THE PRIVATE PRACTICE SURVIVAL GUIDE

This instructional debut aims to
provide an entrepreneurial jolt to those who own private health care practices.

Private practice consultant and
business coach Seigel knows from experience that clinicians typically focus
more on their clients than they do on running a business. That’s why “the #1
question clinicians don’t like to answer,” he says, is “How much money do you
want to make?” In this comprehensive handbook, the author gently guides private
practice owners through business basics, including goal-setting, making
business plans, using measurement criteria for success, marketing, managing
personnel, and more. All the while, Seigel addresses specific concerns, making
no assumptions about how much business knowledge readers may have. The author
effectively highlights common misperceptions and blunders, employing the proven
technique of combining tips with illustrative real-life anecdotes. Some of the
book’s most valuable advice is about insurance plans. He explains such concepts
as copayment, co-insurance, contracted charges, and benefits verification in
uncomplicated terms; his tips regarding “in-network” services are particularly
helpful. So, too, is his inclusion of a key metric regarding private health care
insurance, which he goes on to explain in detail: “60 percent of your funding
should be cash flow positive in 30 days or less from the date of service.” The
book’s coverage of legal and regulatory compliance, including labor laws and
employment regulations, sometimes dives deeply into the weeds, but it’s just
these kinds of details that can trip up private practitioners if they pay them
little heed. The closing chapter summarizes the book’s content and offers
bullet-pointed steps in essential areas, including contracting, operations,
marketing, business development, and clinical setup. This primerlike approach
should prove instructive for private practitioners who are just starting out,
but the author’s counsel may also assist experienced practitioners in
fine-tuning their practice’s business side. Indeed, some of the book’s more
general advice could easily be applicable to client-centered consulting
practices in fields other than health care.