Starting and Managing Your Own Physical Therapy Practice / Edition 1

by Samuel H. Esterson

Overview

This basic handbook on how to start up a private physical therapy practice is a hands-on guide for any physical therapist who is contemplating or preparing to go out on his/her own. Starting & Managing Your Own Physical Therapy Practice is a one-of-a-kind guide that offers insight into the how’s, what’s, and where’s of private business and gives the practitioner enough information and insight to veer him/her in the proper direction. This book is a guide map, a tool developed to open your eyes to what is necessary to open and run your own, successful practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763726317
Publisher:	Jones & Bartlett Learning
Publication date:	08/20/2004
Edition description:	1E
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	6.07(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Samuel Esterson is a licensed physical therapist with over twenty years experience working in many practice venues. From corporate to consulting, academia to private entrepreneurship, and mentor to hospital staff therapist, he has always aimed to get the most of his position, learning new and important things along the way. He is a driven man, always aiming for higher goals in practice and life in general. The author's most recent pursuit, that of earning his clinical doctorate in physical therapy, took him to the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences where he was a proud member of their first graduating class. Dr. Esterson earned a bachelor's in physical therapy in 1979 and upon graduation took a position at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City. Dr. Esterson credits Rusk with teaching him the basics of clinical care and management as well as offering him the possibility of attending New York University where, under the tutelage of Dr. Marilyn Moffat and Dr. Arthur Nelson, two of our profession's leading academics, he earned a master's degree in Pathokinesiology, the study of abnormal human motion. Over the years, Dr. Esterson worked in outpatient facilities and finally settled down into working with an established private practice group in the Washington, DC suburbs. Dr. Esterson gleaned as much business education as he could from his mentors there, finally opening his own private practice in Baltimore, Maryland in 1985. As business became rocky in the mid 1990s, the author decided to sell his practice to a publicly held corporate entity, remaining on site as clinical manager for two more years. In 1997, he opted to take a year's sabbatical to return to school and study Business Administration. He was accepted into and attended Bar Ilan University in Israel, earning an MBA in 1998. Upon return to Baltimore, Dr. Esterson was recruited to establish and manage a corporate-owned facility that he successfully grew until his most recent change of venue. The lure of private enterprise once again trapped Dr. Esterson so in 2002, he re-opened his own practice that is growing exponentially with the use of the valuable information found in the ensuing pages. Dr. Esterson is married to his wife of 21 years, a registered nurse in the Baltimore County Public Schools. Together they have three sons aged 17, 15 and 11.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	iii
	Preface	v
	Dedications and Appreciations	vii
	Introduction	XV
	A Note to the Reader	xv
	As Luck Would Have It	xvi
	Dream On	xvi
	About This Book	xvi
	Attention-Grabbing Symbols Used in This Book	xix
Chapter 1	Are You Sure You Want to Open a Practice?	1
	The Entrepreneurial Physical Therapist	1
	Should I Really Open My Own Practice?	2
	What Motivates You?	2
	Do You Have What It Takes?	3
	To SWOT or Not?	4
	Know Your Entrepreneurial Talents	5
	What Is My Goal in All of This?	7
	Can I Try It First to See If I Like It?	7
Chapter 2	Establishing the Structural Framework	9
	What's in a Name?	9
	What's Your Structure: Corporate or Solo?	11
	TIN Is Not Something with Which to Metal	16
Chapter 3	What's It All Cost?	17
	How Do I Create a Budget for This Venture?	17
	Cost Per Visit	17
	What's It All Cost, Alfie?	18
	Does This Venture Need to Cost Tons of Bucks?	19
	Break Dancin' When You Break Even	19
	It Costs Money to Make Money	21
	Dig Into Your Own Pockets, Pal	21
	What About Banks Lending You Money?	22
	What's the Equipment Cost? Can You Afford More? Can You Negotiate a Deal?	22
	Who Sells the Cheapest Furniture?	25
Chapter 4	You Can Bank on It!	27
	What? I Have to Pay to Keep Money in the Bank?	27
	Shop Till You Drop (Drop Your Money in that Account, That Is)	27
	Teller, Teller, Tell Me Do: What Information Does My Bank Need?	28
	Check, Please!	28
Chapter 5	Plan to Win	31
	What's a Mission Statement and Do I Need One?	31
	I've Got 20/20: Do I Still Need a Vision?	32
	What's a Business Plan? Should I Plan on Writing One?	33
	Now That I've Got a Plan, What Next?	36
Chapter 6	The Dream Team	37
	Who's with Me?	37
	How Do I Choose an Attorney and What Should I Expect?	37
	One, Two, Three: See, I Can Count. So, Why an Accountant?	38
	I'm Already Broke. So, Why an Insurance Broker?	39
	Bringing in the Dough: Knead a Billing Consultant?	39
Chapter 7	Setting Up Shop	43
	Where on This Green Earth Do I Locate This Venture?	43
	Real Therapists Don't Open Niche Practices	44
	What's Your Pleasure? General, Specialized, or Niche?	44
	Do I Need a License to Open This Business?	45
	Space Out!	46
	How Do You Know What You Want or Need?	46
	Wait Just a Minute!	47
	Now I'm Really Spacing Out: Do I Need a Space Planner?	48
	When Is a Lease Not a Leash?	49
	At Lease You Have a Beautiful Office Suite	50
	Punch List or Forever Hold Your Piece!	51
	The Technology You Can't Do Without	52
	My Computer Shopping List: Chips, RAM, and Burners	53
	Save Me! (and My Data Too, Please)	53
	Get Booking! Computerized or Manual Scheduling?	55
	Electronic Reporting: The Future is Now!	56
	Charge It! The Plastic Fantastique	59
	Equipment Galore: How Do I Know What to Explore?	60
	Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda: The Equipment Tango	60
	Face the Music	61
	Hello, Hello, Hello: Anyone Home?	62
	Ring, Ring, Ring...How Can One Person Answer Two Lines at Once? (and Other Problems You Hope to Have)	62
	Uh Oh! No One's Home	63
Chapter 8	Caring about Medicare	65
	Should I Care about Medicare?	65
	Medicare: What's in It for Me?	65
	That Custom Is Unusual	66
	Can You Cap This?	66
	What's an EOB?	67
	OK, OK-I Surrender: I'll Become a Medicare Provider	67
	Another Headache: Medicaid. Must I Care about That, Too?	69
Chapter 9	Marketing Magic	71
	Shouldn't I Think about Where My Patients Will Come From?	71
	Off To Market	71
	What about Creating a Marketing Plan Now?	71
	How Do I Drag the Patients through the Door?	72
	Promote Thyself!	74
	My Own Tricks	74
	How Do I Get My Hands on the Gold? Who Has the List?	75
Chapter 10	Advertising and Promotion	77
	Stationery, Forms, and Promotional Materials: Who Sells What?	77
	Where Do I Get All This Printed and Monogrammed Stuff?	78
	Make a Name for Yourself	79
	Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork: What Forms Do I Need?	81
	How Will People Know I Am Open for Business?	82
	Billboards and Billfolds: Do I Need to Advertise My Venture?	85
	Set Your Sights on a Website	86
Chapter 11	Mix It Up: The Recipe for Success	91
	What Do I Get Out of All This? What Are Gross Revenue and Net Revenue?	91
	How Much Is It?	91
	PPO and FFS: Proceed with Caution	93
	The Billing Game	93
	What's the Goal?	94
	The Payer Mix	94
	PIP	94
	Workmen's Compensation	94
	Commercial Carriers	95
	Managed Care and Preferred Provider Groups	95
	Risk If You Do and Risk If You Don't	96
	HMOs, PPOs, IPAs, and Other Abbreviated Players: Who Are They?	96
	HMOs	96
	PPOs and IPAs	97
	How to Tame the Managed Care Man-Eating Beast?	97
	The "C" Word: Don't Even Say It!	98
	If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em	99
Chapter 12	The Coding Game	101
	What You Code Is What You Get!	101
	CPT Codes	101
	ICD-9 Codes	102
	Take Charge! How and What Do You Charge for What You Do?	103
	How to Get Paid for What You Do	104
	Get Hip to HIPAA	104
	Notice of Privacy Practices	108
	Requested Amendments to the Patient Record	108
	Electronic Privacy Rules	108
Chapter 13	Accounting Numbers	111
	How to Keep Afloat in the Sea of Cash: Receivables and Payables	111
	What's a 941 Payment and Other Numbers Your Accountant Will Throw Your Way?	112
Chapter 14	I Need Help!	117
	How Do I Know How Much Help I'll Need to Start?	117
	What About Employees, Handbooks, and Other Human Resource Resources?	117
	Finding Sharp Staff in a Haystack (Try Networking!)	118
	Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe. How to Pick a Winner and Not a Shmoe?	119
	Who Will You Relish and Who Will Not Cut the Mustard?	121
	Now That I've Got 'Em, How Do I Keep 'Em?	122
	Play by the Rules: The Employee Handbook	122
Chapter 15	Is It Working Yet?	125
	Outcomes: How Will I Know It's Working?	125
	Your Sanity	127
	A Final Note	127
	Appendices	129
1	Sample Balance Sheet	131
2	Sample Income Statement	132
3	Sample Statement of Cash Flows	133
4	Sample Pro-Forma Budgets
	Year One (Conservative)	134
	Year Two	135
5	Sample Business Plan Outline	136
6	Sample Fee Schedule	140
7	Sample Physical Therapy Equipment List (New Office)	142
8	Break-Even Analysis	143
9	The Life Cycle of Your Claim	145
10	Interviewing Tricks of the Trade	146
11	Pre-Employment Reference Check Form	148
12	Sample Forms
	Payment Policy Form	149
	Office Encounter Form (Superbill)	152
	New Patient Registration Form	153
	Initial Physical Therapy Examination Form	154
	Medical History Questionnaire	156
	Patient Sign-In Sheet	157
	Assignment of Benefits Form	158
	Fax Cover Sheet	160
	Physical Therapy Prescription Pad	161
	Notice of Patient Information Practices	162
	Release of Records Form	163
13	Sample Employee Handbook Table of Contents Outline	164
14	Sample Employment Agreement	166
15	Resources for Further Information on Private Physical Therapy Practice	171
16	State Insurance Carrier List Example (State of Maryland)	173
17	Opening Day Checklist	174
18	Wise Words Author Listing	175
	About the Author	179
	Index	181