Healthcare Provider Relations Specialists

Monday, November 29, 2010

Employment Opportunities

We have established ourself as one of the leading developers of new technology in our arena. We continue to push the boundaries of technology developing exciting and innovative products for the global market. We have a culture of innovation where our employees can make a difference and we are looking for like minded, dynamic individuals to come and join our rapidly expanding team.Below is our current list of vacancies. If you wish to submit your application, please send it via e-mail, or you can fax us at the number listed below. Thanks!
Systems AnalystMust have a minimum of 5 years in our field or a related industry. Applicant must have a Bachelors degree or better.
C++ ProgrammerMust have a minimum of 5 years in our field or a related industry. Applicant must have a Bachelors degree or better.
CGI ProgrammerMust have a minimum of 5 years in our field or a related industry. Applicant must have a Bachelors degree or better.
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Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Strategic planning by the numbers

For some, the concept of strategic planning might conjure up images of board rooms, executives, complex graphs, and detailed reports. While this picture of strategic planning may hold true in the world of big business and finance, it certainly doesn't apply to most small businesses, and it can look much different for physical therapists in private practice.

In reality, strategic planning is actually a lot simpler than it sounds, and a lot more important than one might think. There are myriad ways to tackle a strategic plan, and in this article we'll examine the part of the strategic plan that is often most intimidating – the numbers.

The Strategic Plan

At its essence, strategic planning is simply the process of looking at how a private practice fits within its environment, and how it can best position itself for success. Private practices do not exist within a vacuum, and it stands to reason that elements both internal (operations, performance) and external (economic conditions, competition) to the practice must be considered when charting a way forward.

Strategic planning usually begins with an analysis and discussion of the more subjective areas of a practice, considering such areas as mission, vision, clinical specialty, referral sources, and competition. Approaching these areas in a logical and sequential manner is critical to the success of a strategic plan, however these areas must also articulate with objective data such as "hard" financial numbers in order to complete a sound strategic plan.

As we will discuss below, working with numbers does not have to be difficult, and taking a simplified and methodical approach often yields the best results.

Financial Projections

Financial projections are to private practice what the plan of care is to a patient. Without a plan of care, we would not know what targets our patients are aiming for, and we would have very little to guide us along the way.

The same is true in private practice, and for this reason it is imperative that financial projections be used as part of the strategic planning process. Below I've highlighted three concepts that make the numbers as simple as they are powerful within the strategic plan: (1) time, (2) content, and (3) calculations.

Time. For purposes of financial projections and strategic planning it is recommended to plan for one, three, and five year time frames. This provides a practice with planning that strikes a good mix between actionable tactics (year one) and long range vision (year five). One year financial projections should be as exacting as possible, with the objective of deviating from the financial targets by no more than a few percentage points. Five year projections on the other hand, are rarely exact and are intended to provide strategic direction and financial understanding as the business moves forward. Three year projections are a balance between tactics and vision, and should yield relative accuracy while maintaining focus on future growth of the practice.

Content. When addressing one, three, and five year projections, place a focus on four areas in order to create a comprehensive financial plan: Volume, revenue, expenses, and cash.

  • Volume. Volumes are the driver of most revenue, expenses, and cash, and thus should be considered first. Create your volume projections by projecting the number of new patients each month and multiplying by your average number of visits per new patient. Refined projections may also examine volume by facility, patient segment, or service type.
  • Revenue. Revenue should be projected by multiplying projected volume by an average collection (payment) amount per patient. Good revenue projections will break down revenue into gross charges, insurance adjustments, refunds, and net collections. Many will also evaluate revenue separately for each facility, and by initial evaluation versus return visit.
  • Expenses. Expense projections should look at expense categories that are functional for the practice. Most practices can benefit from looking at expenses in the following categories: Staff expenses, variable expenses (non-staff), and fixed expenses. Because fixed expenses generally don't change with volume, it is beneficial to evaluate variable expenses separate from fixed so that an accurate understanding of projected costs can be calculated.
  • Cash. Often overlooked, cash moves in and out of a private practice differently than revenue and expenses. For purposes of projecting cash flow, it is a good rule of thumb to "lag" cash inflow by 30-60 days from the time the revenue is generated, also accounting for any refunds anticipated based on historical trends.

Calculations. Once financial projections are complete it is important to establish financial and operational targets based on the calculation of a few important metrics and ratios. Evaluating metrics and ratios provides insight into the anticipated efficiency and profitability of a practice based on the financial projections. Once established, these same metrics and ratios should be evaluated regularly against projections to ensure the practice is trending according to the strategic plan. The seven key metrics and ratios below are some of the most important and easiest to calculate:

Average Charges/Visit: Total charges divided by total visits.
Average Collections/Visit: Total collections divided by total visits.
Collection %: Total collections divided by total charges.
Profit %: Net income (total collections minus total expenses) divided by total collections.
Collections/New Patient: Total collections divided by total new patients.
Collections/Visit: Total collections divided by total visits.
Productivity %: Total hours billed (by treating staff) divided by total hours worked (by treating staff).

It is important to understand that the true benefit of strategic planning is not found in a set of financial projections or in a few key metrics. The benefit is in the process undertaken to analyze, conceptualize, and communicate a strategy for navigating a practice within a given market environment. By keeping the plan simple, committing to regular monitoring, and engaging stakeholders in the process, strategic planning will be recognized as one of the most valuable exercises that a private practice owner can perform.


Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Private Phone: 404.953.5584

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Healthcare Success Strategies: Will It Create A Powerful, Differentiating Brand for Your Healthcare Business?

Healthcare Success Strategies: Will  It Create A Powerful, Differentiating Brand for Your Healthcare Business?

Work With Us and Avoid Looking Like a "Plain Vanilla" Organization

Let's say a new family moves in a couple of blocks from your office, and the mother holds a gathering for her new neighbors. At the gathering she asks, "I'd like to find a first-rate doctor for my family. Is there anyone special here in town?" How many of her newfound friends do you think would not only remember your name, but also be able to clearly elaborate upon what makes your business different? If you practice or organization is lost in a sea of sameness, you have a branding problem.

Sadly, a lot of would-be patients still think healthcare providers are all pretty much the same. The "sameness" misconception is not the patient's fault. If you want a truly remarkable business, you must create a terrific product, and then communicate your points of differentiation clearly and consistently. Marketers call this branding, and it's vital to winning the dental marketing game.

7 Reasons Why You Should Brand Your Healthcare Organization

   1. People prefer to buy brands because they reduce perceived risk.

   2. People buy brands for status.

   3. People refer more often and more passionately to a brand they like and trust.

   4. You can build and accelerate your reputation through branding.

   5. You can attract more of the cases you want through branding.

   6. Branding will give you a competitive advantage.

   7. A branded healthcare organization will be worth more than a non-branded business.

Brand vs. bland

Exactly who wants to be the plain vanilla doctor or dentist? Through the years we've spoken to thousands of physicians and other providers, and there isn't a single one who thought he or she had a plain vanilla practice. Each doctor could tell us something unique about his/her work, practice, staff, and office environment. Unfortunately, in most cases, they didn't focus this message into a brand, so, to the public, these doctors remained vanilla.

Why should you care?

Well, it turns out that branding your practice has some very tangible rewards. People will happily pay more for a brand than for a generic alternative. Don't believe us? Look at your own family's shopping habits. You could save a bundle by buying generic cola, beer, paper towels, wine, laundry detergent, and more. But unless you are a very rare bird, you don't. You buy many of the big brands like everyone else.

Why? Because you assume, either consciously or unconsciously, that the quality of a name brand product is better. Your patients think the same way. In fact, if you and your office staff are tired of haggling with patients over finances, you can take the money issue off the table by creating a value-added brand.

1. People prefer to buy brands because they reduce perceived risk. Consumers know that advertisers invest a lot of money in building their brands, and hence have a lot to lose if they put out shoddy products. Therefore, people are not only willing to try a new brand; they are highly likely to stay with that brand if they are satisfied with it.

2. People buy brands for status. Sometimes people spend more for a product because it is more expensive. Think Mercedes and Rolex. While relatively few dentists are status symbols, it does happen. For example, a savvy few can claim to be "dentists to the stars," reality TV "smile makeover dentists," and nationally prominent experts.

3. People refer more often and more passionately to a brand they like and trust. Truly great brands achieve near cult-level loyalty from their followers, to the point where consumers actually identify with their brands. Graphic artists universally put Macintosh(TM) stickers on their cars to show the world they are "rty" and belong to the "Mac clique." Starbucks(TM) aficionados insist on having their "double half cappuccino with extra foam." Harley Davidson(TM) isn't just a motorcycle; it's a personal statement. Some argue passionately for Coke(TM), others for Pepsi(TM). Wouldn't it be great if your patients were this loyal?

4. You can build and accelerate your reputation through branding. We understand that many doctors are uncomfortable with the idea of "tooting their own horn." However, since your reputation is your most valuable asset, are you willing to leave it entirely up to factors outside of your control? Instead of passively waiting and hoping for a good reputation to develop over the years, you can actively mold and shape your reputation now, through purposeful branding.

5. You can attract more of the cases you want through branding. Savvy doctors don't try to recruit everyone to their business. Instead, they target the patients and cases they want (e.g., cosmetically oriented patients, seniors, soccer moms, nurses, teachers, etc.). Branding can help you appeal to exactly the audience you want.

6. Branding will give you a competitive advantage. In a competitive market environment, which means just about everywhere, your business or practice needs to stand out in a positive and highly distinctive way because you are being compared directly to all others. Branding will help you stand out.

7. A branded organization will be worth more than a non-branded business. For the reasons we've discussed, a branded practice will often do far better economically than a non-branded practice. Additionally, when it's time to sell, a practice with a great reputation and proven ongoing marketing systems will command a better price than a run-of-the-mill practice.

So what exactly is a brand?

A lot of the physicians and dentists we've worked with over the years were initially skeptical about the concept of branding, and that's understandable. After all, when you get right down to it, a lot of marketing people are fuzzy about the concept.

It turns out that many marketers are guilty of focusing solely on the communication aspect of branding, and forget entirely about the underlying product, which is more important. Even the slickest advertising won't save bad products. (Remember all those funny ads a few Super Bowls ago when well-funded, and now defunct, Internet companies advertised products which no one needed?)

To add to the confusion, various authorities, such as marketing academia, consultants, and texts, all have slightly different definitions for branding. These include:

  •     "A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect."
  •     "The primary focus of your brand message must be on how special you are. "
  •     "You're just anybody without your identity."
  •     "Customers must recognize that you stand for something."

The two best ones we've seen are:

  • "A brand is the total experience that a customer has with your product, service or company."
  • "A brand is delivering on a promise ... consistently."

The good news and the really good news for doctors

Branding has long been pervasive in business, and it now extends to people (e.g., Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Tiger Woods, Martha Stewart). These savvy individuals know they have to be different to stand out from the crowd. However, branding is not very common in private healthcare practices. Surprisingly, a large percentage of healthcare practices simply don't use branding to establish and reinforce a specific reputation in their market.

So the good news is that most of your professional colleagues are not trying to brand their practices. The even better news is that the practice that successfully brands itself will take a head-and-shoulders, standout lead above the competition. Positive differentiation is the whole idea.

In service industries, including healthcare, effective branding is about the entire experience and relationship that patients have with you and your team. When you communicate what makes you special, you are setting expectations — a direct or implied promise — that patients will get the benefit of your unique value each time they visit or call.

"How will Healthcare Success Strategies help me build a powerful brand?"

We've talked a lot about the necessity for branding and differentiation, but how can you actually do it?

Well, if we work together our first step will be to develop a positioning statement (also known as Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Value Proposition). Simply put, your positioning is: the position in the mind of the consumer that your practice occupies.

In other words, what is the one thing you want patients to remember about you, if they remember only one thing? We have to focus very tightly because prospective patients are exposed to at least 3,000 commercial messages a day. With so much clutter in the marketplace, you'll have to give up trying to be everything to everybody, and instead focus on becoming very special to somebody. Some famous Corporate America positioning examples include:

  •     Crest(TM) fights cavities
  •     Excedrin(TM) is the headache medicine (for the toughest headaches)
  •     At Avis(TM), we're No. 2, so we try harder

How we'll position your practice in the marketplace

Your positioning is the unique competitive advantage that influences your desired audience to see you as their best choice. Before we come up with your positioning statement, you need to know some ground rules. Whatever we come up with, your positioning must be:

  • True (if you say you're experienced, you'd better be experienced)
  • Differentiating (not saying the same thing everyone else says)
  • Memorable (you are competing with 3,000 messages a day)
  • Compelling to your intended target audience (don't look too expensive when dealing with lower-income patients, for example)

To come up with your positioning statement, we'll decide what you should say to prospective patients who ask, "Why you?"

Why should they come to you? How do you present yourself as different, better, and desirable from any other dentist they could call today? Why you?

Don't worry if you can't answer this question yet. Right now, your practice is probably hidden in that forest of look-alike doctors if you haven't thought too much about it or you can't easily verbalize "Why you?"

The good news is, we have a very specific process to help you. We'll brainstorm answers to questions like, "Why you?" or, "What do you do, and whom are we for?"

We'll help you avoid your own biases. While you may be very proud of your advanced education and technology, in a low economic area patients may be far more interested in how gentle, friendly, or affordable you are.

And of course, chances are that some of your competitors may already be mumbling something about gentle, for example, so if you go that route, you'll need to find a unique way to say it and then prove your claim to the oh-so-skeptical public. Remember that your positioning will not be identical to your headline and slogan, though these may well be derived from the positioning.

Defining and delivering on "Why you?"

Once we nail your positioning, you'll need to deliver on it practice-wide, not just in your marketing communications. Remember, your brand is the sum total of experiences patients have with your practice, which is larger than your positioning statement alone. Put another way, your positioning is a logical argument for your practice, while your brand is the larger emotional response and image you are working to establish.

Everything must tie together — from how your phone is answered, how long patients wait, and your choice of uniforms — to your technology, your manner, your location (signage, building, entrance, furniture, colors of the walls), which services you promote, and much more. If you decide you want to be the "leading-edge dentist in town," you can't limp along with a 1970s Brady Bunch look-alike office.

Here are some more critical brand-building points to consider:

Doctors (the seller) are likely to think in terms of equipment (technical sophistication, hardware) or clinical quality (skill level, training, peer reputation). But the public (the buyer) values service (access, amenities, ease of scheduling) and value-added items (product or service differentiation).

Effective branding communicates to the tastes, attitudes, and sensibilities of the buyer, not the seller. And the wants and needs of the buyer (patient) are mainly rooted in results: improved appearance, a healthy body, self-esteem, and perhaps confidence in good health. Think benefits.

We'll identify a value-added edge over the competition. What is highly unique about your practice that delivers value to the patient over and above whatever else is available in the marketplace? Whatever issue we choose to compete upon, it needs to be the one thing that best characterizes the experience, and has to be the centerpiece for everything you do and say about the practice.

Be willing to offend someone. By definition, your positioning must be unique; therefore, you cannot be everything to everyone. The challenge will be to appeal to many, while recognizing that your positioning cannot be universal. Being everything to everyone is not unique, and that's the same as vanilla.

Guard your brand zealously within your office. Once you've created your brand, you should beware of the trap of carrying the message banner for others. For example, one of the authors of this article recently looked up from the dental chair and noticed a poster on the ceiling advertising a national whitening treatment. Since the manufacturer's less expensive over-the-counter version is available at every grocery store in town, we hope the manufacturer at least sends the dentist a thank you note.

Deliver a consistent patient experience. People prefer consistent quality to nasty surprises, and a brand isn't really a brand if the practice doesn't deliver a consistent, high quality experience. That's why it's easy to understand why budget-minded American students traveling through Europe often pass on local fare to eat at McDonald's. Remember, just a few negative experiences can blow your brand credibility and betray the trust you've worked so hard to build.

Deliver consistent branded communications. In addition to delivering consistent in-office experiences, you must effectively communicate your brand message at every marketing opportunity. This means your Yellow Pages ad, website, brochures, etc.

Call us now and we'll build your brand

When you create a powerful practice brand, you'll attract the patients, cases, and referrals that you want. Deliver your branding message consistently, and your reward will be consistent profit growth.

Call us now for a free quote on branding, brochures, logos, advertising and more. 



Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Service Phone: 404.953.5584

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Branding Your Healthcare Business

Branding your business

Healthcare Provider Relations (HCPR): Will It Create A Powerful, Differentiating Brand for Your Healthcare Business?

Work With Us and Avoid Looking Like a "Plain Vanilla" Organization

Let's say a new family moves in a couple of blocks from your office, and the mother holds a gathering for her new neighbors. At the gathering she asks, "I'd like to find a first-rate doctor for my family. Is there anyone special here in town?" How many of her newfound friends do you think would not only remember your name, but also be able to clearly elaborate upon what makes your business different? If your practice or organization is lost in a sea of sameness, you have a branding problem.

Sadly, a lot of would-be patients still think healthcare providers are all pretty much the same. The "sameness" misconception is not the patient's fault. If you want a truly remarkable business, you must create a terrific product, and then communicate your points of differentiation clearly and consistently. Marketers call this branding, and it's vital to winning the dental marketing game.

7 Reasons Why You Should Brand Your Healthcare Organization

1. People prefer to buy brands because they reduce perceived risk.
2. People buy brands for status.
3. People refer more often and more passionately to a brand they like and trust.
4. You can build and accelerate your reputation through branding.
5. You can attract more of the cases you want through branding.
6. Branding will give you a competitive advantage.
7. A branded healthcare organization will be worth more than a non-branded business.

Brand vs. bland

Exactly who wants to be the plain vanilla doctor or dentist? Through the years we've spoken to thousands of physicians and other providers, and there isn't a single one who thought he or she had a plain vanilla practice. Each doctor could tell us something unique about his/her work, practice, staff, and office environment. Unfortunately, in most cases, they didn't focus this message into a brand, so, to the public, these doctors remained vanilla.

Why should you care?

Well, it turns out that branding your practice has some very tangible rewards. People will happily pay more for a brand than for a generic alternative. Don't believe us? Look at your own family's shopping habits. You could save a bundle by buying generic cola, beer, paper towels, wine, laundry detergent, and more. But unless you are a very rare bird, you don't. You buy many of the big brands like everyone else.

Why? Because you assume, either consciously or unconsciously, that the quality of a name brand product is better. Your patients think the same way. In fact, if you and your office staff are tired of haggling with patients over finances, you can take the money issue off the table by creating a value-added brand.

1. People prefer to buy brands because they reduce perceived risk. Consumers know that advertisers invest a lot of money in building their brands, and hence have a lot to lose if they put out shoddy products. Therefore, people are not only willing to try a new brand; they are highly likely to stay with that brand if they are satisfied with it.

2. People buy brands for status. Sometimes people spend more for a product because it is more expensive. Think Mercedes and Rolex. While relatively few dentists are status symbols, it does happen. For example, a savvy few can claim to be "dentists to the stars," reality TV "smile makeover dentists," and nationally prominent experts.

3. People refer more often and more passionately to a brand they like and trust. Truly great brands achieve near cult-level loyalty from their followers, to the point where consumers actually identify with their brands. Graphic artists universally put Macintosh(TM) stickers on their cars to show the world they are "rty" and belong to the "Mac clique." Starbucks(TM) aficionados insist on having their "double half cappuccino with extra foam." Harley Davidson(TM) isn't just a motorcycle; it's a personal statement. Some argue passionately for Coke(TM), others for Pepsi(TM). Wouldn't it be great if your patients were this loyal?

4. You can build and accelerate your reputation through branding. We understand that many doctors are uncomfortable with the idea of "tooting their own horn." However, since your reputation is your most valuable asset, are you willing to leave it entirely up to factors outside of your control? Instead of passively waiting and hoping for a good reputation to develop over the years, you can actively mold and shape your reputation now, through purposeful branding.

5. You can attract more of the cases you want through branding. Savvy doctors don't try to recruit everyone to their business. Instead, they target the patients and cases they want (e.g., cosmetically oriented patients, seniors, soccer moms, nurses, teachers, etc.). Branding can help you appeal to exactly the audience you want.

6. Branding will give you a competitive advantage. In a competitive market environment, which means just about everywhere, your business or practice needs to stand out in a positive and highly distinctive way because you are being compared directly to all others. Branding will help you stand out.

7. A branded organization will be worth more than a non-branded business. For the reasons we've discussed, a branded practice will often do far better economically than a non-branded practice. Additionally, when it's time to sell, a practice with a great reputation and proven ongoing marketing systems will command a better price than a run-of-the-mill practice.
So what exactly is a brand?

A lot of the physicians and dentists we've worked with over the years were initially skeptical about the concept of branding, and that's understandable. After all, when you get right down to it, a lot of marketing people are fuzzy about the concept.

It turns out that many marketers are guilty of focusing solely on the communication aspect of branding, and forget entirely about the underlying product, which is more important. Even the slickest advertising won't save bad products. (Remember all those funny ads a few Super Bowls ago when well-funded, and now defunct, Internet companies advertised products which no one needed?)

To add to the confusion, various authorities, such as marketing academia, consultants, and texts, all have slightly different definitions for branding.

These include:

"A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect."
"The primary focus of your brand message must be on how special you are."
"You're just anybody without your identity."
"Customers must recognize that you stand for something." The two best ones we've seen are:

"A brand is the total experience that a customer has with your product, service or company." "A brand is delivering on a promise ... consistently." The good news and the really good news for doctors

Branding has long been pervasive in business, and it now extends to people (e.g., Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Tiger Woods, Martha Stewart). These savvy individuals know they have to be different to stand out from the crowd. However, branding is not very common in private healthcare practices. Surprisingly, a large percentage of healthcare practices simply don't use branding to establish and reinforce a specific reputation in their market.

So the good news is that most of your professional colleagues are not trying to brand their practices. The even better news is that the practice that successfully brands itself will take a head-and-shoulders, standout lead above the competition. Positive differentiation is the whole idea.

In service industries, including healthcare, effective branding is about the entire experience and relationship that patients have with you and your team. When you communicate what makes you special, you are setting expectations undefined a direct or implied promise undefined that patients will get the benefit of your unique value each time they visit or call.

"How will Healthcare Provider Relations (HCPR) help me build a powerful brand?"

We've talked a lot about the necessity for branding and differentiation, but how can you actually do it?

Well, if we work together our first step will be to develop a positioning statement (also known as Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Value Proposition). Simply put, your positioning is: the position in the mind of the consumer that your practice occupies.

In other words, what is the one thing you want patients to remember about you, if they remember only one thing? We have to focus very tightly because prospective patients are exposed to at least 3,000 commercial messages a day. With so much clutter in the marketplace, you'll have to give up trying to be everything to everybody, and instead focus on becoming very special to somebody.

Some famous Corporate America positioning examples include:

Crest(TM) fights cavities
Excedrin(TM) is the headache medicine (for the toughest headaches)
At Avis(TM), we're No. 2, so we try harder How we'll position your practice in the marketplace

Your positioning is the unique competitive advantage that influences your desired audience to see you as their best choice. Before we come up with your positioning statement, you need to know some ground rules. Whatever we come up with, your positioning must be:

True (if you say you're experienced, you'd better be experienced) Differentiating (not saying the same thing everyone else says) Memorable (you are competing with 3,000 messages a day) Compelling to your intended target audience (don't look too expensive when dealing with lower-income patients, for example) To come up with your positioning statement, we'll decide what you should say to prospective patients who ask, "Why you?"

Why should they come to you? How do you present yourself as different, better, and desirable from any other dentist they could call today? Why you?
Don't worry if you can't answer this question yet. Right now, your practice is probably hidden in that forest of look-alike doctors if you haven't thought too much about it or you can't easily verbalize "Why you?"

The good news is, we have a very specific process to help you. We'll brainstorm answers to questions like, "Why you?" or, "What do you do, and whom are we for?"
We'll help you avoid your own biases. While you may be very proud of your advanced education and technology, in a low economic area patients may be far more interested in how gentle, friendly, or affordable you are.

And of course, chances are that some of your competitors may already be mumbling something about gentle, for example, so if you go that route, you'll need to find a unique way to say it and then prove your claim to the oh-so-skeptical public. Remember that your positioning will not be identical to your headline and slogan, though these may well be derived from the positioning.
Defining and delivering on "Why you?"

Once we nail your positioning, you'll need to deliver on it practice-wide, not just in your marketing communications. Remember, your brand is the sum total of experiences patients have with your practice, which is larger than your positioning statement alone. Put another way, your positioning is a logical argument for your practice, while your brand is the larger emotional response and image you are working to establish.
Everything must tie together undefined from how your phone is answered, how long patients wait, and your choice of uniforms undefined to your technology, your manner, your location (signage, building, entrance, furniture, colors of the walls), which services you promote, and much more. If you decide you want to be the "leading-edge dentist in town," you can't limp along with a 1970s Brady Bunch look-alike office.

Here are some more critical brand-building points to consider:

Doctors (the seller) are likely to think in terms of equipment (technical sophistication, hardware) or clinical quality (skill level, training, peer reputation). But the public (the buyer) values service (access, amenities, ease of scheduling) and value-added items (product or service differentiation).
Effective branding communicates to the tastes, attitudes, and sensibilities of the buyer, not the seller. And the wants and needs of the buyer (patient) are mainly rooted in results: improved appearance, a healthy body, self-esteem, and perhaps confidence in good health. Think benefits.
We'll identify a value-added edge over the competition. What is highly unique about your practice that delivers value to the patient over and above whatever else is available in the marketplace? Whatever issue we choose to compete upon, it needs to be the one thing that best characterizes the experience, and has to be the centerpiece for everything you do and say about the practice.

Be willing to offend someone. By definition, your positioning must be unique; therefore, you cannot be everything to everyone. The challenge will be to appeal to many, while recognizing that your positioning cannot be universal. Being everything to everyone is not unique, and that's the same as vanilla.
Guard your brand zealously within your office. Once you've created your brand, you should beware of the trap of carrying the message banner for others. For example, one of the authors of this article recently looked up from the dental chair and noticed a poster on the ceiling advertising a national whitening treatment. Since the manufacturer's less expensive over-the-counter version is available at every grocery store in town, we hope the manufacturer at least sends the dentist a thank you note.

Deliver a consistent patient experience. People prefer consistent quality to nasty surprises, and a brand isn't really a brand if the practice doesn't deliver a consistent, high quality experience. That's why it's easy to understand why budget-minded American students traveling through Europe often pass on local fare to eat at McDonald's. Remember, just a few negative experiences can blow your brand credibility and betray the trust you've worked so hard to build.
Deliver consistent branded communications. In addition to delivering consistent in-office experiences, you must effectively communicate your brand message at every marketing opportunity. This means your Yellow Pages ad, website, brochures, etc.

Call us now and we'll build your brand

When you create a powerful practice brand, you'll attract the patients, cases, and referrals that you want. Deliver your branding message consistently, and your reward will be consistent profit growth.

Call us now for a free quote on branding, brochures, logos, advertising and more.



Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Private Phone: 404.953.5584

Monday, November 15, 2010

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Healthcare Publicity: Winning Techniques and Fatal Pitfalls to Your Free Press

Healthcare Publicity: Winning Techniques and Fatal Pitfalls to Your Free Press

Our previous article about medical publicity got you started with the first three steps to discovering short-term healthcare practice publicity opportunities.

Now that you've done your homework, you know newspapers, business publications, regional, ethnic, special interest publications, television, radio, and even online media in and around your practice. AND - you know what's important to them. You have a few well-considered ideas for a creative and media-appealing "hook" that will be of interest to their readers and set you apart from competing ideas.

Because "free" publicity is not the same as "easy," here are 19 key ideas - what to do and what not to do - to capture the media's attention with your interesting angle and inspire media coverage that helps your practice.

Match your story to the right reporter, the right media, and in the right way.

Refine and practice first. Be sure you have a compelling, interesting and newsworthy story idea that will be of value (and interest) to the reporter. Create appropriate support materials to help grab attention, highlight the core idea, sell the idea and aid the reporter if they run with the idea.

First pitch by phone. To break through the clutter, it sometimes makes sense to pitch your story idea by phone first. But be prepared to follow-up promptly with materials if they express an interest. HINT: Don't mistake a green-light here as approval of anything - except willingness for the media to look more closely at your release, fact sheet and/or photo. Send immediately.

Use a standard News Release format. Be concise, accurate, simple and clear. Use the standard Who, What, Where, When, Why and How format. Include contact name, phone, etc. at the top. Be brief, but interesting, with the most important information right up front.

Grab attention from the first sentence. In your phone pitch, and in your news release, put the big idea up front. You've got one, maybe two sentences to get to the point.

Remain flexible. Sometimes the idea you pitch comes back from the media with some variation, twist or slightly different angle. Now that you know the reporter's specific needs or interest, you may be able to tie into their idea. If there is still common ground - and don't try to fake it - work with their direction.

A good story beats a fancy press kit. Focus on clearly communicating your story idea (the "hook"). Any materials that you send should be neat and easy to read, but the media will not take notice of an elaborate or fancy press kit. Worse, if the package is distracting or makes it too hard to find your idea, it's dead on arrival.

Use the media's communications channel of choice. For many reasons, electronic or digital format emails are usually the media's choice for submitted materials. However, ask first and always use what the media prefers.

Follow-up faithfully, but not annoyingly. Make personal contact, stay in touch, but don't be an annoyance. If they're interested, they'll call you.

Take care with controversy. The media likes the push-and-shove of a contentious issue. If your idea or "hook" is controversial - or could be controversial - use caution. The media may inspire a debate. Some reporters or media outlets have a reputation for finding a "negative spin" or even turning hostile. That said, controversy can often be the crucial element that gets the media to pay attention to your ideas at all.

Understand rejection. Be prepared for "no sale." Sometimes even good ideas don't make it. The media doesn't buy everything that crosses their desk. Don't be discouraged. Try again another time, with another media, with another idea.

There are some sure-fire ways to fail at Free Publicity, so let's wrap with a few of the common (potentially fatal) mistakes to avoid.

  • Assume the media cares about you. Friendly, yes. Helpful, maybe. Caring about you, your objectives, or your needs...Nope! The media doesn't care about helping you. Somebody always wants something from them. They care about doing their job. - Skip the research and just call the editor. Or, let's say you found a "sports" angle and pitch the idea to the Fashion editor. You'll be lucky to get past the switchboard with a second call.

  • Assume they will run anything you send. Probably 80% of what hits an editor's In-Box moves instantly to the Big Round File. You've got a good second and a half to catch attention, so it better be interesting fast.

  • You are also an advertiser. OK, maybe for advertisers you get a full two seconds, but
    dull is still dead.

  • Tell a reporter what and how to report. The news media is fiercely protective of its independence. You can provide information, but outsider observations and conclusions are unwelcome and likely insulting.

  • Lie, exaggerate, strong-arm or heavy-duty spin. Reporters tend to be skeptical and questioning by nature, but expect a complete shut-down (maybe including other reporters and other media) if they feel they are being used or deliberately misled.

  • Fake stuff. Do your homework and speak authoritatively about what you know. But if you don't know; say so. If you need to find an answer; ask to get back to them. If you can't answer; don't. Second only to an out-right lie, making it up, guessing or just faking it destroys credibility sooner or later, and probably sooner.

  • Call often and ask: "Did you get it." Or "When will it be used?" Don't ask. Even once is too often. At best, you'll be seen as na��ve and you loose a professional-credibility stripe. But the hard work careful research that has gotten you this far may be lost if you ask at all.

BONUS IDEA - Aggressively use reprints: When you are successful and have an interesting and positive article that appears in print, get reprints or even clippings and circulate them widely for maximum mileage. Send a copy of the article to the attention of people who are important to your practice. Display them in the office. Reference them in speeches. Give to colleagues and referral sources. It's entirely likely that the people you most want to see the publicity will appreciate the message if they get it directly from you.

Winning at the publicity game is challenging. Give us a call today at (800) 349-6095 and we'll be happy to help you grow your practice - including planning, public relations, advertising, promotion, strategic thinking and effective execution for practice development. These and other success tools are in our meetings for professionals, our consultations and our audio CD series.


Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Private Phone: 404.953.5584

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Strategic planning by the numbers.

Strategic planning by the numbers.

For some, the concept of strategic planning might conjure up images of board rooms, executives, complex graphs, and detailed reports. While this picture of strategic planning may hold true in the world of big business and finance, it certainly doesn't apply to most small businesses, and it can look much different for physical therapists in private practice.

In reality, strategic planning is actually a lot simpler than it sounds, and a lot more important than one might think. There are myriad ways to tackle a strategic plan, and in this article we'll examine the part of the strategic plan that is often most intimidating – the numbers.

The Strategic Plan

At its essence, strategic planning is simply the process of looking at how a private practice fits within its environment, and how it can best position itself for success. Private practices do not exist within a vacuum, and it stands to reason that elements both internal (operations, performance) and external (economic conditions, competition) to the practice must be considered when charting a way forward.

Strategic planning usually begins with an analysis and discussion of the more subjective areas of a practice, considering such areas as mission, vision, clinical specialty, referral sources, and competition. Approaching these areas in a logical and sequential manner is critical to the success of a strategic plan, however these areas must also articulate with objective data such as "hard" financial numbers in order to complete a sound strategic plan.

As we will discuss below, working with numbers does not have to be difficult, and taking a simplified and methodical approach often yields the best results.

Financial Projections

Financial projections are to private practice what the plan of care is to a patient. Without a plan of care, we would not know what targets our patients are aiming for, and we would have very little to guide us along the way.

The same is true in private practice, and for this reason it is imperative that financial projections be used as part of the strategic planning process. Below I've highlighted three concepts that make the numbers as simple as they are powerful within the strategic plan: (1) time, (2) content, and (3) calculations.

Time. For purposes of financial projections and strategic planning it is recommended to plan for one, three, and five year time frames. This provides a practice with planning that strikes a good mix between actionable tactics (year one) and long range vision (year five). One year financial projections should be as exacting as possible, with the objective of deviating from the financial targets by no more than a few percentage points. Five year projections on the other hand, are rarely exact and are intended to provide strategic direction and financial understanding as the business moves forward. Three year projections are a balance between tactics and vision, and should yield relative accuracy while maintaining focus on future growth of the practice.

Content. When addressing one, three, and five year projections, place a focus on four areas in order to create a comprehensive financial plan: Volume, revenue, expenses, and cash.

  • Volume. Volumes are the driver of most revenue, expenses, and cash, and thus should be considered first. Create your volume projections by projecting the number of new patients each month and multiplying by your average number of visits per new patient. Refined projections may also examine volume by facility, patient segment, or service type.
  • Revenue. Revenue should be projected by multiplying projected volume by an average collection (payment) amount per patient. Good revenue projections will break down revenue into gross charges, insurance adjustments, refunds, and net collections. Many will also evaluate revenue separately for each facility, and by initial evaluation versus return visit.
  • Expenses. Expense projections should look at expense categories that are functional for the practice. Most practices can benefit from looking at expenses in the following categories: Staff expenses, variable expenses (non-staff), and fixed expenses. Because fixed expenses generally don't change with volume, it is beneficial to evaluate variable expenses separate from fixed so that an accurate understanding of projected costs can be calculated.
  • Cash. Often overlooked, cash moves in and out of a private practice differently than revenue and expenses. For purposes of projecting cash flow, it is a good rule of thumb to "lag" cash inflow by 30-60 days from the time the revenue is generated, also accounting for any refunds anticipated based on historical trends.

Calculations. Once financial projections are complete it is important to establish financial and operational targets based on the calculation of a few important metrics and ratios. Evaluating metrics and ratios provides insight into the anticipated efficiency and profitability of a practice based on the financial projections. Once established, these same metrics and ratios should be evaluated regularly against projections to ensure the practice is trending according to the strategic plan. The seven key metrics and ratios below are some of the most important and easiest to calculate:

Average Charges/Visit: Total charges divided by total visits.
Average Collections/Visit: Total collections divided by total visits.
Collection %: Total collections divided by total charges.
Profit %: Net income (total collections minus total expenses) divided by total collections.
Collections/New Patient: Total collections divided by total new patients.
Collections/Visit: Total collections divided by total visits.
Productivity %: Total hours billed (by treating staff) divided by total hours worked (by treating staff).

It is important to understand that the true benefit of strategic planning is not found in a set of financial projections or in a few key metrics. The benefit is in the process undertaken to analyze, conceptualize, and communicate a strategy for navigating a practice within a given market environment. By keeping the plan simple, committing to regular monitoring, and engaging stakeholders in the process, strategic planning will be recognized as one of the most valuable exercises that a private practice owner can perform.

Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Private Phone: 404.953.5584

Vinade Reminder Notification

Health Care Provider Relations (HCPRS) Subscription Service: A unique solution to reducing your bottom-line. Start your Free Trial Today at http://www.hcprs.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- We at HCPRS are always here to help you grow your organization - from medical billing to marketing, financial planning, EMR, collections, insurance, software, computers, networking, and other technology issues. Our job is to provide your practice solutions that will propel your business to a whole new level. We achieve these by providing our services to you on subscription basis. Our services will help you reduce your monthly expenses. And our job is simple: If you already have a practice, we help it succeed. And if not, we can help you to start one. We understand how healthcare and business interact, and our duty is to help you merge the two to produce a very efficient and productive system that improves the health of those you serve.

Is it time to throw in the towel on Private Practice?

Is it time to throw in the towel on Private Practice?

An article in the New York Times today titled, "More Doctors Giving Up Private Practices," told the story of an increasing number of physicians who are finding their "bliss" through employed, salaried positions, rather than at the helm of their own private practice.  The reason – increased costs, decreased pay, and ultimately unhappier doctors in the private practice environment.  Again, I don't buy it.

The article spoke of the increasing financial burden on physicians who, in order to keep up with the demands of today's healthcare arena, must invest heavily into expensive electronic medical record systems (EMR) and practice management softare (PMS), along with the staff required to collect payment from a growing number of patients who lack the financial wherewithal to pay their bills.  Sure, the challenges are real, but it's still bull honkey.

The silver lining in this shift toward larger, safer, and inevitably more monopolized healthcare practice – if there is one – the article goes on to say, is the continuum of care that is far facilitated by larger, more integrated systems which employ large numbers of physicians from a variety of specialties.  Not convinced.

The Healthcare Provider Relations (HCPR)) reports - according to the article - that in 2005 more than 67% of medical practices were physician owned, however three short years later this number had dropped to below 50%.  With admittedly disturbing facts such as this, and the industry knowledge that is near and dear to my heart – that private practice owners are, in fact, struggling in pockets across the country – how could I possibly scoff at the fact that an article in the New York Times suggests that quite possibly it is time to throw in the towel by the physician masses?

Because it's short sighted, cowardly, and undermines the creative and entrepreneurial fabric from which many of our country's greatest practices are woven.

In a nutshell, it's the wrong way to go.

I've been around healthcare my entire life, and my professional career has known nothing else.  I care deeply about people, and understand that passion, freedom, autonomy, and creativity are the inspiration behind the greatest care that our country can offer.  I also understand that in order to attain autonomy, passion, freedom, and creativity requires risk, hard work, and often times, failure.

I've worked salaried positions and have spent much of my life in a risk averse bubble, looking fondly at the status quo and fearing anything that risked upsetting it.

But I've also lived the other side.  The side that guarantees nothing, but promises everything.  The side that allows me to be exactly who I've been created to be, and to relish in failure as it is a means by which I will improve my service to others.  It is this side about which I am passionate, and about which I know I can change my life, the lives of others, and through my current mission with HCPRS Solutions, change healthcare.

I don't think the healthcare industry is going to benefit from bigger companies who can promise the world to its salaried professionals, while placing handcuffs on the passion and creativity that comes only with the ability to chart one's own professional course.  I don't think the continuity of care is going to suffer if small town doctors have to refer to one another rather than down the hall in order to provide the specialty care that is needed of their patients.  And I don't think that failure is inevitable to those who try to make it work.

There are challenges, yes.  We, at HCPRS Solutions help private practice owners deal with them everyday.  We feel the pressures of the economy just like the next guy.  The difference is that we see the challenges as an opportunity to look to entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation as the tool from which our problems will be fixed.

We understand that the "corporate" way which benefits from huge economies of scale and infrastructural efficiencies does indeed have merit – but more importantly we know that it is not the only answer.  We work with numerous private practice owners every day who are delivering healthcare their way, doing it profitably, and changing their patients' lives in the process.

At the risk of belaboring my diatribe of a post, I do want to make clear that I understand that entrepreneurship indeed is not for everyone, and the thousands upon thousands of professional, caring, and excellent healthcare providers who do thrive in the corporate, structured environment, need not change a thing.  Indeed, consolidation and centralization is a viable solution to many of the challenges we face in the healthcare industry.

My point, however, is to suggest that it is not the only solution, and to those who's fuel does come from a burning passion to create, be different, and deliver care in their own way – bear down and get after it.

Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
VicTech Integrated Technologies
409 Running Doe Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024
Business: 800.349.6095
Private Phone: 404.953.5584

Vinade Reminder Notification

Healthcare Reminder Description

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Health IT Tech.

Is Traditional Internal Medicine Dead or Dying?

Is Traditional Internal Medicine Dead?is internal medicine really dying?
For the last several years, writers in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association have authored doomsday editorials about the prognosis of primary care medicine. There has been much discussion about the fact that internists and family practitioners cannot keep pace with rising overheads and falling reimbursement under the traditional third-party payment system. Paraphrasing a recent story published in The New York Times, an internist in Massachusetts who practices under the new RomneyCare program said this: “Every time I see a Medicare patient, it is the equivalent of giving them a ten-dollar bill. I have a six month wait to see a new patient. I run from room-to-room. I can barely make my overhead. I’ve never felt so disrespected in my entire life.”

So is this all just whining and political hyperbole or is internal medicine really dying? The answer to this question was revealed to me by a colleague last weekend while I was at the hospital. I had been called to the ER for one of my patients who was hemorrhaging on the blood thinner, Coumadin. The ER doctor looked at me and said, “You are a dying breed.” I laughed and said, “Yes, I know…but why do you say this?” He responded, “See that list of 9 doctors’ names and phone numbers up there on the wall? You are one of the last of 9 doctors who still admits his own patients to this hospital when they get sick. All of the other internists and family practitioners have abandoned hospital medicine and limit their practice to the office.” I knew that this was a profound statement and it shocked me; but I did not fully digest its implications until I had stabilized my patient and started my drive home.

The hospital where I practice has over 700 doctors on staff. The fact that only 9 of us still take care of our own patients when they are hospitalized answered the question about internal medicine’s future. It is no longer an issue of whether traditional internal medicine can survive; the facts are – at least outside of the concierge model – internal medicine is already dead.

What are the consequences for patients? What happens to the average person in Tucson, Arizona when he or she gets chest pain, develops pneumonia or has a seizure? Can they reach their internist or family practitioner for a medical emergency? Most patients who call their primary care doctor for a medical emergency can’t even reach his staff during normal office hours. Instead, they will hear a recording on an answering machine, directing them to go to “call 911” for any medical emergency.

Once in the ER, the “doctorless” patient will be admitted to a hospital physician, who is unknown to them. This so-called “hospitalist”, who is a salaried shift-worker, will put in his 12 hours, and then go home. He is a doctor who knows nothing about the patient’s medical history. He has never met the patient. There will be no call from the hospital doctor to the primary care doctor in the office to get a thorough medical history. There will be no medical records transferred to the hospitalist. The hospitalist will attempt to get the best medical history he can from the patient, make some quick medical decisions, and then pass the patient off to one of his colleagues when his shift ends. And so it goes. No continuity of care, no understanding of the patient; the sick person now becomes a “case of pneumonia” or “the stroke in bed 3” to a group of unknown, rotating professionals.

As fewer and fewer young doctors go into internal medicine and family practice, and thousands of primary care doctors retire early due to financial pressures, the primary care shortage will only worsen. Not only will there be no primary internists to take care of their own patients in the hospital, there will be fewer internists available to see patients in the office setting. This inevitable vacuum of internists and family practitioners (traditional diagnosticians) will be filled by nurse practitioners and medical assistants; people with far less training and expertise than an M.D.. If you are fortunate enough to have a good nurse practitioner, you will eventually be referred to an appropriate specialist, who will treat one of your medical problems. If you are not so lucky, a nurse or medical assistant may miss an uncommon or rare diagnosis; he or she may misdiagnose the “headache” that is actually an aneurysm, the “flu symptoms” that turn out to be meningitis, or the “gallbladder problem” that turns out to be a heart attack. Bad things will inevitably happen when doctors are replaced by medical assistants. It is simply a matter of statistics. All doctors make mistakes, but those with less training make more.

As a concierge physician, people often ask me how this move toward a government-run healthcare system will affect me professionally. Speaking honestly, I tell them that it will help my practice, but I do not think this is good news for the country. As an independent concierge doctor, I am not subject to the rules or fees set by Medicare or Medicaid, nor do I deal with third-party insurance carriers or HMOs. I work for my patients, not a third-party with a conflicting financial agenda. As someone who practices full-service internal medicine, the demand for my services will continue to increase. However, this outlook about my own practice does not make me happy. I have small children. I am concerned about their future. I am concerned about what the changes in primary care will do the future of American medicine; what will happen if the art of internal medicine is completely lost. I am worried about what it will mean to the efficiency of medicine as a whole, to have no diagnosticians and clinicians to treat the majority of problems that do not need a specialist.

I have found a unique niche in medicine, which allows me to truly practice what I was trained to do. For most of my colleagues, however, this is no longer the case. They too were trained to care for patients from the office, to the hospital, to the ICU. Now, they no can longer afford to take care for their patients when they develop life-threatening illnesses. They are now “clinic doctors.” Their hospital skills have atrophied. They will never practice comprehensive medicine again. For them, the game is already over. For them, internal medicine is already dead. For their patients, and the society as a whole, this is a great loss.