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.

Upbeat, authoritative, and practical.