MTIA Officially Changes Name to CDIA

Back in August, it was rumored that the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) was going to change its name to the Clinical Documentation Industry Association (CDIA).

The CDIA made the official announcement on February 21 at a private press briefing and reception at the HIMMS11 Annual Conference and Exhibition. The name change reflects the fact that the transcription profession is evolving into an editing funding with the advent of EMRs.

Under its new name, the CDIA will continue to promote the value of clinical narrative in capturing information-rich health stories that can be tagged and re-purposed to meet criteria for use and distribution in the EHR.

Click here to read more on the CDIA Name Change Announcement.

HCA Announced Internal Reorganization

On Friday, February 11, Nashville-based HCA announced an immediate “internal reorganization” to “better align the company’s structure with the future dynamics of the healthcare industry.”

Some of the changes include:

  • Creation of a new subsidiary that will provide business services to other healthcare companies;
  • New structuring of provider operations;
  • Integration of quality performance with physician practice services;
  • R. Milton Johnson has been named president of HCA, while also retaining his title and responsibilities of CFO;
  • Beverly B. Wallace, who was the president of HCA’s Shared Services Group, is president of a wholly-owned subsidiary that will provide revenue cycle, staffing services and supply chain management to other healthcare providers

Click here to read more about HCA’s management changes.

How Factoring Brokers Can Achieve Their Resolutions

It is January 2011, which means that the holiday season is officially over, and reality has set in. If you’re a cash flow consultant reading this article, then I’m sure two of your New Year’s resolutions were to land more deals and increase your business, right? Well, there’s no better time than the present to start buckling down and taking the first few steps towards earning those commission checks.

First of all, it’s important to take the time to research and create new goals for the year-then make sure that you meet those goals. I try to keep a few of these principles in mind when setting new goals:

Reflect on 2010.
Analyze your objectives from last year, and work on setting new goals that focus on what you would like to do better this year. Whether last year was a lucrative one for you or not, it’s still a good idea to take a step back and analyze your cash flow business before you set goals for the next year. What worked really well for you and your business last year? What didn’t work out as well as you had expected? What could you have done better? The answers to these questions will help you organize your business plans for 2011.

Visualization is key.
Write down your goals, and put them in a place(s) where you will see them frequently. Putting your ideas on paper surreptitiously turns them into something concrete, which means that it will be harder for you to forget about achieving them. Also, make sure that your goals are specific, measurable and time-bounded. For example, instead of saying I want to land more deals, try writing down I want to land five deals in the first quarter. Be sure to put your list of goals in a place where you will see them often (i.e. the bathroom mirror). Trust me, it is much harder to forget something if you see it in writing every single day.

Stay motivated.
For some, this might mean setting smaller goals along the way to accomplishing your bigger goals. Breaking down your overall goals into bite-sized pieces can make your overall tasks seem less daunting. For others, this may mean taking the time to reward yourself after you have effectively met each goal. Taking the time to celebrate your accomplishments will help you stay motivated to be successful in your next task.

The more you know, the more you grow.
Take some time to examine current trends in the cash flow industry, and especially take a look at the trends in your area of expertise. For example, if your specialty is factoring, take the time to read up on any new developments in that industry. Of course, Cash Flow Exclusive is a great place to start. The articles in the magazine are written by people who have experience in their respected fields, and the articles are packed with worthwhile and useful information. In addition, the International Factoring Association’s (IFA) web site (www.factoring.org) always has the latest factoring industry news.

Build a supportive network.
Another way to help you stay focused on your 2011 goals is to put together a support team with people that you can go to for help and encouragement. Don’t be afraid to reach out to more experienced cash flow consultants and/or factoring brokers for guidance and advice. Try to find a mentor who has worked in the same area as you. Talk to them about their experiences, and learn what they did to become successful. In addition, there is a wealth of opportunities to connect with lenders and other cash flow professionals on the popular social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Remember, we all want you to succeed in this business, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Put it all into action.
Check off your goals as they are completed, start watching your cash flow business grow, and start preparing new goals. The physical act of crossing off a goal after you have completed it will definitely solidify your feelings of accomplishment. After you have finally reached your goals, you will be able to see the benefits of them right away as your cash flow business becomes more profitable. Then it’s back to round one again-creating new goals and new ways to reach them.

Taking a step back at the beginning of every year to evaluate your company’s progress is one of the best ways to ensure the future success of your cash flow business. It forces you to take an active role in developing a thriving company. After all, how can you expect to move forward if you don’t take to the time to study where you have been?

**Reprinted from the January 2011 electronic issue of Cash Flow Exclusive.

Click here to find additional factoring broker articles on PRN Funding’s web site.

New Learning Resource For Factoring Brokers and Referral Sources

Part of PRN Funding’s commitment to maintaing strong relationships with our factoring referral network is writing articles for various invoice factoring publications. Now we’ve made it even easier for brokers to access those articles via a special section on our web site: Factoring Broker Articles. Check out one of the video description below:

Factoring Prospects: Weeding Out the Bad to Find the Good

As cash flow consultants, it’s your job to deliver companies with cash flow issues to the appropriate funding source. Although this task sounds easy enough on paper, in reality, it’s not always a simple feat. Picture this scenario: You find a candidate in need of cash flow who has been in business for two years, gets paid in less than 45 days and wants to expand. Eager to help this business owner get the cash he needs to expand, you refer this person to one of your factoring sources immediately. The factoring company has communicated to you that they are interested in pursuing the deal, and they’ll have an update for you as soon as they reach out to the prospect. The next day, you get a phone call from the factoring firm telling you that they are no longer interested in the deal. Has this ever happened to you? If so, then I have some good news. There are three questions cash flow consultants can ask their prospects that will drastically reduce the chances of the above situation ever happening again. And if it hasn’t happened to you yet, and you’re not asking the appropriate questions, then it’s only a matter of time before it will happen. Continue reading…

MTIA: 2010 Year in Review

The Medical Transcription Industry Association recently published a 2010 Industry Review on its web site. For the benefit of our medical transcription readers, we have included MTIA’s review below:

Membership

  • Hosted successful 21st Annual Conference, appropriately themed “Change: New Bonds. New Purpose.” in Daytona Beach, with over 200 attendees and 30 exhibitors
  • Responded to membership by reducing 2011 conference pricing structure, making it more financially accessible to small and mid-sized MTSOs
  • Awarded Sten-Tel, Inc., the MTIA Industry Support Award
  • Approved name change of Clinical Documentation Industry Association (CDIA) to more accurately reflect the rapidly changing healthcare documentation landscape that is no longer limited to traditional dictation-transcription, thereby increasing the relevance of the association in the health IT sector and positioning it to attract new membership
  • Launched new electronic Health eBrief: Clinical Documentation Newswire in November, offering members greater diversity of industry sector news and efficiency of delivery

Advocacy

  • Maximized the expertise of the Dewey Square Group and MTIA resources, eliminating the guesswork of how to tackle policy issues, resulting in a high-impact coordinated effort
  • Met with the offices of 47 Republican and 46 Democratic federal legislators during the 5th Annual AHDI-MTIA Advocacy Summit in March 2010, encouraging them to support efforts to have the dictation-transcription process acknowledged in the “meaningful use” regulations
  • Gained the participation of over 600 AHDI and MTIA members who sent letters to their legislators in support of their colleagues who went to Capitol Hill
  • Submitted testimony requesting Congressional support of our key roles and challenges, which has raised awareness about industry related issues and will continue to make the case for the value of narrative and our risk management contribution as rules and regulations around certification and future iterations of meaningful use are crafted
  • Bolstered legislative relationships and better educated key congressional members on the work that the medical transcription industry does and the challenges it faces, with congressional visits hosted by members (MedQuist and Transcend Services, Inc.)

Sponsorship

  • Joined Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity in promoting the Power of 10 campaign, pledging a commitment to ongoing year-round advocacy.

Board

  • Elected 2011 Board of Directors: Robin Daigh, VP, Marketing and Business Development, MD-IT; Dale Kivi, Director of Business Development, Future Net Technologies Corp.; Lee Tkachuk, CEO, Keystrokes Transcription Services, Inc.; Nick van Terheyden, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer, Nuance; and Linda Yaniszewski, CEO & President, ExecuScribe, Inc.
  • Hosted CDIA Vision Framework Building session at Q4 meeting, focusing on reenergizing and strategizing CDIA’s vision, mission, and values to augment membership engagement and expand growth opportunities
  • Held joint meeting with AHDI and AHIMA executive board members to explore future collaborative ventures and potential for promoting mutual efforts

Brand Building

  • Moved the needle forward in growing the visibility of the industry sector among policymakers, regulators, and key healthcare associations
  • Released the Ethical Best Practices Manual for the Healthcare Documentation Sector, Speech Recognition Adoption Guide, and Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Best Practices, in partnership with AHDI
  • Linda Yaniszewski featured in Healthcare Financial Management Association’s supplement Your Outsourcing Strategy as a result of the Chicago media tour
  • Joint CDIA and AHDI executive leadership met with U.S. Small Business Administration officials to further efforts in small business development, job training, and competitiveness of workers
  • Developed CDIA Strategic Marketing Plan for implementation in 2011

Home Care Factoring Firm Invited to Exhibit at NPDA Conference

PRN Funding, LLC, an accounts receivable factor with funding niches in the private duty and home care industries issued a press release yesterday announcing that they will be exhibiting at the 2011 NPDA Conference next month. We’ve posted the official press release below:

Last year, PRN Funding, LLC exhibited for the first time at the National Private Duty Association’s Conference in Philadelphia. Because of the trade show’s successes, home care factoring specialists from PRN Funding plan to travel to Las Vegas to exhibit at the 2011 Conference in March.

President, Phil Cohen, and Account Manager, Joanna Schafer, will be in booth #20 March 2-4 and available to speak with home care business owners about how they can turn their Medicaid receivables into cash immediately through home care invoice factoring.

With years of experience in healthcare industry, PRN Funding has a precise understanding of the unique challenges within the private duty and home care industries. PRN Funding offers financial resources to these companies by purchasing their accounts receivable–a process known as ‘factoring’, which provides the cash needed to sustain and grow a healthcare business.

Changing EHR Market is Wreaking Havoc on Vendors’ Cash Flow

Advance Perspective’s HIM Blog recently re-posted a blog post by Don Fornes of EHR Software Advice, in which he discussed the ever-changing eletronic health record (EHR) market and how it’s impacting vendors’ cash flow. The medical transcription factoring specialists and medical billing and coding invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding took the liberty of summarizing the bulk of the post below:

In a nutshell, Fornes’ article talked about how most people would think that the Federal subsidies for EHR implementation would create a massive boom for EHR software industry, however, this concept couldn’t be further from the truth. Based on the data points that Fornes has observed over the past few months, he thinks that most EHR software vendors are actually experiencing a cash flow crunch.

According to Fornes, these EHR software vendors have been pouring cash into marketing and brand awareness initiatives to remain top-of-mind for physicians’ practices and medical facilities, however, most providers have taken a “wait-and-see” approach to EHR adoption.

Couple these two scenarios with the increasing shift for the software industry as a whole to shift to cloud computing because of low monthly pricing.

As a result of EHR vendors investing a lot of money into their business expansion, providers writing fewer checks than anticipated and the checks that are written are much smaller and more spread out, a difficult cash flow scenario has been playing out for a number of vendors. Fornes commented how he’s seen “some EHR vendors stretching their payables out 90 or even 120 days.”

Overall, it was a very informative article, however, what Fornes left out what that EHR vendors have the ability to drastically improve their cash flow by factoring their invoices. For example, an EHR vendor could sell its invoices to PRN Funding and receive cash the same day.

Click here to read Fornes’ original blog post.