Rehab Reading Room

Articles by Nancy Beckley

Compliance 101: Physical therapy, the referring physician and Stark regulations

Do Physicians have long referred their patients for physical therapy services to community and hospital-based physical therapy and rehab departments. Many physician practices, particularly those that have the propensity to refer large volumes of patients for physical therapy in particular, have developed therapy services and clinics within their practice. Following the enactment of Stark I, many physician groups divested their therapy practices amid concerns of non-compliance with the self-referral law.
The landscape of physician-owned physical therapy practices (POPTS) has been repopulated over the past decade as physician groups have taken advantage of the in-office ancillary exception available under the Stark II regulations. more-

Therapy provided "incident to":  Developing a framework for compliance by identifying risk

Do you provide physical or occupational therapy services incident to your practice? Are you considering
adding these services? This article will provide your practice with a basic framework for understanding key elements of a voluntary compliance program with an emphasis on risk areas that have been identified by the OIG.  Background:  The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services (OIG) issued the final version of its “Compliance Program for Individual and Small Group Practices” (Guidance) in October of 2000. The Guidance stressed the voluntary nature of a compliance program, but also highlighted the benefits that such a program can confer on physician practices, not only to do the right thing, but also to streamline business operations.  more-

Get the Buzz: Therapy practices can attract new customers by creating good word of mouth

Do you have enough patients in your practice? Are you making enough money? It has been several years now since the glory days of Medicare cost-based reimbursement and a lot of outpatient rehab has ended.  If you are waiting for the return of the good old days, or hoping one of the national rehab trade associations can bring them back, your competitors may have a good start on you, if they stopped worrying about the good old days and started buzzing about what is going on now. more-

Examining your goals .... in order to bring them to fruition    

I negotiated more than $75 million in managed care contracts on an annual basis when I was the administrative director of managed care and business development for one of Florida's largest hospitals. Throughout my career, I have taken many courses on negotiation and have read every version of "getting to yes." But I always felt that my best negotiating skills were learned from being the parent of a teenager. more-

Marketing for the Future: Tactics for effectively marketing rehabilitation as a service, not a product

What type of marketing activities and strategies work for rehabilitation facilities? In the days of old-translate that to mean the health care marketing days of the 1980s- the best marketing strategy was simply to announce a new program or service and wait for the folks to fill up your facility. During this era, we saw the unprecedented growth of a tremendous number of programs in all of health care. more-

So You Want To Be a Consultant

I hear from several readers each month who want to chat about the column, ask my opinion about the state of affairs in rehab with managed care as well as Medicare regulations, and what it is like to be a “consultant.” I have recently fielded a number of calls from folks who are curious about consulting, looking for consulting positions with an established firm (they always want to know “are you hiring?”), or looking to be entrepreneurial and considering consulting as a career move. Someone even suggested that I write a column on how to catch the entrepreneurial spirit and start a consulting practice.more-

Rethinking Your Marketing Savvy

Are you doing the same old stuff for marketing? Is your tried-and-true strategy still working? Or are you using the same old mix because it is comfortable? I talked to a lot of the rehab marketing folks (and those therapists who treat patients, run a facility, and do the marketing) over the summer, and I am still hearing stories about candy jars, pizza runs, and prescription pads. When I asked how these gimmicks were working, the responses were not overwhelmingly convincing. more

Staying on the Offensive

Using the “take what the competition gives you” approach to surpass your competitors. I recently heard an NFL quarterback comment on television that you need to “take what the defense gives you” and not force anything because that’s when you get in trouble. Why is it important to let the defense give you something, and how does that relate to the rehab entrepreneur looking for new programs and opportunities?more

Getting Your Business Back on Track

Achieve short- and long-term goals by following five easy steps that address a variety of strategies from evaluating your stockholders to capturing your dreams. We are all easing into a comfort zone with the reimbursement environment, which does not mean that we like it, but after years of managed care growth, changes in workers’ compensation and Medicaid, and the struggles with Medicare, we have become accustomed. The accelerated economic growth of the past several years appears to have stalled at best, and declined at worst. This happens at a time when the Baby Boom generation is poised to join the Medicare set and health care consumption will begin to pick up. Is your business on the fast track to identifying opportunities in the new economy?   more-

Your Time Toolbox: How to Find Time to Accomplish Your Goals and Follow Your Dreams

Has your year gotten off to a good start? Remember those New Year's resolutions? Still on track with your goals? Over the past year I have gradually transitioned from a rehab consultant to a professional and personal coach. It seemed a logical entrepreneurial step to take in my consulting practice. more-

Welcoming Serendipity: Keeping your eyes and your heart open can lead to new opportunities in rehab and beyond

The last rush of association meetings before the year is over is coming to a close. This year, as I attended the National Association of Rehabilitation Agencies (NARA) meeting in Las Vegas and The American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA) meeting in Cape Cod, Mass, I could not help but notice the change in spirit and the upswing in mood.  more-

Capture the Spirit:  How seeing yourself as an entrepreneur can move you closer to achieving your dreams.

Over the past several months, many of you have been talking about the challenges and opportunities (yes, opportunities!) involved in being a therapist today. We all know that we are not going back to the days of exceptional salaries, great third-party reimbursement, and outstanding career opportunities. However, the future holds the opportunity to capture the spirit of whom you want to be as a therapist, employee, supervisor, or owner. How can we capture the spirit? How do we move our creative ideas forward? We need to don the persona of an entrepreneur. more-

Staving off the Stale Cookie :  How flat marekting ideas can hinder your facility's success and how to indroduce innovation into your marketing plan.

Now that things have settled down from the latest introduction of memos and explanations courtesy of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, if you have decided to stay in the therapy business, perhaps you are looking to diversify your payor mix. This process involves innovative marketing.  more-

quick links

10-6-2008: CMS Announces New Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)

10-4-2008: OIG Releases New Rehab Fraud Case.

10-1-2008:  OIG Issues 2009 Work Plan:  Private practice therapy is identified.