PRN Funding Joins Cleveland Chapter of National Funding Association

Earlier this week, PRN Funding’s President, Phil Cohen, was among 15 business professionals who attended an organizational meeting of the Great Lakes Chapter of the National Funding Association (NFA).

In attendance at the meeting were financing professionals and intermediaries, including bankers, factors, consultants and attorneys, who are interested in forming the fifth chapter location of the NFA.  Currently, the NFA has chapters organized in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago and Nashville.

Click here to read the press release: PRN Funding Joins Cleveland Chapter of National Funding Association

Ohio Nurses Assigned Too Many Patients

Right here in Cleveland, Ohio, nurses are protesting for a “patient protection act” to limit nurses to no more than four patients per shift.  Nurses from around the state of Ohio rallied at the Statehouse last Tuesday, asking to reduce the patient-to-nurse ratio.

Hospitals in Ohio say that there are too few nurses to meet the proposed ratio.  Surely, bringing in supplemental staffing could help Ohio hospitals meet the 4:1 ratio.  So if you are a nurse staffing business owner servicing the Ohio area, it might be  a good idea to start calling on some of these facilities.

Click here to read the article on MyFoxCleveland: Are Ohio Nurses Assigned to More Patients Than They Can Handle?

Part-Time Consultant, Full-Time Success

PRN Funding’s consultant liaison, Nikki (Spiezio) Flores, recently wrote an article that appeared in the May edition of Growing Wealth Magazine.  Part-Time Consultant, Full-Time Success was written as a mini-guide for cash flow consultants who are just starting out in the industry.  In addition, the article gives tips on how to stay connected and get organized.  If you are just starting out as a cash flow consultant, we encourage you to check out the article: Part-Time Consultant, Full-Time Success.

Click here if you would like more information about PRN Funding’s broker program.

2007 Survey of Medical Transcriptionists

In the last quarter of 2007, a research team at the Bentley College (Waltham, MA) implemented a new study to help understand the role of medical transcription within in the healthcare industry.  The preliminary results of the 2007 Survey of Medical Transcriptionists were shared at the AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit in May 2008.  The survey’s results are based on 3809 generated responses from an online survey created by the Bentley College research team in conjunction with representatives from the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI). 

PRN Funding wanted to share a few of the study’s preliminary findings:

1.Much like the rest of the workforce, medical transcriptionists (MTs) are aging quickly and   recruiting younger replacements is a real concern. 

2. Medical transcription is a predominately female profession in the United States.  Globally, however, there is a higher representation of men working in the field.

3. 41 percent of the survey respondents never completed college, but MTs have a strong desire to continue learning, especially when it comes to medical subject matter.  (It’s important to note here that the majority of older MTs entered the workforce before medical transcription training programs existed.)

4. One of the continued challenges to attracting new medical transcriptionists to the profession is the inability to make sustainable wages.

5. One of the primary challenges for MTs is how they are compensated, which is usually per production unit or “per line.”  With the introduction of speech-recognition technology, more medical transcriptionists are being paid as “editors,” which decreases their per unit pay because it’s expected that “reading” is easier than “typing.” 

6. Medical transcriptionists work in a number of different environments.  The largest percentage of MTs (39.3 percent) work for a healthcare institution.  However, 54.1 percent work in association with a Medical Transcription Service Owner (MTSO)-24.7 percent as independent contractors, 6.1 percent as medical transcription service owners, and 24 percent as an employee of an MTSO.

7. Regardless of who they work for, the majority of medical transcriptionists work from home.  This type of situation presents challenges in terms of how to create and maintain an effective workforce.

8. Most medical transcriptionists (58.9 percent of the survey respondents) transcribe for multiple doctors from multiple hospitals and/or practices.  Due to the lack of standardized reporting formats, MTs must learn a wide range of document styles and protocols.

Thoughts on 2008 AAPC Conference

Three members of the PRN Funding team travelled to Orlando, FL for the 2008 American Academy of Professional Coders Conference (AAPC) earlier this week.  This is what they had to say about the overall feel of the 2008 AAPC Conference:

As a whole, PRN Funding generally sees weak attendee turnout at trade shows.  It was for this reason that we started pruning some of the shows where we usually exhibit.  After taking some years off, this was the first time in five years that we exhibited at the AAPC Conference, and we were extremely pleased with the show.  We enjoyed speaking with the attendees and other exhibitors, and we had a lot of fun giving away a brand new Garmin Nuvi GPS.

Having attended a multitude of trade shows over the past 20 years, we noticed quite a few things that did not fit the normal traffic flow pattern of a trade show.  Given the current economic times, we were astounded by the overwhelming number of attendees who were present for the conference.  We were also pleased with the attendees’ willingness to interact with the exhibitors.

The only gripe our team members mentioned had to do with unwanted glitches and a general dissatisfaction with the exhibit show company on duty for the AAPC show.  Other than that, our team members came back to the office with a number of to-do’s and follow-ups, and we look forward to exhibiting at the 2009 meeting in Las Vegas at the Rio Hotel.

Centerpoint Medical Center Needs More Nurses

For those nurse staffing agency owners looking for new clients in the Kansas City area, Centerpoint Medical Center (Independence, MO) is in dire need of more nurses.

The Centerpoint nurses union, The Nurses United for Improved Patient Care, petitioned the hospital claiming they are forced to look after too many patients, and the care suffers as a result.

Click here to read the entire article: Nurses Demand Increase in Staffing at Centerpoint.

PRN Funding Accepted into Commercial Finance Association

PRN Funding has some exciting news to share with The Factoring Blog’s readers:

 

After careful review, PRN Funding, LLC was welcomed into the prestigious Commercial Finance Association (CFA) by the organization’s executive committee on May 16, 2008. 

 

In addition to PRN Funding’s acceptance into the association, the executive committee also appointed the president of PRN Funding, Philip Cohen, as one of the CFA’s Board of Directors. 

 

It’s exciting for Philip Cohen and PRN Funding to become a part of a one-of-a-kind accounts receivable factoring organization.  The CFA offers a wealth of opportunities for factoring firms, including continuing education, meetings and conventions and up-to-date accounts receivable factoring news.

 

Click here to read the official PRN Funding press release.

Five Potential Barriers to a Successful Factoring Transaction

Accounts receivable factoring is a simple and quick method for temp nurse staffing agencies, medical transcription services and medical coding companies to access working capital. However, certain requirements must be satisfied to take full advantage of factoring’s many benefits.

Sales must be final. The only way a company can factor an invoice is if the sale is final: the company provided a service (i.e. a medical staffing agency sent temporary nurses to work in ABC hospital) or a good (i.e. a medical supply company sold latex gloves to a doctor’s office), and the customer unequivocally accepted it.

Goods or services must be invoiced after they are received. Some companies bill their customers before providing goods or services. This type of relationship is unacceptable in a factoring transaction.

There can’t be any set-offs or charge-backs. Some company/customer relationships allow for set-offs, in which invoice deductions are made based on the receipt of goods and/or services over the amount due on the invoice. Similiar to set-offs, charge-backs give a customer the right to deduct payment if goods are incorrect, faulty or damaged. Both of these practices affect the final invoice amount. While set-offs and charge-backs are common in many industries, they cannot exist when a factoring company is involved because factoring firms purchase the invoice in full.

Liens and lawsuits against a company complicates a factoring transaction. Liens and lawsuits affect a company’s welfare. In some cases, it’s possible for an accounts receivable factoring firm to work with a lien-holder to resolve difficulty. Lawsuits, on the other hand, could raise a number of issues, and need to be addressed on an individual basis.

Prospective factoring clients need to be approved during a due diligence process. Most factoring companies will conduct a thorough review before a factoring relationship can be established with a medical staffing agency, medical transcription service or a medical coding company. While a factor’s decision relates to the creditworthiness of a company’s customers, it’s important for accounts receivable factoring firms to understand and evaluate its client’s history, operations and prospects. Full disclosure and open dialogue are the most efficient and effective means to a positive factoring relationship.

Click here to see a step-by-step factoring diagram.

How to Control Your Factoring Costs

PRN Funding’s fees are based on three main components: the time it takes to collect invoices, the volume of invoices factored, and the creditworthiness of your customers. Each of these issues is important in establishing how much you will pay to factor your invoices, but there are ways to control your costs.

 

Time

Part of the financial risk that PRN Funding incurs when it purchases an account receivable is related to the time it takes for a bill to be paid. Time is therefore an important commodity that can affect your fee: the longer an invoice is outstanding, the higher the fee. (A 60-day invoice would consequently cost more than a 30-day invoice.)

You can reduce your time-related costs in two key ways: 1) Factor customers that pay their bills quickly. 2) Send invoices to PRN only when you absolutely need money. By retaining your invoices for a while after you provide the services/goods to your customer, you will decrease the amount of time PRN owns the account receivable, which will decrease your fee. 

Volume
Volume refers to the total amount of money that is factored each month. Opposite from time, higher volume means lower fees, while lower volume means higher fees.  Eventually, you can lower your fees by factoring larger dollar amounts and larger invoices. Also, long-term relationships that result in factoring large cumulative dollars can result in lower fees.

 

Customer Creditworthiness
Unlike a bank loan, the ability to factor is dependent on your customer’s creditworthiness, not your own. Therefore, PRN Funding is assuming risk based on your customer’s credit history, which affects your fee; Marginal credit means higher fees, while good credit means lower fees. The most straightforward way to decrease your fee is to factor invoices due from customers with good credit history. While PRN will only factor customers who have acceptable credit, those who have better credit will be less expensive.

 

While other variables can affect the factoring fee, time, volume and credit are the most significant components that PRN Funding will evaluate. By carefully using our services you can minimize you costs.

 

SBA Loans Plummet

According to a recent article from BusinessWeek, “Tightening credit markets have claimed a new casualty: Small Business Administration loans.”

Experts reported that banks have increased their credit standards for the government-guaranteed loan program, and fewer entrepreneurs are seeking credit from the Small Business Association (SBA). In other words, demand for SBA loans is low, and the standards for receiving one are high.

Click here to read the entire article: SBA Loan Plummet.