The Healthcare Entrepreneur Blog » economic slowdown

Another update on the recession, doctors, and payments

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:59:50 +0000

A recent article in Physicians Practice does a great job of outlining how the recession is impacting health care in different ways. Outpatient surgeries have dropped while outpatient walk-in visits are up.

Something tells me it’s a good time to have some conservative options under your practice’s belt.

Bottom line: Now is not the time to be driven by unanalyzed fears or groundless optimism. Be responsible for understanding your

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Economic slowdown requires quick business

Bridget Morehouse PT, MBA — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:01:29 +0000

When working with practices, I often hear comments like this:

“It’s hard to compete with the hospitals, they have all the physicians locked in”
“It’s hard to compete with XYZ rehab corporation, they have so many locations”
“XYZ company has all the insurance contracts.”

However, in times of change, more is not always better. Small businesses – specifically private practices – may not have every insurance contract, every referral source locked up, or…

Economic slowdown, new opportunities for change

Bridget Morehouse PT, MBA — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:01:49 +0000

Introduction by Tannus Quatre PT, MBA

I am pleased to welcome Bridget Morehouse PT, MBA to The Healthcare Entrepreneur. Bridget is a consultant with Steffes & Associates, a rehabilitation consulting firm based in Wisconsin. Bridget holds a Master’s degree in physical therapy and a Master’s in business administration from Marquette University, and is the reimbursement specialist for both the Wisconsin and Florida…

Vantage in the news: “Keep the doors open” program (The Bulletin)

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:44:09 +0000

A popular program offered by Vantage Clinical Solutions received attention in The Bulletin today. The program is called “Keep the Doors Open,” and is the company’s response to the economic slowdown that is having a dire…

2009 may be a rough start for physicians

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:04:09 +0000

Some recent data suggests that physicians in private practice may have a slow start in 2009. This includes information from the American Hospital Association (AHA) which indicates that physicians are seeking more financial shelter from hospitals who typically provide a portion of a physician’s income through on-call responsibilities and basic employment.

Additional data from Medical Meetings and Medscape Medical News indicates that physicians may…

Medical practice in the slow economy

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:34:50 +0000

Medical practice in the slow economy is – to put it bluntly – tough. Requiring difficult decisions by physician owners with regard to ways to cut expenses, outsource billing operations, maximize reimbursement, and still provide quality patient care, the economic recession has wreaked havoc on many private practices to date.

And there is more to come.

I blogged about the closure of a small medical practice…

Adjusting ARM’s and reduced home equity placing medical bills second in line

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:32:52 +0000

In this article published in the Wall Street Journal online, the issue is addressed whereby the housing crisis is impacting the ability for Americans to pay their medical bills. This has been in the works for some time now, and with many ARM’s readjusting and the amount of equity in Americans’ homes seriously deflated, medical bills are piling up simply because they have to.

Medical practices…

New hospital economic data provides insight into private practice economics

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:43:49 +0000

Hospitals are only separate from private medical practices by virtue of their specialty and operations, not their economic disposition.

New data from the American Hospital Association indicates that not only are elective procedures down, but also overall admissions as well. Additionally, the data indicate that there is a significant increase in the number of patients who can’t afford the cost of their care.

These data should catch the attention of…