6 Ways To Keep In Touch With Clients

Sep
30
2010
by Tamara Suttle

On Monday,  I reminded you that when considering ways to keep in touch with your clients, it’s critical that you consider the legal and ethical implications.  Assuming you’ve taken those into consideration, believe that it is in yourImage of 6 Numbers client’s best interest for you to keep in touch, and have his or her permission to do so, here are six ways that you may be able to ethically, professionally, and effectively accomplish that . . . .

  1. Send holiday and birthday greetings.
  2. Send monthly newsletters.
  3. Send quarterly practice “updates” noting any new training you have achieved, colleagues that have joined your practice, or changes in the hours that you are seeing clients.
  4. Send supplementary information that you may run across relevant to a particular client’s interests.
  5. Send information about new support groups in your community.
  6. Send thank-you notes for referrals.

In other words, look for ethical, legal, and professional opportunities to stay connected to your clients throughout the year.

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How To End Your Relationship With Insurance Panels – Part 1

Sep
19
2010
by Tamara Suttle

(This is the first of a two-part post on terminating your
relationship with insurance and managed care companies.)

Earlier this month, I received this email from Marian Moldan, LCSW-R in New York. She wrote:

I have been in private practice for the past 30 years. I have recently decided to leave the insurance panels because they are eating up my family and client time with little or no financial return to speak of. Do you recommend sending a letter to clients first to prepare them for the change and then sending a letter to the panels? Thank you for a wonderful website, Marion.”Image of Insurance Claim form

Marian! Congrats to you! And, I’m so glad you asked . . . . I, too, started out by applying to get on a zillion insurance and managed care panels. After several years of spending more time on billing, getting re-authorizations, completing mounds of paperwork, and ultimately losing thousands of dollars when the insurance companies refused to pay for my professional services already rendered, I resigned from all panels. I am happy to say that I have now been a fee-for-service practice for about 15 years and it feels great . . . !

Before you notify your clients of your decision to remove yourself from insurance panels, you should take time to read your contracts. Remember you have entered into legal obligations with each of the panels that you are on. Most insurance companies stipulate the process for terminating your relationship with them. All require written notice from a provider. Some require a minimum length of time before the termination goes into effect. They may even require that you continue to work with clients already under your care at a previously contracted rate. Read your contracts before you do anything.

If you are ready to leave insurance panels behind, re-read those contracts and check back in here.  In my next post, I’ll tell you what other steps you should take to ethically, professionally, and effectively end your relationship with insurance and managed care.

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Filed under: Insurance | Managed Care, Money Matters, Risk Management, Stress Busters, Time, To-Do's Tagged with , , ,
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The Therapist’s Networking Guide: Be Very Clear – Is It Personal Or Professional?

Oct
6
2009
by Tamara Suttle

This is part of an episodic series, The Therapist’s Networking Guide.
To see the previous post in this series, click here.

Donna loves Yorkies.  She has decided that a good way to make new friends is to organize a Yorkie Meetup Group.  That will get her out in the community as well as allow her to meet other Yorkie-lovers.

Donna is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who wants to build her private practice. Is the Yorkie MeetUp Group a good way for her to get clients?”

Definitely YES! Meetup Groups, as well as support groups and other special interest venues can be great ways to network.  At these groups you will find other folks with similar interests who are interested in meeting other people.

It’s here that you can really get to know individuals (and, more importantly, they can get to know you).  As other Halloween-lovers get to know you and run across clients of their own in need of your services, they will likely refer directly to you!

Definitely NO! On the other hand, as a mental health professional, you cannot ethically or legally hang out with the Yorkie Group, exchange dog stories, go have breakfast together, and then see someone from the Yorkie Group (now or later) as a client.  Neither can you see their family member or close friend as a client.

How to do it right? Be clear . . . very clear about what your purpose is when you venture out into the community and maintain the appropriate boundaries that go with that particular role.  Whether it is at church, . . . at a support group meeting, . . . at a fundraiser, . . .or at a formal business networking event, it is very likely that you cannot ethically or legally sit on a board of directors alongside your client.  You cannot go to Bible study with your client.  And, you cannot attend a brunch that is hosted by one of your favorite referral sources if your client is also attending.  

Note that ALL of these situations have come up for me.


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