I was watching an excellent piece of video yesterday by my friend Dev Lall.
Dev was explaining how most consultants do not appreciate they have to work on marketing their practice.
And he is right!
However, it got me thinking about my own work and how certain consultants do not seem to understand seeing patients isn’t enough to ensure good cash flow.
To increase your cash flow you need to get paid. Obvious.
Except, far too many consultants do not understand how and why private insurance companies pay them.
For example: to get paid by ANY insurance company you need the right patient details.
Because without them, you can’t invoice.
And if you can’t invoice you won’t get paid.
It is as simple as that.
This is illustrated over and over to new MHM consultants when I take over their invoicing.
However, it’s not the consultant who actually gets the details.
It is the consultant’s secretary or the hospital.
The switched-on consultants who may be defined as making more money because they see more patients AND get paid are well aware of this.
Moreover, they take the time to ensure their medical secretary or hospital, fully understand the need to make sure details are correctly obtained.
Effectively, by making sure all the support functions are in place (getting the patient details right), he/she has worked ON their practice. They have put the time and effort in.
Working ON a private practice does not mean the consultant has to do everything himself. In fact, that is the very worse thing you can do.
The switched-on consultants buy somebody else’s expertise to work ON their practice with the result the consultant has time to see MORE patients because the expert has attracted more patients to the practice in the first place.
Once the invoicing and billing are also placed in the hands of an expert, cash flow improves too.
Everybody is happy!
Time and effort in private practice are not just about seeing more and more patients.
It involves working ON your practice and not just in it.
pete@medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk
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