Starting & Managing Your Own Physical Therapy Practice : A Practical Guide for the Rookie Entrepreneur

Foreword iii Preface v Dedications and Appreciations vii Introduction xv A Note to the Reader xv As Luck Would Have It xvi Dream On xvi About This Book xvi Attention-Grabbing Symbols Used in This Book xix Are You Sure You Want to Open a Practice? 1(8) The Entrepreneurial Physical Therapist 1(1) Should I Really Open My Own Practice? 2(1) What Motivates You? 2(1) Do You Have What It Takes? 3(1) To SWOT or Not? 4(1) Know Your Entrepreneurial Talents 5(2) What Is My Goal in All of This? 7(1) Can I Try It First to See If I Like It? 7(2) Establishing the Structural Framework 9(8) What's in a Name? 9(2) What's Your Structure: Corporate or Solo? 11(5) TIN Is Not Something with Which to Metal 16(1) What's It All Cost? 17(10) How Do I Create a Budget for This Venture? 17(1) Cost Per Visit 17(1) What's It All Cost, Alfie? 18(1) Does This Venture Need to Cost Tons of Bucks? 19(1) Break Dancin' When You Break Even 19(2) It Costs Money to Make Money 21(1) Dig Into Your Own Pockets, Pal 21(1) What About Banks Lending You Money? 22(1) What's the Equipment Cost? Can You Afford More? Can You Negotiate a Deal? 22(3) Who Sells the Cheapest Furniture? 25(2) You Can Bank on It! 27(4) What? I Have to Pay to Keep Money in the Bank? 27(1) Shop Till You Drop (Drop Your Money in that Account, That Is) 27(1) Teller, Teller, Tell Me Do: What Information Does My Bank Need? 28(1) Check, Please! 28(3) Plan to Win 31(6) What's a Mission Statement and Do I Need One? 31(1) I've Got 20/20: Do I Still Need a Vision? 32(1) What's a Business Plan? Should I Plan on Writing One? 33(3) Now That I've Got a Plan, What Next? 36(1) The Dream Team 37(6) Who's with Me? 37(1) How Do I Choose an Attorney and What Should I Expect? 37(1) One, Two, Three: See, I Can Count. So, Why an Accountant? 38(1) I'm Already Broke. So, Why an Insurance Broker? 39(1) Bringing in the Dough: Knead a Billing Consultant? 39(4) Setting Up Shop 43(22) Where on This Green Earth Do I Locate This Venture? 43(1) Real Therapists Don't Open Niche Practices 44(1) What's Your Pleasure? General, Specialized, or Niche? 44(1) Do I Need a License to Open This Business? 45(1) Space Out! 46(1) How Do You Know What You Want or Need? 46(1) Wait Just a Minute! 47(1) Now I'm Really Spacing Out: Do I Need a Space Planner? 48(1) When Is a Lease Not a Leash? 49(1) At Lease You Have a Beautiful Office Suite 50(1) Punch List or Forever Hold Your Piece! 51(1) The Technology You Can't Do Without 52(1) My Computer Shopping List: Chips, RAM, and Burners 53(1) Save Me! (and My Data Too, Please) 53(2) Get Booking! Computerized or Manual Scheduling? 55(1) Electronic Reporting: The Future is Now! 56(3) Charge It! The Plastic Fantastique 59(1) Equipment Galore: How Do I Know What to Explore? 60(1) Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda: The Equipment Tango 60(1) Face the Music 61(1) Hello, Hello, Hello: Anyone Home? 62(1) Ring, Ring, Ring...How Can One Person Answer Two Lines at Once? (and Other Problems You Hope to Have) 62(1) Uh Oh! No One's Home 63(2) Caring about Medicare 65(6) Should I Care about Medicare? 65(1) Medicare: What's in It for Me? 65(1) That Custom Is Unusual 66(1) Can You Cap This? 66(1) What's an EOB? 67(1) OK, OK---I Surrender: I'll Become a Medicare Provider 67(2) Another Headache: Medicaid. Must I Care about That, Too? 69(2) Marketing Magic 71(6) Shouldn't I Think about Where My Patients Will Come From? 71(1) Off To Market 71(1) What about Creating a Marketing Plan Now? 71(1) How Do I Drag the Patients through the Door? 72(2) Promote Thyself! 74(1) My Own Tricks 74(1) How Do I Get My Hands on the Gold? Who Has the List? 75(2) Advertising and Promotion 77(14) Stationery, Forms, and Promotional Materials: Who Sells What? 77(1) Where Do I Get All This Printed and Monogrammed Stuff? 78(1) Make a Name for Yourself 79(2) Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork: What Forms Do I Need? 81(1) How Will People Know I Am Open for Business? 82(3) Billboards and Billfolds: Do I Need to Advertise My Venture? 85(1) Set Your Sights on a Website 86(5) Mix It Up: The Recipe for Success 91(10) What Do I Get Out of All This? What Are Gross Revenue and Net Revenue? 91(1) How Much Is It? 91(2) PPO and FFS: Proceed with Caution 93(1) The Billing Game 93(1) What's the Goal? 94(1) The Payer Mix 94(2) PIP 94(1) Workmen's Compensation 94(1) Commercial Carriers 95(1) Managed Care and Preferred Provider Groups 95(1) Risk If You Do and Risk If You Don't 96(1) HMOs, PPOs, IPAs, and Other Abbreviated Players: Who Are They? 96(1) HMOs 96(1) PPOs and IPAs 97(1) How to Tame the Managed Care Man-Eating Beast? 97(1) The ``C'' Word: Don't Even Say It! 98(1) If You Can't Beat `Em, Join 'Em 99(2) The Coding Game 101(10) What You Code Is What You Get! 101(2) CPT Codes 101(1) ICD-9 Codes 102(1) Take Charge! How and What Do You Charge for What You Do? 103(1) How to Get Paid for What You Do 104(1) Get Hip to HIPAA 104(7) Notice of Privacy Practices 108(1) Requested Amendments to the Patient Record 108(1) Electronic Privacy Rules 108(3) Accounting Numbers 111(6) How to Keep Afloat in the Sea of Cash: Receivables and Payables 111(1) What's a 941 Payment and Other Numbers Your Accountant Will Throw Your Way? 112(5) I Need Help! 117(8) How Do I Know How Much Help I'll Need to Start? 117(1) What About Employees, Handbooks, and Other Human Resource Resources? 117(1) Finding Sharp Staff in a Haystack (Try Networking!) 118(1) Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe. How to Pick a Winner and Not a Shmoe? 119(2) Who Will You Relish and Who Will Not Cut the Mustard? 121(1) Now That I've Got 'Em, How Do I Keep 'Em? 122(1) Play by the Rules: The Employee Handbook 122(3) Is It Working Yet? 125(4) Outcomes: How Will I Know It's Working? 125(2) Your Sanity 127(1) A Final Note 127(2) Appendices 129(50) 1. Sample Balance Sheet 131(1) 2. Sample Income Statement 132(1) 3. Sample Statement of Cash Flows 133(1) 4. Sample Pro-Forma Budgets Year One (Conservative) 134(2) Year Two 135(1) 5. Sample Business Plan Outline 136(4) 6. Sample Fee Schedule 140(2) 7. Sample Physical Therapy Equipment List (New Office) 142(1) 8. Break-Even Analysis 143(2) 9. The Life Cycle of Your Claim 145(1) 10. Interviewing Tricks of the Trade 146(2) 11. Pre-Employment Reference Check Form 148(1) 12. Sample Forms Payment Policy Form 149(3) Office Encounter Form (Superbill) 152(1) New Patient Registration Form 153(1) Initial Physical Therapy Examination Form 154(2) Medical History Questionnaire 156(1) Patient Sign-In Sheet 157(1) Assignment of Benefits Form 158(2) Fax Cover Sheet 160(1) Physical Therapy Prescription Pad 161(1) Notice of Patient Information Practices 162(1) Release of Records Form 163(1) 13. Sample Employee Handbook Table of Contents Outline 164(2) 14. Sample Employment Agreement 166(5) 15. Resources for Further Information on Private Physical Therapy Practice 171(2) 16. State Insurance Carrier List Example (State of Maryland) 173(1) 17. Opening Day Checklist 174(1) 18. Wise Words Author Listing 175(4) About the Author 179(2) Index 181