BC Advantage (BCA): Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Kelly O'Brien (KOB):  I was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, I lived in Summit, NJ; Greenwich, CT; London, England; and Madison, CT. After living internationally, I decided to settle on the shoreline and raise 4 kids who are now 17, 18, 21, and 24.

Growing up in a very competitive and athletic family, I learned early on that passion and attention to detail were the crucial elements necessary to achieve my goals. My career path led me to excel in sports marketing with The Boston Sports Group, and my own personal training and fitness and wellness company.

All of these positions required a strong focus on marketing and sales, but most importantly an acute attention to detail, serving the customer with the highest level of professionalism, and dedication to achieving the best results possible.

I have always had an interest in helping others and was recently named the Chapter Manager of Connecticut for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, NOCC-a non-profit dedicated to saving lives by fighting tirelessly to prevent and cure ovarian cancer, and to improve the quality of life for Survivors. I also enjoy volunteering at Yale's Smilow Center in the pediatric oncology unit in New Haven, CT, and at A Better Choice for Women in Middletown, CT. In my spare time, I am an avid tennis player, paddle player, pickleball player, skier, boater, and chess player!

BCA: What made you want to go into business for yourself?
KOB: Combined with my background in marketing and sales, I always had a strong interest in helping others. When I realized the dilemma that independent physicians are currently in with the ACA and with hospitals merging and insurance companies merging, I researched ways to streamline physician's practices and increase their cash flow, allowing physicians to focus on patients while increasing their cash flow.

BCA: Why did you choose to use a franchise model for your business versus starting out on your own company?
KOB: After several years of research, I determined that I wanted to find a business model/system that had been proven effective, a company that was a leader in its field, and one that had a successful track record in the health and medical industry. 

That's when I decided to become a licensee of the largest network of Certified Medical Revenue Managers in the U.S. The company has been in business for 22 years and is best in class in their space. One of the main differentiators with the business model is that they own their own clearinghouse which is fully integrated with their electronic health record and practice management systems.  This allows my team and I to help get a 95% return of submitted claims to payors in approximately 14 days. The national average is 70% in 90 days.  I realized quickly that there is no other company with these credentials and felt this was the right choice for me. 

BCA:  When you were getting your company started, were there any major challenges you faced and what strategies seemed to work best for you?
KOB: The biggest challenge I faced was getting the funding organized.

BCA: When working with physician practices, what main issues are you faced with and how do you help them solve the issues to make their workflow better and more profitable?
KOB: We have a 9-module add-on service based system for helping physicians' workflow and improving their bottom line. Everything from our EHR and practice management modules to audit, compliancy, and proven coding systems can help our clients stay profitable.

BCA:  What does a typical work day entail for you?
KOB: There is no typical day! I usually start with yoga, meditation and prayer, then depending on the day/month, I will either prepare for a trade show, i.e., CT medical society, follow up from conferences, cold calling doctor's offices, doing a "lunch and learn" with a practice, work on a marketing campaign, meet with strategic partners on co-branding, and lots of follow up.

I will sometimes play paddle or pickleball midday if I have time and walk my dogs at the end of the day.

BCA: What kind of performance standards do you have for your staff and what what kind of challenges, if any, have you faced when you are training and supervising your staff?
KOB: None-we have a great staff and they know exactly what they need to do each day. They work hard to get our clients' practices all of their claims submitted quickly and correctly so that they get the reimbursement they deserve.

BCA: To you, what has been your greatest achievement so far in your career?
KOB: Helping independent physicians stay in business.

BCA: What's your favorite thing about being self-employed?
KOB: Being in charge of my own destiny and being responsible for my own success.

BCA: Is there anything else you would like to add for our readers?
KOB: Atlantic Cash Flow Solutions, Inc. is a one stop all-inclusive solutions system, creating increased revenue for physicians, allowing them to stay in business for themselves, and allowing them to see more patients daily. After all, physicians did not go to medical school to be accountants. Atlantic Cash Flow Systems is the extra business muscle that ensures maximum profitability for the practice while allowing providers to do what they do best-be providers.