Essentials of Private Practice: Streamlining Costs, Procedures, and Policies for Less Stress,   ISBN:9780393704488

Customer Rating: 

I remain interested in learning everything I can about running a bottom-line-focused practice. That includes, of course, an appropriate number of satisfied patients, appropriate spending, forward-thinking staff, etc. These are essentials in keeping a private practice in business these days. But, this book does not provide enough details towards this end. For example, almost the entire first half of the book is dedicated to finding a place to set up your business and also how to work within a group of providers (what that has to do with private practice is lost on me). If I had to do it over, I would not have invested in this book. I suggest you save your money and get it from the library if you are curious. If you want to spend money on a good book that is focused on the bottom-line, read "Maximizing Billing and Collections in the Medical Practice" by the AMA--you can buy it used on Amazon:Maximizing Billing and Collections in the Medical Practice It's full of insight on how to set up and keep your practice in business.

Customer Rating: 

I am a physician in the process of establishing my own practice - and wanted some books to help me along this path. I have been part of a large group, and therefore have some real world experience in the private practice world. This book's author is a psychologist, and I found many sections of the book were just not applicable for a medical practice. For example, in the section on scheduling appointments, the leading suggestion is that the practitioner schedule his/her own appointments as a means of establishing a personal connection. This just doesn't jibe with the reality of a medical practice which has a much higher volume of calls and patients than a therapist - who probably sees 6 to 8 patients per day. Many other aspects of the book are therapist-centric, and either irrelevant or simply inaccurate for a medical practice.

Customer Rating: 

I have been wanting to take the leap to private practice for sometime now and just haven't had the courage... a little scarey to be off on my own. I have friends who have encouraged me so I needed a little more guidance. This book really helped me with seeing that YES it is doable and I can do it. It is an easy read with lots of basic, common sense info plus stuff I didn't really think about. Knowing the basics about business and then that being confirmed really helps with the confidence aspect. This book has lots of great stuff you need, precautions to take and how to plan your approach.

Customer Rating: 

Reading this book is almost like having a supervisor or elder colleague share advice and guidance as you venture to start or improve your practice. The flow is easy, practical, and provides examples of how details can affect you and your clients. The layout is bland and summary boxes seem incomplete or cramped for space, but over all a helpful and easy read.

Customer Rating: 

Don't read this book if your only motivation to start your own practice is your personal independence and flexibility. If your only ambition is to break away from being a salaried employee, think again.

But if you wish to learn how to run a PROFITABLE doctor's office in an adversarial insurance companies' dominated environment, this book is one of the best resources to start your learning. The book is organized in three parts focusing on lowering your overhead, simplifying daily procedures, and implementing efficient client policies. As you read this book, you will learn about choosing an office to fit your practice, verifying insurance benefits, billing insurance companies, and managing your daily practice work flow to make sure you collect your fees and remain compliant. The book also includes useful appendices, such as forms for expense estimation, checklists for benefit check, billing tasks, and financial tasks, and an impressive list of professional organizations and practice management resources.

An indispensable resource for anybody building a profitable doctor's office.

Yuval Lirov, Medical Billing Networks and Processes - Profitable and Compliant Revenue Cycle Management in the Internet Age