Ohio Among Top Three States in Need of Nurses

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.

US Senate to Vote on Health Care Reform Bill

As a follow-up from our post last week regarding the House of Representatives health care reform bill, the U.S. Senate has also unveiled their $849 billion health reform bill.

The 2074-page Senate bill is expected to be voted on as early as this Saturday. The proposal now goes to the full Senate, where Republicans have vowed to try to block it.

Some of the more interesting aspects of the bill include the following*:

  1. The Medicare payroll tax on individuals earning $200,000 a year and couples earning $250,000 a year would increase by half a percentage point.
  2. Bill would require individuals to purchase health insurance, with a fine for non-compliance of $95 in the first year that would escalate to $750 by 2016.
  3. Parents would be responsible for providing coverage for their children up to 18 years old.

If the healthcare reform proposal passes the Senate, a combined version of the House’s proposal and the Senate’s proposal will need to pass both chambers before it can be signed into law.

Click here to read the Business Standard’s article on health reform: US Senate Unveils $849 BN Health Care Reform Bill.

MTIA Increases Membership Dues

Dedicated to funding MTSOs, PRN Funding has been a proud member of the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) for eight years. Naturally, PRN Fumding was intrigued when received a mailer from the 2009 President of MTIA, Linda Yaniszewski, informing us that the 2010 membership rates were increasing.

MTIA formally unveiled it’s Vision 20/20 Campaign at the 2009 AHIMA Conference. This week’s mailer solidified the changes in membership pricing.

There are now three membership tiers to choose from, all with a hefty price:

Gold – $10,000
Silver – $5000
Bronze – $2000

Q: What do you think about MTIA raising their member fees?

Two Steps Away from U.S. Health Care Reform

As reported by the National Post on Monday morning, The United States House became the first chamber of congress to pass a comprehensive health reform bill, voting 220-215 in favor of the 10-year Affordable Health Care for America Act on Saturday night.

President Barack Obama was quoted in the article saying, “We are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America,” and he’s confident that the Senate will pass its version of the legislation in the near future.

Most likely, the Senate will have a different version of the health care reform bill, and it will need 60 of 100 votes to pass. If it passes, both the House and the Senate will need to meet to agree on a single package.

Currently, the reform package includes obligatory coverage, tax hikes for the wealthy and a clause to prevent insurers from rejecting customers with pre-existing conditions.

Click here to read the entire article: U.S. health care reform ‘two steps away.’

MTIA Promotes Meaningful EHRs

As members of the Medical Transcription Industry Association  (MTIA), PRN Funding recently received a mailing explaining that dictation and medical transcription is still the most preferred, effective method for documenting healthcare encounters. MTIA listed a handful of other reasons:

    1. At least 1.2 billion clinical records are produced in the United States each year.
    2. 60% of all clinical notes are documented via traditional dictation and transcription.
    3. No documentation method captures complex patient stories better than narrative dictation.
    4. Transcriptionists/editors ensure accuracy of clicnical information and support physicians in risk management.

    For a list of MTIA member companies, visit MTIA’s web site.

      Factoring Terminology

      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.

      Don’t Use Retirement Funds to Start a Business

      BusinessWeek’s SmartAnswers columnist, Karen E. Klein was recently asked: “I’d like to start an independent…business and have $50,000 in IRAs. Should I cash in my IRAs or get an ERSOP?”

      To which, Klein responded:

      “Cashing out your retirement savings, or investing it in a startup venture…is inherently risky and ill-advised. If things don’t work out…not only will you have no income, but you’ll also have no life savings.”

      Here are some ways Klein suggested this entrepreneur raise startup capital:

      1. Ask friends and family
      2. Research commercial lenders who specialize in your company’s industry
      3. Reach out to nonprofit microlenders
      4. Consider angel investors

      Another financing option entrepreneurs should consider is invoice funding. With this type of financing, a business owner sells his/her invoices to a factoring firm, who then advances up to 90 percent of the invoice immediately. Business owners can use the cash immediately to cover payroll, taxes and equipment costs instead of waiting weeks or months for their customers to pay them.

      Click here to see the rest of Klein’s advice on using retirement funds to start a business.

      AHDI-West Schedules Productivity Webinar

      Betsy Ertel, AHDI-F, is hosting the AHDI-West “Power of 10” Technology Webinar #2 on Thursday, October 29 1-2:30 pm PDT. The title of the web presentation is: Looking at Expansions Through Windows.

      Topics to be discussed include the following:

      1. Concept, Benefits and Value of Abbreviation Technology
      2. Working in Windows with Expander Programs
      3. Conflicts with Do’s and Don’t’s in Creations
      4. Interactive Abbreviations with Feedback vs. Long-Form Keyword Name Creations

      Registration is $10, and is open through October 27. Visit the AHDI-West web site to register for this webinar.

      All proceeds will be sent to AHDI and contributed to the Power of 10 campaign. For more information, contact Kat King, AHDI-F, at events@ahdi-west.org.

      Staffing World 2009 Kicks Off Today

      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.

      American Cash Flow Goes Bankrupt

      On October 9, Telligenix (parent company of Dynetech Corp) filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to shield itself from creditors. According to an article on The Orlando Sentinal: “The company blamed the economic slump and recent suit by Texas, which accuses the company of deceptive trade practices in its training-seminar business.”

      For those of you who went to the American Cash Flow Institute, this article is a must read: Dynetech parent company files for Chapter 11.

      Moreover, the B2G Institute is under fire as well.  A Huntsville, Alabama TV-News station recently did some digging into this business and found out that the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida has had a lot of complaints. Check out the startling report here: B2G Institute Investigation.

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