PRN Funding: Not a Commodity Business After All

Last week, we had the opportunity to welcome back a client who had previously left us for a “cheaper” factoring firm. In exchange for “lower rates,” this client received less industry experience, poor customer service, and numerous hidden fees and surcharges, which PRN is fundamentally opposed to. In the end, all of these things drove them right back to PRN Funding barely three months after leaving.

Some services PRN Funding offers that the other factoring firm did not:

Familiarity with the agency’s clients:

Because of PRN Funding’s specialized niche in healthcare staffing funding, we worked with this company’s debtors (clients) before, so we already knew what type of payment terms to expect and who to call when there was a question about an invoice or recent payment.

Quick turnaround time:

Because PRN Funding has been in business for nine years, we understand the complexities of the accounts receivable factoring industry. We were able to process the buyout agreement quickly and initiate a funding within days.

Superior customer service:

PRN Funding takes pride in our customer service. Every time the nurse staffing agency calls the PRN office, a live human being answers the phone and directs the nurse staffing agency owner to his personal account manager.

Dedicated staff:

The account managers at PRN Funding take the time to research and post complicated deposits directly. The well-trained and committed staff at PRN Funding work diligently to correctly post deposits in a timely basis every day.

Real time online reporting:

PRN Funding’s clients have access to the e-Factor reporting system via our web site 24/7/365. Rather than wondering what payments came in or what invoices are still open, this nurse staffing client is able to log into the reporting system and view their account in real-time.

Frustrated with the new factoring company’s lack of nurse staffing industry knowledge and inexperience in the factoring industry, this client found out the hard way that accounts receivable factoring firms are not a one size fits all.

This isn’t the first time that a client has come back to us after an unpleasant experience with another factoring company. And we have to admit that we’re really happy they came back!

2007: The Year of Small Business Firm Lending

According to a recent article in the Washington Business Journal, there was an 8 percent increase from 2006 to 2007 in the dollar volume of small business loans.

Citing a report conducted by the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, the article also announced that the number of outstanding small business loans under $1 million increased by 15 percent between June 2006-June 2007.  In addition, the number of small business loans in the $100,000 to $1 million range increased by 32 percent!

Click here to read the entire write up: Lending to Small Firms up in 2007.

KLAS Reports Decline in Offshore Medical Transcription Usage

Healthcare Informatics posted a brief article in regards to a new Orem, Utah-based KLAS Medical Transcription Services Organizations (MTSO) report.  The data from the report shows a decline in MTSOs using offshore medical transcription services.

38% of the 400 MTSOs surveyed said they used offshore transcription services in 2007, and this year, the number has dropped 3 points to 35%.

KLAS also reported that “quality, turnaround time and cost continue to be the main drivers for engagements in this market segment…Adding that healthcare providers are faced with growing dictation volumes, a shrinking transcription labor force, and rising costs due to the influx of new technologies being introduced to hospitals.”

Click here to read the entire post: KLAS: MTSO Use of Offshore Transcription Services Dropping

Annual Asset-Based Lending and Factoring Survey Released

PRN Funding, LLC received the results of The Commercial Finance Association’s (CFA) Annual Asset-Based Lending and Factoring Surveys last week, and we wanted to share some of the interesting information with The Factoring Blog’s readers. (Please note that there were 100 asset-based lenders and factors who participated in the surveys.)

– The total factoring volume for all reporting CFA factoring members was $90.1 billion in 2007, a 3.1% increase over 2006.

– The Northeast (CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) represented the major regional market (43%) for factoring in terms of volume.

– The majority of the 2007 factoring volume came from the following industries: textiles, apparel and  furniture.

– Retailers accounted for most of the customer (account debtor) base in 2007.

– 83% of factoring was performed on a notification basis in 2007.

– 77% of the total 2007 factoring volume involved clients selling goods to retailers.

– Brokers (cash flow consultants) were the major source of referrals for new factoring clients.

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.

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