<<First Name>>,
Where do you hang your hat when it comes to performing examinations?
Do you have an office? I'm curious and would love to hear what your office is like. Are there things you like about your office and/or things you don't like about your office? Do you have any interesting decorations or unique things in your office? Feel free to reply to this message and let me know!
Do you not have access to an office right now? Feel free to reply to this message and tell me why you don't have access to an office. If you'd like one, let me know what types of things would be good for your office. I'm happy to chat about it.
Want to know about my office? In addition to a few vanity items like awards and diplomas, there are pictures of what are supposedly the original six zambonis from the original six NHL teams. I also have a print of this painting which I've liked since I first saw it when I was in graduate school.
When we're doing file reviews we could do them from our kitchen table at home most of the time. However, when it comes to examinations/evaluations we need a professional space to meet with the examinee.
If you don't have an office, you do have options:
- you could talk with your employer about using their facilities
- you could rent a room part-time in someone else's office
- you could go ahead and just lease an office or buy one somewhere
- you could use a provider of virtual offices/part-time day offices
A virtual office option
I lease a full time office now myself. However, I lease it within a Regus office suite. I share receptionists and other common space with the other tenants in the suite (ex: attorneys, engineers, and various other companies). Truthfully, I only actually show up to my office a few times per month; the rest of the time I work from my home office or from within a state agency reviewing Social Security disability claims. The Regus receptionists collect my mail and greet my examinees for me. I chose to lease a small office within the suite full time because I got to the point where I had a steady stream of referrals for exams which more than made it worthwhile, and I liked having my own space where I could keep my things secure and not have to carry them back and forth from home.
However, I didn't start out with a full time office. I started out with a "virtual office." That means I paid a monthly fee for them to collect my mail at that address and answer my phone. I would come in when I needed to and use a private "day office" when I needed to that I scheduled ahead of time. For example, I could reserve a day office a few days per month and then schedule exams into those times as needed. As you grow you could then move into having your own full time office in the suite with the same address/phone if desired. It may not always be the cheapest option but there are plenty of services and it is affordable and may beat having an office with no staff that sits empty while you are at your day job.
Regus is a big company with offices all over the world, but there are other ones like it out there too. For example I just ran a quick google search and came up with additional companies like: Davinci Virtual, Carr Workplaces and Office Evolution. If you do sign up with Regus feel free to tell them I referred you. ;)
If you were thinking about just doing a few examinations on the side while keeping your day job you could always look into a part-time office lease option and/or day offices with a virtual office provider near you. Being able to use the address there without needing to pay for a full time office will also help you get credentialed with companies inexpensively and weather the lean startup period where you aren't getting referrals yet.
Interested in online appointment scheduling?
I've been using a website called checkappointments.com for a few years and I like it. It lets people schedule appointments with me directly online. I don't have to answer the phone and I don't need to have an employee answer the phone and schedule my appointments. The person can just see a list of my available appointments online and schedule one. You can see an example of it on my practice website www.toddfinnerty.com if you'd like. I recently noticed that checkappointments put a message on their website that they are changing their name to TimeTap and rolling out additional services. There are other companies out there as well that you may be interested in checking out; many will offer a free 30 day trial so you can play around with it. For example, another company is called Genbook.
Here are some opportunities for you:
Providers Wanted (Dane Street):
Denise Capua posted in our Facebook group: "Hi Everyone! I am looking for physicians for disability peer review and IME cases. Specifically looking for PMR, Rheumatologists, Gastroenterologists, Psychiatrists, Internal Med and Neurologists. Also looks for a few dual boards - Internal/Occ Med; Internal/Rheum and Internal/Gastro. Cases are national - but reviewers must be ABMS/AOIA certified if an MD/DO, and hold an active license. I can also use all other specialties/jurisdictions, so if you are available, even if not the above specialties, please let me know. My email is DCapua@danestreet.com. Thanks!"
Providers Wanted (Independent Evaluation Services, LLC)
Sean-Michael Liberatore posted in our Facebook group: "Hello, hope this message finds you all well!
As one of the National IME Physician Credentialing Coordinator for "Independent Evaluation Services, LLC", we are currently seeking reputable physicians that are willing and experienced in performing independent medical and psychiatric evaluations of every medical specialty for purposes of workers compensation claims STD/LTD disability claims, second opinions surgery consults, fitness for duty examinations, FMLA exams, permanent/partial disability ratings as well as life expectancy exams out of your medical office, upon the specific request of our client. We have been involved in the IME industry for a combined 40+ years and have established a trusted and cohesive working relationship with our physicians and our clients, which consist of Claims Specialists, Rehabilitation Nurse, Case Managers, Attorneys and Employers. We provide an array of services such as diagnostic testing, patient transportation, translators that support our physicians in completing the expert medical evaluations.We would be honored to add you to our panel of medical experts and should you agree to come aboard, please feel free to contact me! Thank you for your consideration!" email: Sean-Michael@ies-ime.com
LinkedIn
You might also be interested in checking out what is new in our LinkedIn group as well.
The Next Referral Source of the Month
If you want to weigh in on who should be the referral source of the month for February (the one year anniversary of the referral source of the month) please do so by commenting in the Facebook and/or Linkedin group by this coming Friday January 27th!
Here is some stuff from around the web:
Get Busy! Here are Some More Referral Sources:
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