Find Nursing Info on Twitter

Howard Gerber of Sunbelt Staffing did a great blog post about how nurses can use Twitter to stay up-to-date on nurse industry news. For the convenience of our nurse staffing industry readers, the temporary nurse staffing invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding wanted to re-post the valuable information on The Factoring Blog as well:

As a nurse, you probably work long hours and have very little down time to read about medical news, keep up with other nursing journals or nursing issues. Twitter can make it much easier to keep up with the latest news and information. By following accounts specific to the field of nursing, you can have all of the news and information sent to you in short bursts that can be read quickly. If they interest you, you can follow links for more information. With free Twitter apps available for all smart phones, you can keep up while on breaks at work or while you are on your commute home – as long as you aren’t driving!

@NursingTimes

This Twitter account is maintained by the Nursing Times website. They tweet multiple times a day and include news items related to the field of health, nursing, and nursing education.

@AmericanNurseToday

This is the official Twitter account of the journal for the American Nurses Association. They tweet news articles from their own journal as well as from other health publications several times a day.

@NEJM

This Twitter account is maintained by the New England Journal of Medicine. While this is not a journal specifically for nurses, they do provide a wide range of medical information. The Twitter feed is updated several times a day as new articles are published to their site.

@AmJNurs

The American Journal of Nursing is a peer-reviewed journal that has been publishing evidence-based articles since 1900. Their Twitter feed is updated numerous times a day during the week and include links to their own articles, news articles, and information posted by other health organizations.

@MinorityNurse

Minority nurses, nursing students, and faculty often face unique challenges in the field of medicine. This account tweets frequently and includes links to their own articles as well as to general health articles and resources for minorities.

@MedSurgNurses

This Twitter account is maintained by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. This is a national organization specifically for medical-surgical nurses. They update several times daily during the week with links to nursing news and resources as well as recommendations for other Twitter accounts to follow in the field of health.

@aorn

This is another nursing specialty account maintained by the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses. They discuss issues specific to their field as well as general health topics and items of interest to nurses in general.

There are hundreds of Twitter accounts that are maintained by nurses, nursing students, nurse educators, nursing journals, nursing schools, and nursing associations. Use these as a starting point and look at the organizations they are following as well as who they have as followers to find even more accounts you may be interested in.

Invoice Factoring: Verification vs. Notification

The invoice funding experts at PRN Funding are frequently asked: When it comes to invoice factoring, what is the verification process, and what it the notification process? Watch this video to find out:

Invoice Factoring Notification Procedures

At some point in the beginning stages of a factoring relationship, the invoice  funder will communicate with your clients’ accounts payabale department in order to make them aware of the new factoring relationship as well as give instructions on where to send future payments. This can usually be accomplished with a quick phone call and/or email. In most cases, the factor will send a written notification via fax or email to re-affirm what was discussed over the phone.

Invoice Factoring Verification Procedures

Verification procedures differ depending on the funder and depending on the type of business you operate.

For example, if you run a medical supply company, a good way for a factor to verify the invoices is to view a copy of the signed delivery receipt and/or speak to the person who accepted the shipment to confirm that they are satisfied with the supplies.

On the other hand, if you own a nurse staffing agency, where you are, in effect, providing a service, rather than a concrete good, the verification process will be slightly different. Most likely, factors will verify invoices with signed timesheets and/or periodically speak with a Director of Nursing (DON) at the facility where you staff to confirm the nurses listed on your invoices worked the shifts listed on the invoices.

Some factoring clients are concerned that a factoring firm who notifies and verifies will become hurt their vendor-customer relationship, the opposite is true.In most cases, notification and verification procedures are brief and non-intrusive.

Do you have more invoice factoring questions? Feel free to write them in the comments section below…

Schedule Released for 2011 CDIA Conference

CDIA (formerly MTIA) published an interactive schedule of events for it’s 2011 Conference. The 22nd annual medical transcription and clinical documentation industry conference will be held in Charlotte, NC April 13-16.

According to CDIA’s web site, those interested in viewing the interactive conference schedule can click on the session titles on the page to read the session summary and speaker bio.

(NOTE: Not all sessions are currently clickable, as CDIA is still collecting information from speakers and finalizing the schedule. Please check back frequently for updates.)

AAPC Launches ICD-10 Resource Site

According to the ADVANCE Perspective HIM Blog, the American Academy of Professional Coders, a trade association dedicated to serving the medical coding industry, recently created an ICD-10 resource site in preparation for the government’s mandated ICD-10 changeover in October 2013.

ICD-10 is expected to affect all heathcare professionals, not just the administrative medical coders and medical billing staff.

Among the key features include:

  • An ICD-10 code conversion tool allowing users to translate an ICD-9 code to ICD-10 instantly;
  • ICD-10 news and articles from industry experts helping prepare for implementation;
  • Two interactive floor plan tools that show how ICD-10 affects all aspects of a practice or health plan; and
  • An online application used to track and graphically measure the ICD-10 implementation progress.

For further information about ICD-10 implementation, please visit the AAPC ICD-10 site.

Medical Transcription Educational Opportunities Available at MTIA 2011 Conference

According to a brief write-up in March’s issue of Plexus, MTIA will once again offer a morning of education sessions that are specifically aimed at practicing MTs on Saturday, April 16, in Charlotte, NC. Available for a special price, medical transcriptionist attendees will learn:

  • ICD-10 Implementation
  • Revenue Cycle Process
  • Meaningful Use

MTs can choose between two different registration options:

  • MT Package #1 – Saturday morning classes only 9am-1pm; and
  • MT Package #2 – Saturday morning and the closing reception of the MTIA Conference scheduled for April 15 from 5:30-6:30pm.

MTs must register using the MT Package Registration Form: http://www.mtia.com/downloads/MTIA2011_MTPackage_RegForm.pdf).

Recent Study Says Healthcare Employment Showing Significant Growth

Did anyone else see NursingCorp’s February eNewsletter? In it, the Caracci’s discussed the State of Healthcare Employment based on a recent study released by the Altarum Institute’s Center for Studying Health Spending. Here are some of the study’s key findings:

  • In 2007, private sector healthcare employment was 9.5 percent of the total US employment. In 2011, it increased to 10.7 percent.
  • From 2007-2011, non-healthcare jobs have decreased 6.8 percent, while healthcare employment increased 6.3 percent.
  • Currently, 34 percent of all healthcare employment is taking place in the hospital setting, 22 percent in nursing and residential care facilities, 17 percent in physician’s offices and 19 percent in the outpatient setting.

‘Old School’ Factoring Broker Marketing Tricks that Still Work in Today’s World

These days, it seems that small businesses and corporations alike are focusing a lot of their marketing efforts on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Although it’s important to continuously evolve your company’s marketing tactics so that they are in line with today’s trends, don’t forget to continue to incorporate some of the more tried and true marketing techniques in your 2011 advertising plans. Here are five marketing tricks that will never go out of style…

Hand-Written Notes
Acknowledging that a potential customer is a person, and not just another potential sale is a crucial marketing technique that many salespeople forget in this technology-driven world. Sure, blasting out generalized tweets can help with branding, but imagine how much more effective a hand-written note with a tailored message would be. In the age of electronic automation, a handwritten thank-you note makes a huge impression on a potential customer because it’s out of the ordinary. Don’t be afraid to add a personal touch to your marketing efforts. When done right, the ROI is always much more worthwhile.

Provide Incentives for Referrals
As a cash flow consultant who undoubtedly participates in various factoring referral programs, I’m sure that you understand how motivating it can be to know that there’s a little something extra in it for you when you refer a deal to a funder. Why not pay it forward? Imagine what kind of business you could obtain if you passed some of those incentives onto people who referred their factoring prospects onto you. Whether it’s a cut of your commissions, a small gift or a free lunch, people are more willing to send referrals when there’s “something in it for them.”

Give Away Something for Free
Plain and simple – When you help someone, it creates a natural desire for them to return the favor. Oddly enough, this ‘old school’ marketing technique will work better for you if you are open to using a ‘new school’ tactic. For example, take the time to set up Google Alerts for your clients so you can help stay on top of pertinent industry news they might find resourceful. Then when news articles and other relevant information comes through your email inbox or RSS feed reader, check them for quality and forward them onto the customer. Passing along credible information to your prospects and current clients will help build trust and keep your cash flow services top of mind.

Apply the 80/20 Rule
If the 80/20 rule is true – that 80% of your cash flow company’s business comes from 20% of your existing client base – then it’s important for you to use this old trick to your advantage. Take the time to talk to you existing clients and look over your year-to-year records to help you identify what’s working and what’s not. After all, your current clients already gave you their business once…What’s to say they won’t pick up the phone and call when they have new business?

Network in Person
Don’t be afraid to tell friends, family and colleagues about your cash flow services. You never know, they may be talking to your next big prospect later that day! Sure, you can accomplish this by posting about your services on Facebook or LinkedIn, but real face-to-face conversations leave a more lasting impression. Think about how much easier it is to connect in-person. When you’re sitting across from someone, you can react to verbal and non-verbal feedback cues Whereas, posting something online could go completely unnoticed.

Although it’s easy to get caught up in the social media craze when it comes to advertising your cash flow expertise and seeking out new prospects, remember that there are still plenty of ‘old school’ marketing techniques that continue to stand the test of time. Make sure that you incorporate a combination of both new tricks and old tricks to ensure that you’re covering all of your advertising bases.

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

Thoughts on 2011 NPDA Annual Leadership Conference

PRN Funding had the opportunity to exhibit at the National Private Duty Association’s Annual Leadership Conference at Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas last week. Although we were pleased with both the quantity and the quality of the attendees, we left the home care trade show disappointed for a number of reasons. Sadly, the majority of the reasons why we were disappointed with the show had to do with NPDA’s poor customer service:

  • PRN Funding was assigned to Booth #20 months prior to the show, however, a couple of weeks before shipping out, we were told that we were going to be in a different booth. NPDA did address this, however, the miscommunication created a bit of panic on our end, as we had already sent out marketing details about our booth number prior to the change.
  • Booth set-up times and exhibit hall open and close times also changed a number of times prior to the actual show.
  • The show decorator’s (LV Expo) package arrived late, and they initially missed our scheduled pick-up time.
  • When we did our pre-conference email blast to the NPDA show attendee’s, one of the attendees emailed us back and said that they were displeased that we were marketing to them because they never gave permission to receive emails from exhibitors. (NOTE: PRN Funding received the permission-based attendee list directly from NPDA.)
  • When PRN Funding’s crew arrived to set up the booth, the dimensions of the booth space were incorrect.
  • There were a couple of times when the presenters went over their alloted time to speak, which cut into exhibit hall time.
  • Once at the show, the exhibit hall open/close times changed again within a couple of hours notice in order for the show decorator to set up for cocktail hour.
  • During cocktail hour, there were dueling pianos in the exhibit hall, which was a nice Vegas touch, however, it made it nearly impossible for exhibitors and attendees to interect on the floor because it was so loud.

On the plus side, the attendees were bright, professional and engaged. They approached PRN Funding’s booth, wanting to learn more about our home care factoring services, and we had a number of enthusiastic conversations.

Q: Did you attend/exhibit at the 2011 NPDA Annual Leadership Conference? If so, what were your thoughts? We’re interested to see attendees viewpoints of the show.

Transcend to Acquire DTS America

Last week, Transcend Services, Inc. announced that is was entering negotiations to acquire DTS America, Inc. The transaction is expected to close next month.

Transcend Services, Inc. is a Nashville, TN-based medical transcription company that serves approximately 30 hospitals, plus a number of clinics and surgery centers in 13 different states.

Andrew Miller, Jr., CEO of DTS America was quoted in the press release saying: “In order to continue our ambitious growth plans, DTS needed to find a larger partner that both recognized the value of our employees and was committed to providing excellent customer service. I believe Transcend is the best partner for our employees and clients and I am excited by the capabilities that each of  us brings the other.”

Click here to read the entire press release: Transcend to Acquire DTS America.

PayNet Says Small Businesses Are Not Showing Aggressiveness in Early 2011

IFG Network’s invoice factoring blog published some interesting information released by PayNet Inc. earlier this week that the invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding wanted to share with The Factoring Blog’s readers:

First of all, PayNet Inc. collects real-time loan data from more than 200 leading capital equipment lenders, and they shared data that shows that borrowing by small businesses increased by 14 percent in January 2011, compared to January 2010. Initially, it may seem like this is an early indicator that small businesses are growing, however, it’s not as aggressive as industry experts had hoped.

For example, William Phelan, PayNet’s president and founder, thinks otherwise. He was quoted on IFG’s blog, saying: “We are calling it the long-haul recovery.” He further explained that small business borrowing will return to pre-recessions levels for at least another year, maybe two.

Moreover, economic analysts believe that even with zero-percent interest rates, small companies don’t want to borrow money and go into debt until they are certain they have customers and/or demand for their products.

NOTE FROM PRN FUNDING: Small business owners can and should consider factoring as an alternative way to finance their businesses because they don’t have to go into debt to help their cash flow.

Click here to read more of PayNet’s January stats.