Providing primary care services to homebound patients is both personally and professionally very satisfying. Most patients served are elderly or those with disabilities. To qualify for a home visit, Medicare rules do not require an individual never leave home, rather, they must have a medical condition that makes traveling to an office too exhausting or unmanageable to obtain proper care. Individuals can utilize the services of a homecare provider even though they are not currently qualified for skilled homecare nursing services. Primary care services include acute and chronic disease management, blood draws when necessary and occasionally simple diagnostic and surgical procedures. Patient care is much like that provided at the office, however, instead of the patient coming to see you, with the physical barriers to visits and common waiting room waits, you see the patient at their home. In addition to individual residences, independent senior care communities, and assisted care facilities are common focuses of the practice.

A home care practice is ideal for physicians and advanced nurse practitioners interested in providing care to seniors. A background in family medicine, internal medicinc, or emergency medicine, along with an interest in geriatrics is important. At a time when office expenses average 60-65 percent of collected revenue,

and reimbursement is stagnant or declining, many clinicians find the daily grind of five to six patients an hour frustrating.

By eliminating the office with its high fixed costs, and utilizing a “virtual office” package of services from MCA, one can see fewer patients each hour and spend appropriate time treating medically complex patients. MCA physicians with active practices commonly retain 65 percent of collected revenues for compensation and can earn 10-30% more compensation as compared to their colleagues with an office based practice.

Key to the success of this model is the elimination of the fixed expenses of office space, fixed staff salaries, staff benefits and the cost of office amenities. Utilizing the “virtual office” transforms these to variable expenses. MCA charges a percentage of collections to cover the cost of servicing patients, which makes practice startup easier, as fees are charged as revenue is collected. Patient records are available electronically through wireless service providers and the internet. Messaging is through text paging and cell phones. Paper work can be managed from lap or desk top computer and most documents placed in your work queue can be signed with a computer pen. “Drag and drop” these to your completed file and office staff will fax or mail to appropriate destinations.