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

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Author: Holly A. Hunt
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Discount Category: Book

Selling Price: $18.95
Buy New: $17.05
Potential Savings: $1.90 (10%)

New (13) Used (3) from $15.27

Customer Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars 11 comments

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 237
Shipping Weight (pounds): 0.9
Dimensions (inch): 9.1 x 6 x 0.7

ISBN: 0393704483
Dewey Decimal Number: 610.68
EAN: 9780393704488

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

Customer Comments:
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5 out of 5 stars Essentials of Private Practice   December 3, 2008
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.


4 out of 5 stars by a therapist for a therapist   June 20, 2008
 3 out of 3 found this comment useful.

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.


5 out of 5 stars An indispensable resource for a profitable doctor's office   November 19, 2007
 3 out of 3 found this comment useful.

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, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding



3 out of 5 stars Not helpful for marketing and introducing a new practice   November 8, 2007
 16 out of 16 found this comment useful.

I purchased this book as I was looking for ways to introduce my private practice to the community I live in and how to ethically market counseling services. I found nothing of help in the book regarding those topics. I also found that the book contained information that seemed redundant if you already have your practice started. I did think the forms were helpful, but find the ones in The Paper Office much more despcriptive and professional. The book was easy to read and contained basic start up information, such as picking a location for your office that is safe. There are also sections on how to select a cell phone or land line, how to join a group if you chose to, and resolving issues with billing.

The insurance section was helpful.

The contents of the book include: Arranging your practice right from the start, choosing an office that fits your practice, selecting cost-effective communication systems. Steamlining the first appointment (basically, how to best leave a confidential message with a client), verifying insurance, billing insurance and getting paid quickly. Managing finances wisely and collecting the fees you've earned, implementing a successful cancellation policy and establishing phone practices and policies.

If you are already sure of how to begin your practice and have the paperwork in place, but are unsure on how to market or find more clients, I would suggest not purchasing this book as it is more important in earlier phases of basic decision making with your practice.




4 out of 5 stars useful advice for many practices   May 26, 2006
 8 out of 8 found this comment useful.

Much of the advice in the book is applicable to any professional who wants to start her own practice. Not necessarily restricted to mental health workers. She offers useful tips in many mundane details of getting started and also in minimising your costs. The latter is vital, especially if you are starting a new practice of your own, and probably will have to carefully watch expenditure.

The extended discussion about dealing with insurance companies probably understates the amount of effort [paperwork] required in actually getting reimbursed.