Temp Healthcare Workers Lack Adequate Background Checks

An interesting article appeared in the LA Times last week in which Los Angeles County officials were quoted saying “they do not know how many of the 2,000 temporary workers serving patients at county hospitals and clinics each month are working without a criminal background check.”

The LA County officials suspended the contract of one of its largest allied health staffing providers, Mediscan, because the agency placed a convicted rapist at Roybal Comprehensive Health Center, a large health clinic in east Los Angeles.

A representative from Mediscan was quoted in the article saying that all of the proper background checks had been carried out, going back seven years without a problem.

Click here to read the entire article in the LA Times: LA County Unaware How Many Temporary Healthcare Workers Lack Background Checks.

Why a Recession is a Great Time to Start a Nurse Entrepreneur Business

LeaRae Keyes, an RN and founder of the Nurse Entrepreneur Network, wrote an interesting article on her web site about the benefits of starting a nurse entrepreneur-related business during a recession. Within her article, she cited 7 reasons why a recession is a good time to start a nursing-related business, and we’ve included them here for our Factoring Blog readers:

  1. Companies are more likely to be looking for lower cost alternatives to their current providers.
  2. Business supplies are often discounted so it doesn’t cost as much to start a business.
  3. Companies do more outsourcing to decrease their bottom line which will benefit you if you can fill the gap.
  4. The marketplace is less crowded and this means less competition. It is like taking a vacation during the off season.
  5. Money is not lost in a recession. Wealth is transferred. Follow the money. Sell to those that have the money.
  6. People spend more time at home. Grab their attention by using 2.0 technologies.
  7. People working longer hours to hang onto their jobs are willing to pay for services because they have less leisure time.

And if you’re worried about securing financing in this bad economy, you don’t have to. Teaming up with a nurse staffing factoring firm, such as PRN Funding, provides nurse entrepreneurs immediate cash to meet payroll and pay taxes, without having to muddy the company’s balance sheet.

Click here to read LeaRae Keyes’ entire article: Why is a recession a great time to start a nurse entrepreneur business?

Ways for Business Owners to Weather the Bad Economy

During an economic downturn, small businesses are often hit the hardest first, and a ripple effect works its way through the rest of the business world. According to the article, Entrepreneurs Finding Ways to Thrive, “When small firms can’t grow, the impact is felt in loss of jobs, revenue stagnation and supplier retrenchment.”

An Atlanta-based SCORE counselor, Steve Bloom, was quoted in the article saying, “There’s no safety net for small businesses…The SBA is not in the business of making loans to small businesses; it only offers financial guarantees to participating lenders.”

So if startup and small businesses are the crux of the business world, and they cannot obtain loans from banks and the SBA during a bad economy, what options are left?

For starters, small business owners can sell their invoices to a factoring firm. (For example, small MTSOs, medical staffing agency owners and medical coding company owners could certainly sell their receivables to PRN Funding, which is an accounts receivable factoring company dedicated to funding healthcare vendors.)

Bloom suggests increasing your networking opportunities by joining trade associations, chambers of commerce and rotary groups to locate private investors. He also suggests that small business owners plan ahead by setting aside 3-6 months worth of operating costs and salaries.

Coauthor of So, You Want to Start a Business? 8 Steps to Take Before Making the Leap, Ed Hess, advised in the article for small business owners to draft a detailed emergency plan.

Some other simple suggestions include sending out invoices promptly and offering discounts for quick payment, lease instead of buying, and hire part-time employees instead of full-time ones.

Updates on the MedQuist Class Action Settlement

Medical transcriptionists who transcribed work for MedQuist at any time during the period from November 29, 1998 to August 11, 2008 and were paid on a line-based unit of measure for their work are a part of the class action settlement concerning MedQuist’s breach-of-contract.

According to the official MedQuist settlement page, “the case asserts that MedQuist manipulated its computer systems to underpay its medical transcriptionists for their per-line medical transcription work. MedQuist denies that it did anything wrong.”

The bulk of the $1.5 million settlement payment will go to the Association for Healthcare Documentation (AHDI). These funds will be “used to fund programs for the general benefit of medical transcriptionists and the medical transcription industry. In addition, qualifying class members will be eligible to participate in certain AHDI programs free of charge. No payments will be made directly to any individuals.”

If you have further questions/concerns about this settlement, click here to view AHDI’s FAQs about the MedQuist Class Action Settlement.

More Hospitals Hiring Temps

An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal discussed how more and more general surgeons are shifting from private practices to temporary assignments as a result of the economic downturn, rising overhead costs and declines in reimbursements.

So much so that “general surgery is now among the fastest growing areas of a temporary medical staffing undystry that’s expected to double to $2.1 billion in 2009 from five years ago, according to Locumtenens.com.”

The WSJ article, Surgeon Shortage Pushes Hospitals to Hire Temps, goes on to say that “temporary surgeons used to be mostly older physicians who wanted a lighter workload, or those fresh out of training, still deciding where to put down roots. But today, more are midcareer people.”

The WSJ estimated that it can cost a hospital up to $1500/day, plus travel and lodging expenses for a temporary surgeon to come in and perform scheduled procedures and emergency operations. But as hospitals continue to face a shortage in nurses and doctors, utilizing locum tenens staffing is quickly becoming one of the only options available.

Multiple States Face School Nurse Shortages

In the past couple of weeks, there have been a number of news reports covering the shortage of nurses in schools.

According to WKSFY.com‘s web site, in the state of South Dakota, there is only one school nurse for every 1354 students. State leaders blame the lack in school funding as the cause. Meanwhile, CampusRn reported that school nurses in West Virginia “are confronting an increasingly complex batch of patients who require more specialized treatment.” Kanawha County’s 33 school nurses are dealing with hundred of cases of asthma, anxiety, ADHD, heart problems, seizure disorders, clinical depression and lifethreatening allergies.

Q: Some schools are starting to use nurses from temporary staffing agencies to help fill the gaps and administer ongoing care. Have you considered staffing nurses to local school districts?

5 Golden Rules to Make Cash Flow Work

American Express created the OPEN Book with tons of tips on how to grow a small business. Paging through the OPEN Book, one article jumped out: Go With the Flow. The brief article was written by Raymond Joabar, Senior VP and GM of Lending and Network Development, and he gives “5 golden rules in order to make cash flow work for you instead of against you.” We’ve summarized the rules below for the factoring blog‘s readers:

1. Know how to measure it. Joabar suggests monitoring your cash flow by reviewing balance sheets and cash flow statements, as well as the number of days it takes to turn inventory, and how long it takes for cash to cycle through the business.

2. Know the causes of cash flow problems. When businesses hit a growth spurt, that means more cash is needed to invest in additional inventory and infrastructure. On the other end, if your customers aren’t paying you quick enough, it can also lead to cash flow problems. Finally, slow sales lead to poor cash flow. Joabar says it’s important for busienss owners to understand the fundemental causes of cash flow to help avoid problems before they begin.

3. Build strategies that can maximize cash flow. Joabar strongly urges business owners to “get serious about minimizing fixed expenses” and “find creative ways to handle peaks in demand without hiring additional staff.” He says to think about using credit cards rewards programs and frequent flier point as cash substitutes when making purchases. In addition, it’s important for you to set clear payment terms and expectations with your clients.

4. Prepare for the Worst. Simply put, Joabar advises for business owners to get a “jump on the cash flow problem by lining up several sources of financing in advance.” Accounts receivable factoring is a great way to manage your cash flow during times of rapid growth.

5. Grow Smart. “Consistent growth is the best way to smooth out bumps in cash flow,” according to Joabar. “When opportunities for growth present themselves, plan carefully.” Every investment, including custoemrs, should have clear returns.

Common Obstacles to Nurse Entrepreneurship

President of the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA), Pat Bemis, wrote an article in December’s edition of RN entitled, Obstacles to Nurse Entrepreneurship. In her article, Bemis discussed three mindsets that nurses have when making the transition from employment to entrepreneurship:

1. The instant response mindset – Bemis says that nurses are used to getting an immediate response to their work, however, it’s important to break out of that “instant gratification” mindset because it takes time.

2. The “I can do it myself” mindset – Out of fear of criticism, nurses tend to have the mindset that to “gather all the information and put it into a certain arrangement…before involving another team member.” Bemi suggests for nurses to involve business support team members early on in the start-up process.

3. The desire for perfection mindset – Bemis also advised for nurse entrepreneurs to deviate away from the need to do everything perfectly because “this mindset leads nurses to overlook opportunities that arise while seeking that elusive perfection.”

Click here for more information about Pat Bemis and the NNBA.

New Medical Coding System Gets Much More Complex

BCAdvantage posted an article in its e-newsletter last week that discussed the forthcoming medical coding system overhaul, known as ICD-10. Although an updated medical coding system has been needed for a number of years, many in the health care industry fear the switch will “initially cause headaches for consumers and their doctors.”

According to the post, hospitals, insurance companies and many doctors all agree that the new medical coding systems was necessary to keep up with the ever-increasing new medical developments, but the problem with the new system is that it drastically increases the number of codes used to define various ailments and procedures to 155,000, which is ten times as many codes as are currently in use.

In addition, “some medical-industry officials also are concerned that consumers could see…an increase in billing errors. That can lead…to overcharging of patients, or an insurer denying payment for claim because it was submitted with an incorrect code. Some officials also expect an increase in billing fraud and more delays in payments to doctors and consumers.”

In a nutshell, when this new medical coding system goes into full-swing, it’s possible that Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party insurance companies will take longer to reimburse medical facilities. It’s quite possible that if it takes longer for medical facilities to receive payment from third-party payors, then it will take longer for medical facilities to pay their vendors. This is where PRN Funding’s accounts receivable factoring program enters the equation, as PRN Funding specializes in factoring healthcare vendor invoices made payable by medical facilities.

Click here to read the entire BCAdantage article: New medical coding system more precise, more complex.

Outsourcing Solutions for MTSOs

Barbara Ziccardi (manager of AlphaStaff) wrote a brief yet informative article in the December 2008 edition of Health Data Matrix about MTSOs benefiting from outsourcing their human resources department.

Zaccardi listed some of the amazing benefits a medical transcription service owner can expect to receive by simply utilizing the services of a human resources outsourcing (HRO) partner:

  • Obtain access to benefits programs that wouldn’t otherwise be available to small or mid-sized companies on their own
  • Streamline time and attendance for payroll, including time record data flow for payroll processing and capturing line counts to hours worked through entry or data import
  • Access to subject matter experts that will proactively develop handbooks, provide on-site and webinar training and assist with liability insurance
  • Receive assistance with filing taxes and handling worker’s comp issues

Ziccardi wrote: “Many [medical transcription] companies are being confronted with challenges that have little to do with their core business–which is exactly why outsourcing has become such an attractive option.”

The medical transcription factoring specialists at PRN Funding couldn’t agree more with this statement! By outsourcing their receivables to PRN Funding, MTSOs can stop worrying about their cash flow and focus on more important things–like growing their medical transcription service.

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