Archive for the ‘Medical Staffing Industry News’ Category

Looking for an Article on Factoring?

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Have a question about invoice funding that hasn’t already been addressed on The Factoring Blog? Mosey on over to PRN Funding’s Web site, where healthcare business owners and cash flow factoring professionals can find a wealth of information.

PRN Funding’s president, Phil Cohen, has been busy writing various articles about factoring over the last few months. Have you been keeping up? Check out the Factoring Industry News section of our web site for his most recent contributions.

Choose from article topics like…

  1. Comparing Bank Loans to AR Factoring
  2. Top Five Reasons to Factor
  3. Factoring Fees Defined
  4. Ways to Secure Funding in a Bad Economy
  5. Benefits of Home Care Factoring

Happy browsing!

BusinessWeek - Disposable Worker

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Did anyone happen to catch the article: The Disposable Worker in BusinessWeek last month? If not, don’t fret, the invoice factoring specialists from PRN Funding took the time to summarize some of the interesting article’s main points below:

These brutal economic times has prompted more companies to use temporary workforces. Utilizing temporary employees gives these companies the ability to add and let go employees quickly and easily, relieving them of any kind of fixed costs. Their approach has created an era of disposable workers that will cause lasting damage.

“Older people who lose their jobs are often forced into premature retirement, while the careers of younger people are stunted by their early detachment from the working world.” Through their actions, many employers are laying the groundwork for employees to become alienated and dispirited.

Moreover, there’s a new trend in upper management, in which bosses are no longer rewarded fpr the number of people they supervise. Rather, they are rewarded for short-term profit performance obtained with less staff.

In addition, the article explained how offshoring has increased during the recession. Economists believe that most jobs shipped overseas will remain offshore even when things start improving in order to help companies continue to keep costs down.

The article referred to the European temporary market model as a way to improve conditions in the U.S. At least in Europe, part-timers and temporary workers receive government health insurance and are required to receive wages and benefits comparable to permanent employees.

AMN’s 2010 Survey Reports RNs Switching Jobs Soon

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

AMN Healthcare recently reached out to over 1000 Registered Nurses and asked them to complete a survey related to job-satisfaction, and the results are in:

    1. 44% are ready to make a career change within 3 years
    2. More than 1/3 are unhappy with their current job situation
    3. Nearly 60% currently hold full-time permanent positions at a hospital
    4. 15% plan to switch jobs if the economy improves within the next year
    5. 28% said they agreed with this statement: “I will not be working in this job a year from now.”
    6. 46% of nurses agree with the statement “I worry this job is affecting my health.”
    7. 29% plan to leave the nursing profession completely within the next 1-3 years
    8. 55% believe that the quality of care that nurses provide today has declined compared to when they started in nursing
    9. 36% said they either would not recommend nursing as a career to young people or were not sure that they would

      Click here to read the more results from the AMN Healthcare 2010 Survey.

      Symbio Solutions Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

      Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

      According to a post that appeared on Staffing Industry Analysts North American Daily News, “Symbio Solutions, which operates a healthcare vendor management system, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.”

      Proceeds from the sale will go to 100-plus creditors, however, creditors that are entitled to receive funds may not get 100% of what is owed.

      Plans call for an auction of the company later this month, and for the sale to close in February, Shifflette said.

      Interesting enough, the post reported that Symbio first  ran into payment difficulties last summer after an issue rose with its former factoring company, Sun Capital.

      Click here to read the entire post: VMS files bankruptcy, plans sale.

      PRN Funding’s December Funding’s Bulletin

      Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

      As many of The Factoring Blog’s readers already know, PRN Funding provides accounts receivable factoring to healthcare vendors such as temporary nurse staffing agencies, medical transcription services and medical billing and coding companies and most recently, private duty home care agencies.  By purchasing these companies’ invoices, PRN Funding provides the cash needed to sustain and grow a health care business.  We are pleased to announce some of our most recent fundings:

      A Home Care Agency No Longer Has to Wait for the State to Pay
      This Chicago-based home care agency owner had been staffing sitters and home care aides into peoples’ homes since the beginning of the year, getting paid routinely in every two weeks by the state of Illinois. However, as the fourth quarter approached, she watched her receivables age out.

      Worried that the lag in her payments would eventually start affecting her ability to meet payroll, the agency owner Googled “home care factoring,” and clicked on the first search result-PRN Funding’s home care factoring page. After ten minutes of perusing the site, the agency owner called 866.776.5407, and was immediately connected to a home care factoring specialist. Two weeks later at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the agency owner presented PRN Funding with the first batch of invoices and had funds deposited directly into her account within hours.

      An Ohio Medical Billing Company Gains News Business
      Until recently, this Columbus-based medical billing entrepreneur had only been providing billing services for a handful of independent doctors in central Ohio. All it took was for one of those doctors to mention the medical billing vendor’s capabilities to an associate, and the billing company had the opportunity to sign on a medical clinic as a new client. He was ecstatic about the new business opportunity; however, there was one major problem. In order to win the business, he agreed to sign a contract with 45-day payment terms. The medical billing business owner knew he could float payroll for a month, but having to wait those last two weeks to get a check was going to make it very difficult for him to pay his employees on time.

      Later that day, while paging through a current billing and coding journal, he came across an ad for a funding company that works specifically with medical billing and coding companies. The entrepreneur visited www.prnfunding.com and determined that medical billing factoring was truly the solution to his forthcoming cash flow problem. He filled out an online application, and within a week, PRN Funding had purchased his first invoice to the medical clinic.

      Nurse Staffing Agency Switches Factoring Firms
      Unhappy with her current funder because it didn’t know very much about the nurse staffing industry, this nurse staffing agency owner from Tennessee was researching factoring firms when she came across PRN Funding’s web site. She was pleased when she found out that PRN Funding had been factoring nurse staffing invoices for over 10 years, so she called the same day to learn more.

      Within the twenty minute conversation, the agency owner found out that PRN Funding was already very familiar with the hospitals where she was currently staffing. Because of their nurse staffing expertise, PRN Funding was also able to advise the agency owner not to sign on with a particular facility because it had a record of paying 60 days beyond term. Floored by PRN Funding’s expertise, the agency owner decided to fill out an application that day.

      Eight business days later, PRN Funding had completed the buyout process, communicated the remittance changes to the agency’s clients and purchased the first batch of invoices.
      Click here for more information on PRN Funding’s accounts receivable factoring services.

      LA Times Puts Temp Agencies Under Fire

      Monday, December 14th, 2009

      Did anyone see the December 6th article in LA Times entitled: Temp firms a magnet for unfit nurses?

      Journalists, Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein painted temporary nurse staffing agencies in a very bad light in the investigative article. The article focused primarily on nurse staffing firms who have been skimping on background checks and staffing unfit nurses.

      During a time when hospitals and nursing homes are scrambling to fill staffing gaps, they’re relying on temp agencies more so than in the past. Now, more than ever, temp agency owners need to be taking the proper steps to screen their employees prior to hiring.

      Another option which wasn’t as popular when it first came out is for nurse staffing agencies to become Joint Certified.

      Q: What is your agency doing to remain competitive and trustworthy in the marketplace?

      Flu Season Presents Opportunities for Medical Temp Agencies

      Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

      It’s normal this time of year for flu-related absences to pop up in the workplace. Add in the recent H1N1 outbreak , and employers across the nation are sure to suffer even more employee absences. Add in the rush of the holiday season, and the stage is set. Medical facilities especially will need to find ways to fill the staffing gaps.

      Supplying allied health professionals and/or temporary nurses to hospitals, nursing homes and medical clinics now is a great way for small medical staffing agencies to get their foot in the door. Savvy business owners will take advantage of this opportunity.

      What’s more…Agency owners who utilize nurse staffing factoring can rest easy if their clients take longer to pay during the fourth quarter. Factoring medical staffing invoices gives agency owners cash upfront so they have enough liquid capital to meet payroll and pay taxes.

      Click here to learn more benefits to medical staffing factoring.

      Ohio Among Top Three States in Need of Nurses

      Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

      Ohio’s nursing shortage is projected to reach 23,000 by 2020, which is 29 percent of the projected national nurse shortage of 300,000.

      Currently, Ohio reports only a 5 percent vacancy rate for RNs, which is below the national averages. This most likely due to the fact that Ohio nursing schools have been focusing on increasing their nurse graduates at the same time that older nurses are putting off retirement, but these trends won’t last long.

      According to a report released this month by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, nurses and nurse educators said longer hours, increasing case loads and greater physical demands are all straining the current nurse supply. Not to mention, more than 600 beds are slated to be added to central Ohio’s area hospitals in the coming years, which will increase nurses’ workloads in the area.

      Nurse educators are needed as well. Ohio’s nurse faculty shortage is expected to hit 3,600 over the next 10 years. In 2009, The Ohio State University’s nursing school turned away three and a half qualified applicants for every one admitted, and three instructors left for higher paying jobs at the OSU Medical Center.

      Looks like the state of Ohio is a good place to be if you’re a nurse staffing agency owner looking for new business!

      Click here to read the entire article: Nursing stocked, but not for long.

      Factoring Terminology

      Monday, November 2nd, 2009

      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.

      Staffing World 2009 Kicks Off Today

      Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

      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.