Cash flow is the amount of cash a business generates and uses in a given period. Understanding cash flow as part of your business plan is essential to ensure that the practice has enough money to pay its bills and invest in its future growth. Projecting cash flow in a medical practice can be daunting, but it is essential for the practice’s financial success. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps involved in projecting cash flow for a medical practice and provide tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow.
Step 1: Identify your sources of cash
The first step in projecting cash flow is to identify the sources of cash for the practice. These sources include patient payments, insurance reimbursements, and investments. Understanding the timing of these payments and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash received is essential. For example, if the practice experiences a spike in patient volume during the summer months, it will likely receive more money during this period.
Step 2: Identify your uses of cash
Once you identify the sources of cash, it is crucial to identify the uses of cash for the practice. These uses include expenses such as rent, salaries, supplies, and equipment. It is important to understand the timing of these expenses and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash spent. For example, if the practice plans to purchase new equipment, it will likely spend more money during the month or quarter in which you bought the equipment.
Step 3: Create a cash flow projection
With an understanding of the sources and uses of cash, the next step is to create a cash flow projection. This projection should include an estimate of the amount of cash received and spent in a given period. It is vital to have both expected and unexpected events in the projection and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash received or spent.
Step 4: Monitor and adjust your projection
Once you create the cash flow projection, it is essential to monitor it regularly and make adjustments as necessary; this may include adjusting the prediction based on actual results or making changes to the practice’s operations to improve cash flow. For example, if the practice is experiencing a cash flow shortage, it may need to increase its billing and collections efforts, recruit patients or reduce its expenses.
Tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow
- Review your billing and collections process: A poor billing and collections process is one of the most significant contributors to cash flow problems. Regularly reviewing and improving this process can help ensure that the practice receives payment for services promptly.
- Control expenses: Keeping expenses under control is essential for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Reviewing expenses regularly and finding ways to reduce them can help to improve cash flow.
- Communicate with patients: Clear communication regarding their financial responsibilities can help ensure that payments are received promptly.
- Maintain a good relationship with insurance companies: Building a good relationship with insurance companies can help ensure that reimbursements are received promptly.
- Keep an eye on future trends: Monitoring future trends in the healthcare industry can help to anticipate any changes that may impact cash flow.
In conclusion, projecting cash flow in a medical practice is a vital task that requires a thorough understanding of the sources and uses of cash. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and implementing the tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow, medical practices can ensure they have the resources they need to grow and succeed in today’s competitive healthcare landscape.
How does this relate to a billing company focused on acupuncture, chiropractic, and medical-massage billing? While you are busy projecting your cash flow, let us handle your EMR technology needs and the tedious and complicated medical coding, and billing process. By allowing a trusted firm like Holistic Billing Services, to capture your online appointments and SOAP notes, or offloading your medical billing burden, your time, energy, and creativity are freed up to focus on what matters most: your patients. The friendly experts at HBS have decades of experience and are eager to help you succeed! Contact us today to get started building a custom solution that suits your acupuncture practice needs and goals.
Opening a holistic healthcare practice is an exciting and challenging endeavor that requires careful planning and preparation. A business plan is a critical tool that can help you to organize your thoughts, set goals, and create a roadmap for your practice’s success. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps on how to establish a business plan for your holistic practice and provide some tips for creating a successful strategy.
Step 1: Research the market
The first step may seem obvious, but all too often is overlooked. When developing a business plan, you must first do your market research; this includes identifying the ideal patients for your practice, researching other holistic practices in your area, and understanding the trends and opportunities in the holistic healthcare industry. This research will help you know your target patient’s needs and concerns, allowing you to develop strategies that align with your strengths and interests.
Step 2: Define your business model
Once you understand your market, the next step is to define your practice’s business model; this includes identifying your services, setting prices, and determining how you will generate revenue. It is also essential to consider the costs associated with opening and operating your practice, such as rent, salaries, furniture, and equipment.
Step 3: Create a marketing plan
A marketing plan is a critical component of any business plan and is essential for promoting your practice and reaching your target audience. This plan should include strategies for getting your brand and message in front of potential patients, such as advertising, networking, and social media. In today’s world, it is critical to establish early how you will use social media and other digital marketing tools to promote your practice.
Step 4: Develop a financial plan
A financial plan is a crucial part of any business plan and is essential for understanding the costs associated with opening and operating your practice. This plan should include an estimate of your startup costs, operating expenses, and projected revenue. It should also have a projected cash flow statement, which will help you to understand your practice’s financial health over time.
Step 5: Review and refine your plan
Once your business plan is complete, regularly reviewing and refining, it is essential; this includes monitoring your progress, adjusting your plan as necessary, and seeking feedback from industry experts. It is also crucial to stay updated on industry trends and regulations and adjust your plan as needed.
Tips for creating a successful business plan
- Be realistic: Setting realistic goals and conservative projections for your practice is important; this will help you to avoid disappointment and make adjustments as needed.
- Please keep it simple: A business plan should be easy for someone else to understand and follow. Avoid using jargon or overly complex language.
- Seek feedback: Get input from industry experts, friends, and family to get an outside perspective on your business plan.
- Be specific about your goals and plans. Your goals should be measurable; this will help you stay focused and on track.
- Be flexible: Be prepared to adjust your business plan as necessary. The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and it is vital to adapt to changes.
Finally, developing a business plan for opening a holistic healthcare practice is a critical step in ensuring the success of your medical practice. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and implementing the tips for creating a successful plan, you can create a roadmap for your practice’s success and ensure you have the resources you need to grow and thrive in today’s competitive healthcare landscape.
Resources when establishing your business plan
- Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA provides a wide range of resources and support for small businesses, including loans, grants, counseling services, and training.
- SCORE: SCORE is a national organization that provides free mentoring and resources to small business owners.
- National Small Business Association (NSBA): The NSBA is a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy, networking, and resources for small business owners.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): The NCCIH provides information and resources on complementary and integrative health practices and therapies.
- American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA): The AHMA provides education, resources, and networking opportunities for holistic healthcare practitioners.
How does this relate to a billing company focused on acupuncture, chiropractic, and medical massage billing? While you are busy creating your business plan, your time does not need to be consumed by the tedious and complicated medical coding and billing process. By letting a trusted firm, like Holistic Billing Services, handle your online appointments, SOAP notes, or your medical billing burden, your time, energy, and creativity are freed up to focus on what matters most: your patients.
The friendly experts at HBS have decades of experience and are eager to help you succeed! Contact us today to get started building a custom solution that suits your acupuncture practice needs and goals.
Opening a holistic medicine practice can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, but it is also a significant financial investment. As a healthcare consultant, I want to share some critical business advice and tips for opening your first practice.
First and foremost, it is essential to have a clear and comprehensive business plan in place before you start. This plan should include a detailed budget outlining the costs associated with opening and running your practice and projected income and cash flow, including a marketing plan and a strategy for acquiring and retaining patients. A solid business plan will help you secure funding from a bank or investors and serve as a roadmap to guide your business decisions and practice growth.
Another essential piece of advice is to keep detailed financial records. This is especially important when it comes to taxes and compliance. As a holistic medicine practitioner, you must stay up-to-date on the latest laws and regulations, and having accurate financial records will make this process much more manageable. Additionally, keeping detailed records will help you identify areas where you can improve your financial performance and make adjustments as needed.
One of the most significant financial decisions you will make before opening your doors is how to structure your business. There are several options: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is essential to consult an attorney and accountant to determine the best fit for your practice.
Another important consideration is how you will finance your business. Depending on the size and scope of your practice, you may need to secure funding from a lender or investor. I think having a solid financial plan in place, including a detailed budget and projected cash flow, is essential to show potential lenders and investors that you have thought through the financial aspects of your new practice. Also, you will need to clearly understand your creditworthiness and be prepared to provide the necessary documentation to secure funding.
Additionally, stay on top of your cash flow. This is especially important when starting your practice, as you will likely have a lot of upfront costs and may still need a steady income while you fill your schedule. A clear understanding of your cash flow projections and having a plan in place for dips in cash frequently is the difference in making it to the second year of your practice.
Finally, it is essential to have a good handle on your pricing strategy. As a holistic medicine practitioner, you will provide a unique and valuable service, but you will also need to be competitive with other practitioners in your area. It is essential to research the prices of similar modalities in your area and to have a pricing strategy that is both competitive and profitable. Additionally, you will need to consider logistics like: billing insurance for your services, how you bill your clients, and what payment methods you will accept.
In conclusion, opening a holistic medicine practice can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience, but it is also a significant financial investment. By following these tips, you can ensure that your practice is financially sound and successful. Remember to have a clear and comprehensive business plan, stay organized and keep detailed financial records, understand the laws and regulations associated with your profession, and have a solid pricing strategy. Good luck with your new practice!
Your massage therapy practice is responsible for delivering great care to your patients through the many benefits of massage. If you’re looking to expand any specialty services that you offer, consider adding fascia stretching to your practice’s repertoire! Fascia stretching and fascia massage can help you grow your practice by speaking to physical pain points that your community might be experiencing. Keep reading to learn more!
What Is Fascia Stretching?
Fascia encompasses each muscle and connects muscles together both on the surface and on a deeper level. Fascia connects tendons, ligaments, and bones to form a whole-body network of tissue—it also connects to your organs and internal systems.
Since this kind of connection exists between nearly all parts of the body, both internally and externally, fascia stretching and fascia massage therapy can significantly improve the mobility and flexibility of your patients.
Fascia stretching and massage address the entire body, intentionally and subsequently. It’s all connected, so delivering treatment to fascia results in delivering treatment to the entire body instead of isolated muscle groups or static stretching.
Who Benefits from Fascia Stretching?
Anyone can benefit from fascia stretching and fascia massage treatments, including any patient who is recommended for this specialty by their physician, fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and more.
Fascial restriction, or the limitation or pain affecting fascia in the body, can be related to trauma, strains, injuries, a sedentary lifestyle, and more. These causes might include the following suspects:
- overuse
- repetitive movements
- injuries
- weak muscles
- poor posture
- physical, mental, or emotional stress
- extended periods of sitting or standing
- overall lack of physical activity
- misalignments and imbalances
As with any type of treatment plan, the best course of action for treating a patient with fascia stretching or fascia massage will vary from one situation to the next. Typically more than one session is recommended, and overall mobility is often improved after just one treatment!
Fascia stretching results in decreased stress, improved sleep, and significant relief from pain in just a few sessions.
Why You Should Add Fascia Stretching to Your Practice
If you’re wanting to grow your massage therapy practice by expanding the variety of specialty massages or treatments that you offer, consider adding fascia stretching for the following reasons:
Attract New Patients
Want to attract new patients? Consider adding fascia stretching and fascia massage services to your practice’s list of offerings. Potential clients in your community might be looking exactly for that service—or be recommended it by their physician or athletic trainer—which provides an excellent opportunity for your massage therapy practice.
It Complements Other Forms of Holistic Treatments
Fascia stretching doesn’t have to be a standalone form of holistic treatment for your patients; it dovetails quite nicely with other forms of massage therapy treatments, acupuncture treatments, and more! This means that your holistic practice is able to furthermore offer comprehensive, integrated care for your community.
Top 3 Benefits of Massage Therapy
In general, massage therapy can help provide relief for a variety of conditions and ailments, including:
Repetitive Motion or Strain Injuries
For those suffering with pain from repetitive motion or strain injuries, or other related issues that negatively impact the muscles and joints, massage therapy can greatly improve mobility and reduce the pain associated with these injuries. Sensations like tenderness, throbbing or sharp pain in movement, tingling, etc. can be the result of overusing a group of muscles, staying in a particular posture for an extended period of time, heavy lifting, or another factor. Massage therapy can help reduce these feelings and restore mobility.
Chronic Pain
Massages have an inherent attachment to ideas of relaxation and gentle unwinding—and for good reason! Massage therapy facilitates relaxation which makes it a surefire way to reduce painful, chronic conditions. Whether caused by surgery, injury, or simply chronic ailments that induce pain, massage therapy can help your patients experience a lighter breath with reduced pain because it promotes blood flow and circulation while releasing the body’s natural painkillers.
Mental Ailments, like Depression
If your patient is experiencing depression, massage therapy likely won’t cure the condition alone—but it will relieve the physical symptoms associated with it, such as lethargy, back pain, joint pain, muscle aches, and more. By encouraging blood flow and promoting relaxation on a physical level in the patient’s muscles and connective tissue, they’ll become less stiff or rigid which might be contributing to their pain.
Why Effective Massage Therapy Insurance Billing Matters When Treating Patients
When massage therapists deliver treatments, such as fascia stretching or fascia massage, the medical billing process ensures that they receive reimbursements for delivering quality care. While medical billing is an integral function of the reimbursement process, it can be very complex; the slightest error can delay payments for weeks, if not longer. Ensuring the most accurate medical billing allows massage therapy practices to spend more time doing what they love: delivering care to their patients.
As an experienced billing provider for holistic providers, including massage therapists, Holistic Billing Services can help your massage therapy practice navigate the medical billing process to minimize denials and delays so you can increase revenue. With an expert partner by your side, you can focus more on treating patients to help your practice grow rather than worrying about insurance billing. To learn more about our massage therapy billing services, talk to one of our billing and coding experts today.
Healthcare documentation is a critical component for your holistic practice, both in terms of delivering great care to your patients and for insurance billing purposes—not to mention the importance of having some form of documentation in the event of a legal situation.
Treatment notes are needed to keep a live record of how your patient is feeling and what plans have worked in the past or what needs to change for the future; keep reading to learn more about a particular outline of healthcare documentation called SOAP notes and how they can play a role in your holistic practice’s insurance billing cycle.
What Are SOAP Notes?
One standard form of healthcare documentation is called SOAP notes, which stands for Subjective Objective Assessment and Plan. Each section of this general formula is key to gathering a comprehensive report of the patient’s current experience and determining the best treatment plan.
Subjective
This is the first section of SOAP notes and pertains to the subjective experience of the patient you’re treating; this includes their feelings, perspective, and personal views as relevant to the treatment setting. The purpose of this section is to provide context for why the patient is visiting your holistic practice and to allow the patient to put into their own words what is going on with them.
Depending on the setting of your holistic practice and what type of treatments you offer to your patients, this section might have a few other subheadings to further elaborate on what the patient is experiencing.
For example, if you were doing a consultation for massage therapy services, you might include the following sections:
- Rate the intensity of pain on a scale of 1 to 10
- Describe the sensation of the pain, such as shooting, dull, cramping, tingling, throbbing, aching, etc.
- Note the places of pain on the body
- Explain how the pain started and how it might change during the day with different movements, what makes it worse or what helps reduce the pain, etc.
This initial section is important for illuminating how a patient’s condition is affecting them so that you can determine how best to address their pain points—both literal and metaphorical.
Objective
As opposed to subjective, this second section deals with objective, unbiased facts regarding the patient’s condition. Such information might include:
- Patient’s vital signs
- Diagnoses
- Allergies
- Imaging results
- Lab data
- Behavioral or physical signs
- Body posture
- Range of motion
It’s important to distinguish between symptoms and signs in this section; symptoms are considered subjective whereas signs are considered objective notes. As with all medical documentation, it’s also crucial to filter out any kind of assumptions in the note-taking process; each objective note should be verifiable through evidence.
Assessment
This third step of SOAP notes is where you bring together the subject and objective portions of your documentation and determine what might be ailing your patient. In this section, you might list whatever problems or diagnoses that patient is presenting with, in order from most to least important or severe.
The assessment portion of SOAP notes is important because it provides documentation of the diagnosing process and serves as a record of your thinking. Assessing the patient is helpful for other providers to review your conclusions and inform them on how best to deliver holistic care from their specialty or perspective.
Plan
The final step in writing SOAP notes is, of course, to outline a plan of care for the patient you’re serving. This section might include information like:
- What follow-up appointments are needed
- Referrals to other specialists
- Orders for further testing
- Therapy needed
The plan section is an essential conclusion to the SOAP notes outline because it provides the appropriate next steps and pertinent information for the patient to follow in order to begin their plan for treatment.
Importance of SOAP Notes and Treatment Documentation
The phrase “if it’s not documented, then it didn’t happen” might sound extreme, but in the world of healthcare—whether medical or holistic—it’s the norm. Treatment documentation is essential because it functions as part of the patient’s medical history, enables collaborative care between providers and authorized entities, results in a better quality of care, and more.
SOAP notes are simply one outline to follow when doing healthcare documentation; it’s an easy acronym to remember yet ensures that all cornerstone portions of a patient’s experience are documented. From the patient’s subject experience and reported history of their ailment to what your recommendations are for treatment, SOAP notes provide a comprehensive record that can be referred to in the future.
Why SOAP Notes are Important for Insurance Billing
SOAP notes are also important for insurance billing purposes; because healthcare documentation is an essential part of operating a successful holistic practice, it’s vital that your insurance billing process is as streamlined as possible. SOAP notes—and healthcare documentation, in general—are crucial for insurance billing purposes for the following reasons, including:
Improved Patient Outcomes
With precise, consistent documentation comes better patient outcomes. This, of course, helps insurance companies regulate the cost of healthcare because improved patient outcomes are the result of efficient and effective care.
Streamlined Claims Processing
As you well know, you can’t just willy-nilly code a patient-provider interaction with just any kind of coding; you need to back up your medical billing and coding with evidence of why you’re submitting a claim for that interaction! SOAP notes and healthcare documentation overall help justify why you’re submitting a claim for reimbursement.
Reduce Risk
Precise, comprehensive documentation that follows a logical line of reasoning is an effective way to reduce the risk of malpractice claims at your holistic practice. It’s hard to justify any kind of treatment plan or diagnosis without evidence, so SOAP notes and other forms of healthcare documentation are essential to reducing your practice’s risk in terms of delivering misguided care.
Streamline Your Holistic Practice’s Medical Billing with Holistic Billing Services!
Do you find yourself staying late to catch up on the medical billing and coding process of your holistic practice? Turn to the experts at Holistic Billing Services to streamline this entire process for you so that you can focus on what matters most: delivering great care to your patients.
Contact us today to learn how our experienced team can help boost your medical billing process and optimize your revenue cycle along the way!
One vital component for your holistic practice’s success is maintaining HIPAA compliance because it protects patient information, secures your operations, and prevents the chance of a breach that can greatly impact your practice’s reputation. We’ve compiled this comprehensive HIPAA cheat sheet to help you further understand this important legislation and how it pertains to your holistic practice.
History of HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was signed into law on August 21, 1996. This vital piece of legislation created national standards to protect sensitive information regarding patient health from being shared or disclosed without the patient’s knowledge or consent. Basically, HIPAA prevents personal health information (PHI) from being discussed without the patient’s awareness and fortifies a patient’s privacy.
In addition to securing patient privacy and health information, HIPAA legislation aimed to prevent fraud and waste while also promoting medical saving opportunities across the healthcare industry as a whole. For example, certain tax breaks were established in this Act.
In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was passed, which establishes technological compliance requirements in alignment with HIPAA practices. This Act encourages the implementation of electronic health records to secure patient information and features the Breach Notification Rule stating that breaches exceeding 500 individual records must be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
The latest legislation related to HIPAA was the Final Omnibus Rule, approved in 2013. The purpose of this Rule is primarily to refine HIPAA definitions and include compliance requirements for new pieces of technology, such as mobile devices.
Why Is HIPAA Important for Your Holistic Practice?
Besides protecting your patients’ information and safeguarding their privacy, HIPAA provides some administrative benefits to your holistic practice. Encouraging the transition from paper to electronic health records streamlines your practice and allows for more collaboration with other providers pertinent to your patients. Plus, all HIPAA-covered entities must utilize the same set of codes, so communication from one practice to another organization is further streamlined for efficiency.
Your HIPAA Cheat Sheet
Let’s break down some of the most essential components of HIPAA for your holistic practice’s reference:
PHI and ePHI
Personal health information, known as PHI, can take on a variety of forms that are all relevant to following HIPAA compliance. Here are the 18 types of information that are considered protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA:
- Name
- Address (Including any information more localized than state)
- Any dates (except years) related to the individual, including birthdays, date of death, date of admission/discharge, etc.
- Telephone Number
- Fax Number
- Email address
- Social Security number
- Medical record number
- Health plan beneficiary number
- Account number
- Certificate/license number
- Vehicle identifiers, serial numbers, license plate numbers
- Device identifiers/serial numbers
- Web URLs
- IP address
- Biometric identifiers such as fingerprints or voiceprints
- Full-face photos
- Any other unique identifying numbers, characteristics, or codes
ePHI, or electronic personal health information, simply refers to PHI that is transferred, accessed, or stored electronically. The same protections apply across PHI and ePHI.
Who Needs To Follow HIPAA Compliance?
Since PHI can be present in a variety of fields and formats, there are multiple types of individuals and organizations who must comply with HIPAA guidelines as they come across it, including:
- Healthcare providers: This is obvious, but it’s worth noting—healthcare professionals can have access to a plethora of patient information, so it’s crucial that they maintain HIPAA confidentiality when handling this sensitive data
- Health plans: Whether privately run or publicly operated programs like Medicare, health insurance-related agencies and their staff must adhere to HIPAA regulations
- Healthcare clearinghouses: These companies act as a kind of go-between for processing sensitive information and still need to maintain HIPAA standards
- Business associates: This covers the overarching third-party vendors or other businesses who interact with PHI for a variety of reasons
The ultimate aim of HIPAA legislation is to protect sensitive patient information across all platforms, so it’s vital that all parties follow HIPAA regulations when applicable.
Privacy Rule
The Privacy Rule essentially dictates that sensitive information is only used or disclosed with appropriate safeguards in place. It also stipulates that patients have rights to access their personal health information, obtain a copy of their records, authorize the communication of their records, and more.
The Privacy Rule is located at 45 CFR Part 160 and Subparts A and E of Part 164
Security Rule
Proposed in 1998 by the Department of Health and Human Services, and later ratified in 2003, the Security Rule sought to improve the security of a person’s health information that is shared between authorized parties, such as healthcare providers, health plans, and other pertinent organizations.
The Security Rule is located at 45 CFR Part 160 and Subparts A and C of Part 164.
Breach Notification Rule
The Breach Notification Rule was officially adopted in September 2009 and stipulates that any breach of electronic personal health information exceeding 500 individual records must be reported to the OCR and that each individual must be alerted to the breach, as well.
A breach is defined in HIPAA section 164.402 as:
“The acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of protected health information in a manner not permitted which compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information.”
When a breach occurs, the business or organization affected must determine the severity by considering what type of information was involved, who potentially saw this information, and evaluate the risk of the incident. From there, the organization can proceed with either patient notification—if the incident qualifies as a breach—or further risk mitigation.
There are also three exclusions to what counts as a breach:
- If the exposure was unintentional and is not expected to be a repeated offense
- If it was an accidental exposure from one HIPAA-certified person to another HIPAA-certified person
- If the covered entity—or organization—has reason to believe the unauthorized person wouldn’t be able to retain details of the personal information
Omnibus Rule
The Omnibus Rule is the latest piece of legislation to be associated with HIPAA. Taking effect in 2013, this Rule updates some definitions contained within the original act and expands the liability of businesses for not being HIPAA compliant. It also further protects patient information since it requires businesses to adhere to the Privacy and Security Rules which strengthen security measures when handling PHI and ePHI.
Maintain HIPAA Compliance with HBS
The experts here at Holistic Billing Services are HIPAA certified to handle your patients’ personal health information while streamlining your overall revenue cycle with excellent medical billing and coding processing. Your success is our success, and we offer a range of services to partner with your holistic practice including medical billing, consultation services, and more!
Our expertise is rooted in professional, technical, and global billing for hospital and stand-alone holistic care practices. To learn more about how outsourced medical billing with Holistic Billing Services can empower your practice, contact us today. We’ll work with you to build a customized solution that meets the specific needs of your practice and allows you to get back to treating patients.