Who is Solo-Solo?

[Guest guest]

Hi all; it looks like Tim is totally solo, it sounded

like Pamela Wimble is; this is my area of highest

interest to minimize headache especially at the

beginning by not having other office staff; I'm lookig

at a location opportunity that would allow me to have

no staff.

Any suggestions? Pro's Cons?

-Shay Hosseinion

--- Egly wrote:

> Good work Tim!

>

>

>

> " Malia, MD " wrote:

> Hi Folks --

>

> It's time for me to do as some others have done and

> pass along some happy

> news... my new office officially opens in two days,

> Monday March6!

>

> First, a giant " Thank You " to everyone for sharing

> their experiences and

> opinions on this list. Over these three years or so

> I've learned a lot

> from all of you. And until recently I didn't realize

> it, but it's true,

> the list does feel like a bit like family.

>

> Second, a warning... you should get another email

> (likely on Sunday or so)

> from me with a link to a Kodak site to view some

> photos. You do not have

> to register (unless you want to order photos...?)

> and it's not junk email.

>

> The photos will be of my office and will range from

> the barebones space I

> started with last month to whatever it looks like

> tomorrow after putting

> in lots of hours this weekend.

>

> About the office... about 50 patients have already

> had their medical

> records copied and sent to me. I have about 25

> patients already

> registered on RelayHealth. I have four patients

> booked for Monday... for

> five appts (one is a Workers Comp follow up who is

> also diabetic so he's

> got two appts to bill each with different

> insurance). Interestingly, 3 of

> the 4 patients are Deaf... but that is one of my

> clinical interest areas

> as I know sign language and have served large

> numbers of Deaf patients for

> many years.

>

> I have 10 appts booked on AppointmentQuest for the

> next two weeks... five

> were set up by the patient him/herself and the

> others by me with patient

> on the phone. I think that ratio is a good sign,

> though I admit the

> earliest registered patients may be more tech-savvy

> so it may be a

> statistical glitch.

>

> My technology stuff has held up pretty well through

> my first week of

> having all the pieces together... a " loaded " Toshiba

> Tecra convertible

> laptop-tablet with a port at the office for easy

> connection to everything

> there... HP color laser printer (on sale for

> $299)... Panasonic scanner

> (expensive, but it's worked GREAT so far -- dealer

> is a local small

> businessman who is has already referred his son to

> me and has been a good

> link to the local community, so the extra expense of

> the machine has

> already paid off as opposed to buying online) ...

> EMR= AC... OneBox.com

> for voice mails, faxes and some emails (has worked

> great so far and VM is

> fast with my DSL line and computer) ... single tel

> line with all

> calls/faxes sent to OneBox.com (btw, tel company rep

> on the phone I've

> worked with to set up line and DSL, after regular

> calls back and forth, is

> becoming my patient too!)... Treo 700W (new and I'm

> just getting started

> with it, but it's been good so far)... about to tie

> in voice recognition

> with local highly-recommended " training " company.

>

> I've tried to think about and come to good decisions

> along the way for

> where to spend money and thusfar I'm satisfied the

> few times I've put out

> larger sums. Each time I can see a reason and have

> already seen some

> benefit with referrals and good advise about other

> businesses/resourses.

>

> I didn't realize it, but this world of small

> business does run on

> handshakes and relationships. A good financial deal

> at one point may not

> benefit you later. But a good relationship with a

> colleague can keep

> growing with time. Financial choices are not just

> about the current

> dollars but are " investments " for the future. At

> this point however, I'm

> mostly all set so there won't be many more outlays

> of money.

>

> Anyway, I've not run the numbers but I'd estimate my

> start up costs are

> about $25,000 and I've been able to arrange for

> some of that to delay

> payment (no interest) which will help my early cash

> flow but require me to

> keep track and be sure I have cash available when

> they come due. I've got

> a $50,000 small business loan with a low interest

> rate and my minimum

> payment is 1% a month. I only pay what I take out

> of it too... thus far

> $20,000. My technology overhead (www, online

> messaging, online

> scheduling, cell phone, etc) is about $450/month and

> I doubt I'll go over

> the limits for use with the way I set the contracts.

> I've got no staff...

> one of my mottos is, " it's just me, the patients,

> our computers and our

> phones! "

>

> Now I've got to go and finish painting trim (have

> put it off all week),

> put up some shelving, paint a few last pieces of

> funiture, move my last

> two pieces of furniture and straighten up the

> office...!

>

> I'm sure many of you recall the feeling, but right

> now the office feels

> like a jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces spread on

> the table. At this

> point they are all faced right-side-up but only

> small bunches are all

> attached... I've got the border and some bunches of

> similar colors, but

> really it is still not put together! ;-)

>

> Overall, this feels good! The mild anxiety is mixed

> with joy.

>

> Thanks to you all for helping me get here.

> I'll be sending the pictures and will share with the

> group any thoughts or

> observations about office or practice as time goes

> on.

>

> 7:40... time to get to the office as I hit the

> homestretch!!!

> Tim

>

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