by Deborah Tucker on April 19, 2013
The title says it all. This is not a good idea for so many reasons. This week I heard a story that will really convince you.
I heard about a therapist, an excellent, conscientious person, who was on her LinkedIn profile, and somehow told it to “find friends” or the equivalent thereof. So LinkedIn sent “invitations” to everyone on her email list (which means she had to give it her username and password), including a disgruntled client. This client then reported her to the board, who dismissed the charge. But the client is also suing her, apparently for malpractice for violating confidentiality.
Although this is the first time I have heard of a complaint, it isn’t the first time I have heard of a therapist making this mistake and accidentally mailing to clients. How to prevent it? Don’t put email addresses into online address books. Use a different type of email client like Thunderbird that only “lives” on your computer, or use a CRM program (Contact Relationship Management) like ACT that again only lives on your computer.
Prevention is the best policy!
by Deborah Tucker on January 17, 2013
CPT codes changed as of January 1, 2013 and I found it a little confusing initially. However, after talking to some colleagues who deal with getting insurance authorizations, and reading Barbara Griswold’s excellent Special Report (available for purchase on her website), I think I’ve got it figured out for my practice. I’m just going to share what applies to me, and leave the more comprehensive analyses for other to go over.
I’ve generally only used three codes: 90801 for initial sessions, 90806 for individual 50 minute sessions, and 90847 for family therapy. Initial sessions are an easy switch. They are now 90791, Diagnostic evaluaiton (no medical). 90847 remains the same if there is an identified patient but the family or relationship in the room is the focus of treatment. For sessions that only incidentally involve a family member (such as bringing a parent in for a few minutes), you’d use the code for individual therapy.
And that’s where I got hung up for a while. The choices are 90834 for a 45 minute session, and 90837 for a 60 minute session. My mind works in a way that said, “Round upwards”, so I had thought 90837 would be correct. After reading Barbara Griswold’s report, I learned that 90837 is viewed as the equivalent of the old 90808, an extended session that is likely to be denied or require special authorization. So, 90834 it is. It will be interesting to see if the insurance companies use that code change as a change to shave a few dollars from their contracted rate. Even though I’m not on any panels, that will still impact some of my client’s reimbursements.
In addition to Barbara Griswold’s site, I found some helpful information at Practice Central, and 2 great “crosswalk” charts at Aetna’s site and http://www.aetna.com/healthcare-professionals/assets/documents/Crosswalk-2013-CPT-4-Coding-Changes.pdf
by Deborah Tucker on October 6, 2012
After being in practice for 30 years, I am a big fan of being paperless whenever possible. Otherwise, I think I’d be at risk by now of being buried by cartons of old files and other records. But if you’re going to go paperless, you must back up!
First of all, we have a professional responsibility to keep our client records, and that is literally part of the standard of care. Licensing boards don’t want to hear that your hard drive crashed and you lost the patient records. Secondly, for our own peace of mind, we need to know that our data is safe from equipment error. [click to continue…]
by Deborah Tucker on September 1, 2012
I hear this question all the time, and read about it as well. Is a therapy practice some “different sort of animal”‘ or is it a business like any other sort of income- earning endeavor? I have never really understood why people feel the need to frame the question as some sort of “either-or” construct. Certainly a therapy practice is a different sort of business than selling purses, or computers, or building airplane parts, or flipping houses. I don’t think I need to go into detail about how it is different. [click to continue…]
by Deborah Tucker on April 29, 2012
Starting the Practice Success Tools blog and website has been a fun and also humbling experience. I really love talking to therapists about practice-building and marketing, and I have lots of great ideas for how to build this site so that it can be really helpful. Finding the time to do more on it has been another story. Or, to be completely honest with myself and you, realizing that I have to choose how to spend my time very consciously has been enlightening.
This is true for all of us, and impacts how we build our practices. I am fortunate in that I’ve been in practice a long time in a city that has been very kind to me. So I am busy and that is good, but it’s not so good for this website. I have a very conscious set of priorities in how I focus my time, and often, I “run out of week” before I get to some of the things on my list. On the business side of things, first comes my current clients and current practice administration. Next comes following up on thank-you’s to those who have sent new referrals. Then comes practice development and marketing, which I write about in more detail in the Practice Success Tools newsletter (shameless plug to sign up for our free membership!) [click to continue…]
by Deborah Tucker on April 10, 2012
Yesterday I decided to take a deeper look at LinkedIn for networking purposes. Oh my! I’ve been having so much fun, I’m going to need to rein myself in and get back to my “regular” work at my practice.
Specifically I found the group Links for Shrinks, and from them Facebook Marketing for Mental Health Professionals. These are really interesting groups, with great discussions. We’ll see what transpires from this. It’s an area I’ve been wanting to learn more about. As I learn, I’ll be publishing, here and even more so in the member newsletter. You’ll receive it when you sign up for our free membership. Happy networking!
by Deborah Tucker on February 11, 2012
A new Federal tax law will impact how you report your sales, meaning income, numbers for income earned beginning in 2012. You will need to have two separate lines, one for income received as cash and checks, and one for income received from merchant cards and other third-party payors, like Paypal.
So you’ll want to check now that your bookkeeping system keeps track of this so that you don’t have an annoying problem come this time next year, when you are preparing your taxes. I use Quicken (not Quickbooks) and I will be adding a subcategory under my normal “Client fees” category for credit card payments. That way at the end of the year it will automatically print out correctly.
If you use spreadsheets, add an extra column. If you work from your bank statements or checkbook register, you could even just use the “yellow highlighter” method. Whatever works for you is fine. I just recommend that you start your system now. That way, you can work out any kinks as you go along, too.
by Deborah Tucker on February 4, 2012
How to find the right balance between work and life is a dilemma for many of us. Here’s a wonderful quote I just came across. I think it’s great, and hope you do too!
Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls—family, health, friends, integrity—are made of glass. I you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.
Suzanne’s Diary to Nicholas, by James Patterson.
by Deborah Tucker on January 28, 2012
This isn’t about practice-building, but sometimes, feeding our soul is really important.
Check out this link to inspirational TV spots, stories and more, all based on values. This one is on Character, and is a nice response to school bullying
http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/72-Locker
by Deborah Tucker on January 21, 2012
As part of my New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided that, despite a busy schedule, I need to get out of the office and do some more networking. It’s a very good problem to have, this situation of being busy enough that attending networking meetings is difficult. But a problem it definitely is, because referral sources can disappear, through attrition if nothing else. [click to continue…]
