cumbersome but vital, especially since reimbursement for small practices is often lower than for larger organizations, notes Jennifer Lee, MD, Medical Director of REN Dermatology & Laser Center in Franklin, Tennessee. "As the little guy, you could be making half — and insurance may not pay for the entire visit," Dr. Lee told Spark Business writer Joanna Ernst. "Then you're left to hope that patients pay the balance they're responsible for. This ends up absorbing a lot of my time and effort for my staff for follow-up." To ease periodic struggles related to slow payment, Spark Business recommends tracking payment patterns. "[A]djust your payment schedule accordingly so you can better prepare for those inevitable ebbs of cash flow throughout this cycle," Ernst writes. n — Steve Barrett Pitfalls to Avoid in Starting a Practice W I T H O NLY A T HIR D of physicians identifying themselves as private practice owners, according to a survey by physician recruitment firm Merritt Hawkins, the trend toward physician employment still appears strong. However, starting a private practice is doable if you bypass some common mistakes, the American Osteopathic Association advises on its website. Among those pitfalls: + Delaying credentialing and enrollment with payers. This process, which involves Medicaid, Medicare and private insurers, can drag on for months. Plan accordingly so you are ready to treat patients when you open. + Breakneck hiring. Recruiting employees and checking their backgrounds, references, credentials and training takes a lot of time, too. Start early. + Underestimating expenses. A certified financial planner, an accountant and an attorney can help you determine your up-front and long-term costs. n — Steve Barrett Successful Succession THE WEATHER, SOMEONE observed, "is a matter about which a great deal is said, but very little done." The track record for succession planning in medical practices is not much better: Only about a third of healthcare leaders responding to a survey by B.E. Smith, a member of San Diego-based staffing company AMN Healthcare, had a formal plan of succession for executive vacancies. In an article in Becker's Hospital Review, Mark Madden, Senior Vice President of Senior Executive Search at B.E. Smith, outlines ways practices can get succession planning on track. Here are a few: + Hang loose. Good candidates shouldn't be disqualified for having followed an unconventional career path. They may have the right experience to be an excellent fit in the C-suite. + Get buy-in. Nobody will take the plan seriously if it lacks support from executives and the board of directors. + Broaden your horizons. Succession plans should include leadership development at all levels, not only among potential top executives. n — Steve Barrett M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 019 2 7 B U S I N E S S O F M E D I C I N E ❰❰❰❰❰ 2 7