MTIA Increases Membership Dues

Dedicated to funding MTSOs, PRN Funding has been a proud member of the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) for eight years. Naturally, PRN Fumding was intrigued when received a mailer from the 2009 President of MTIA, Linda Yaniszewski, informing us that the 2010 membership rates were increasing.

MTIA formally unveiled it’s Vision 20/20 Campaign at the 2009 AHIMA Conference. This week’s mailer solidified the changes in membership pricing.

There are now three membership tiers to choose from, all with a hefty price:

Gold – $10,000
Silver – $5000
Bronze – $2000

Q: What do you think about MTIA raising their member fees?

Factoring Terminology

Entering into the world of accounts receivable factoring can seem overwhelming if you are not familiar with factoring industry jargon. We’ve identified and defined some of the more common factoring terms for our readers below:

Account Creditor – You, the Client and provider of goods or services.

Account Debtor – The purchaser of goods or services; responsible for the paying invoice.

Advance Rate – Money provided immediately to the company factoring its accounts receivable–expressed as a percentage of the total invoice amount.

Discount Fee – A fee assessed by a factor that purchases accounts receivable. The discount fee is determined by the size of the invoice, the length of time it takes to collect the funds and the creditworthiness of the customer, not the company selling the receivable.

Factor – A company that provides operating capital to businesses by purchasing their accounts receivable.

Factoring – The business of purchasing and collecting accounts receivable.

Non-Recourse – Generally, a period in which accounts purchased by the factor remain the factor’s accounts and do not revert to the account creditor if unpaid due to an insolvency event. The factor accepts full credit risk for any and all accounts that it purchases during this period.

Recourse – Generally, a period in which accounts purchased by the factor are able to revert to the account creditor if unpaid due to an insolvency event. The client accepts full credit risk for any and all accounts that it sells to the factor during this period.

Reserve – Amount of money that is not immediately provided to the company factoring its accounts receivable when the account is purchased by the factor, expressed as a percentage of the total invoice amount.

Reserve Release – A bonus paid back to you as a result of prompt paying of receivables by your customer. (Advance Rate + Reserve = 100% of Total Invoice) The Reserve, minus the discount fee, is transferred to the client once payment is received by the factor.

Click here to learn more factoring terminology.

Don’t Use Retirement Funds to Start a Business

BusinessWeek’s SmartAnswers columnist, Karen E. Klein was recently asked: “I’d like to start an independent…business and have $50,000 in IRAs. Should I cash in my IRAs or get an ERSOP?”

To which, Klein responded:

“Cashing out your retirement savings, or investing it in a startup venture…is inherently risky and ill-advised. If things don’t work out…not only will you have no income, but you’ll also have no life savings.”

Here are some ways Klein suggested this entrepreneur raise startup capital:

  1. Ask friends and family
  2. Research commercial lenders who specialize in your company’s industry
  3. Reach out to nonprofit microlenders
  4. Consider angel investors

Another financing option entrepreneurs should consider is invoice funding. With this type of financing, a business owner sells his/her invoices to a factoring firm, who then advances up to 90 percent of the invoice immediately. Business owners can use the cash immediately to cover payroll, taxes and equipment costs instead of waiting weeks or months for their customers to pay them.

Click here to see the rest of Klein’s advice on using retirement funds to start a business.

AHDI-West Schedules Productivity Webinar

Betsy Ertel, AHDI-F, is hosting the AHDI-West “Power of 10” Technology Webinar #2 on Thursday, October 29 1-2:30 pm PDT. The title of the web presentation is: Looking at Expansions Through Windows.

Topics to be discussed include the following:

  1. Concept, Benefits and Value of Abbreviation Technology
  2. Working in Windows with Expander Programs
  3. Conflicts with Do’s and Don’t’s in Creations
  4. Interactive Abbreviations with Feedback vs. Long-Form Keyword Name Creations

Registration is $10, and is open through October 27. Visit the AHDI-West web site to register for this webinar.

All proceeds will be sent to AHDI and contributed to the Power of 10 campaign. For more information, contact Kat King, AHDI-F, at events@ahdi-west.org.

Staffing World 2009 Kicks Off Today

The American Staffing Association’s annual Staffing World Conference begins today and runs through October 23. Held at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort, Staffing World 2009 has a slew of opportunities for all kinds of staffing agencies.

The event kicks off with a Keynote address on Wednesday by Joe Calloway (sales, marketing and branding consultant), in which he’ll share the results of his research and analysis of the staffing and recruiting industry.

In addition, there will be a multitude of industry-specific workshops, including a healthcare staffing learning track.

Click here for more information on the 2009 ASA Conference.

Medical Scribes Help Form EHRs

While the majority of other businesses started converting to electronic files years ago, hospitals are lagging behind. In fact, only 1.5% of hospitals today have a “comprehensive electronic health record, and 8% have a basic version. The main reason why hospitals have been slow to adapt the technology is the massive price tag ($20 million-$200 million).

The University of Virginia Medical Center is taking strides to adopt EHRs. The medical center recently started employing medical scribes to help follow doctors in the ER and take down detailed notes on laptops which will form part of each patient’s electronic health record.

Click here for the entire article: High-tech scribes help transfer medical records into electronic form.

Temp Nurses Needed to Administer Swine Flu Vaccine

Here’s a brand new niche that temporary nurse staffing agency owners should jump on right away…As the H1N1 vaccination becomes available, healthcare facilities across the U.S. will need additional personnel to handle the projected influx of people who want to receive the vaccine.

An article on WMTC-TV’s web site quoted Yvonne Madlock, Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department: “Our goal in the next several weeks is to identify a pool of nurses that can work with us to assure we have an adequate number of vaccinators available.”

Click here to read the rest of the story: Nurses Needed to Help Deliver H1N1 Vaccine in Memphis.

Banks Review Business Owners’ Personal Credit Before Lending

Smart Answers Columnists, Karen E. Klein, recently addressed an important question: Do business loans show up on personal credit reports? in a BusinessWeek article. Her response will come as a surprise to most business owners…Yes.

Banks are starting to report small business loan payment histories to some of the top credit reporting bureaus, however, there’s no uniform policy in place yet. Plainly put, banks are starting to rely more heavily on consumer credit scores because personal repayment history has proven to be predictive of how likely a business is to pay back its loans.

“It will depend on what bank you’ve got a loan with and what kind of reporting they do,” Jordan Peterson, senior vice-president for business banking at PNC Financial Services Group  said in the article. He suggests that small business owners ask their bank loan officer or bank manager about your bank’s policy on sharing business loan data with credit bureaus.

Click here to read the entire response: Personal Credit Reports Reflect Business Loans.

CA Facing Allied Health Shortage

According to a report issued by The California Wellness Foundation, by 2030, the state of California will need 988,000 allied health professionals.

Similar to the nurse faculty shortage, the allied health workforce is experiencing problems with retaining educators because instructors get paid more money to work than to teach the profession. In addition, California’s state budget crisis is reducing the systems’ ability to offer classes due to high equipment and material costs.

There is one positive note…About half of the allied health professional jobs that will be required in the state by 2030 are entry-level positions, meaning a high school education is all that’s needed.

For all those allied health staffing agencies out there, it sounds as though CA is a good place to start marketing your services.

Click here to read the entire article: Dire Shortage Seen in Allied Health Professionals.

Business Owners Find Ways to Finance in Tough Times

A report for Business First recently wrote an article about entrepreneurs in Columbus, Ohio who are finding unique ways to obtain financing in a down economy. We’ve summarized some of the key points below:

One business owner applied for a Wheeler Entrepreneurship Enterprise Program grant from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, which cover the costs of interns. In addition, the interns brought a lot of their own equipment (i.e.) laptops, so the business owner didn’t have to pay for computers.

The same business saved on office space by setting up shop in German Village’s Qwirkm which is a collaborative for independent professionals can work together for a low monthly membership.

Another business owner saves on office space by having it’s employees work from home and communicate virtually. In addition, the owner often barters for services with other companies.

Some small companies can also take advantage of an incubator, which is a way for people to advance their ideas and get a funding stream, according to the VP of Park National Bank.

What’s more, small business owners can take advantage of accounts receivable factoring to help even out their cash flow during this tough economic times.

Click here to read the entire article: Small-business owners find ways to buck financing trends.

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