New business idea

[TexasHusker]

How is it irrelevant? If the business needs a license and all they have is a worthless piece of paper you sold them on the pretense that it was a license, they're going to be in a heap of trouble when they get caught.

This is really for businesses that don't need a license but would like to have one anyway. Sort of a "warm and fuzzy" if you will. For example, you don't have to have a license to mow grass in most states, but I could provide a license so that the owner would feel more "official."

I once interviewed a doctor for an FP opening we had, and I asked if he was board certified, and indeed he was: By the "American Board of Family Practice" or something of that nature. I tried to find them and got a P.O. Box in Kansas with no phone number.

Now...he wasn't boarded sufficiently for my purposes, but certainly it would work for other employers no doubt, as he got hired on by a health system about 3 months after I interviewed him.

[disneysteve]

This is really for businesses that don't need a license but would like to have one anyway.

I guess I don't understand why anyone would seek out and pay for a phony license they don't need, but I suppose you wouldn't be doing anything wrong by selling it to them. That's totally not what I thought you meant in your original post. I thought you were going to provide an actual service and help people get licenses that they actually do need.

I once interviewed a doctor for an FP opening we had, and I asked if he was board certified, and indeed he was: By the "American Board of Family Practice" or something of that nature. I tried to find them and got a P.O. Box in Kansas with no phone number.

Now...he wasn't boarded sufficiently for my purposes, but certainly it would work for other employers no doubt, as he got hired on by a health system about 3 months after I interviewed him.

As a physician (and a board-certified one at that), I'm really curious about this. Did you ask for documentation of his board certification? What about it wasn't sufficient?

Board certification is totally a crock anyway. What does it mean? It means that when I finished my residency, I paid a bunch of money to take an all-day exam and I passed it. Does that mean I'm a better doctor than the guy who never took the exam at all? Of course not. And who would you choose today to be your doctor - the guy who just finished his training and got a good score on his last exam or the guy who has 24 years of experience in the field but doesn't have that fancy certificate on his wall?

[TexasHusker]

I guess I don't understand why anyone would seek out and pay for a phony license they don't need, but I suppose you wouldn't be doing anything wrong by selling it to them. That's totally not what I thought you meant in your original post. I thought you were going to provide an actual service and help people get licenses that they actually do need.


As a physician (and a board-certified one at that), I'm really curious about this. Did you ask for documentation of his board certification? What about it wasn't sufficient?

Board certification is totally a crock anyway. What does it mean? It means that when I finished my residency, I paid a bunch of money to take an all-day exam and I passed it. Does that mean I'm a better doctor than the guy who never took the exam at all? Of course not. And who would you choose today to be your doctor - the guy who just finished his training and got a good score on his last exam or the guy who has 24 years of experience in the field but doesn't have that fancy certificate on his wall?

I would never help someone get an actual license. That would require that I actually DO SOMETHING.

He provided me a certificate of his board certification. I had never heard of the board which is why I investigated. Board certified makes no diff to me, but it does for some reason to the credentialing depts.

[disneysteve]

Board certified makes no diff to me, but it does for some reason to the credentialing depts.

Exactly. This is something we have been fighting for years. Having hospital privileges is another. Even though I haven't set foot inside a hospital in a professional capacity for over 17 years, many insurance companies still require me to have active privileges at a participating hospital in order to credential me to see their patients in my office. It makes absolutely no sense - but these are insurance companies we're dealing with so logic is never involved in that equation.

[TexasHusker]

Exactly. This is something we have been fighting for years. Having hospital privileges is another. Even though I haven't set foot inside a hospital in a professional capacity for over 17 years, many insurance companies still require me to have active privileges at a participating hospital in order to credential me to see their patients in my office. It makes absolutely no sense - but these are insurance companies we're dealing with so logic is never involved in that equation.

I'm surprised they are still requiring hospital privileges for primary care docs - hospitalists have long since taken over the QB role for inpatients at larger hospitals.

[rennigade]

Ive been gone for almost 2 months and I see the quality of threads hasnt improved. No surprise there.

[TexasHusker]

Ive been gone for almost 2 months and I see the quality of threads hasnt improved. No surprise there.

Your words r hurtful.

[greenskeeper]

This seems similar to what our local paper does. They quarterly list the "best places to do business" in the county and for $50, you can be listed as one of those businesses.

[disneysteve]

This seems similar to what our local paper does. They quarterly list the "best places to do business" in the county and for $50, you can be listed as one of those businesses.

I've seen stuff like that. It's deceptive marketing, but it certainly is a form of marketing.

I'm not sure what having a phony license would accomplish. Customers aren't the ones who come asking for your business license. It is state officials, auditors, tax collectors, and such who would show up wanting to see your license, and I'm quite sure they wouldn't be impressed by a fake one.