Access to health records

The Access to Health Records Act 1990 gives individuals certain rights of access to their health records. Much of the earlier legislation regarding the individual's rights to see their records has now been subsumed within the Data Protection Act (see Data Protection Act). You can view or purchase a copy of this Act on-line, contact:

Accessibility issues

For the legal requirements regarding accessibility, see Disability Discrimination Act.

For details of organisations offering guidelines and advice on accessibility issues related to website design, see Websites – accessibility issues.

Advertising on health-based websites

The following websites allow you to list your details for free and usually allow you to enclose a short summary of the therapies you practise, any specialities you may have developed, and the conditions you frequently treat. You can also post up any requests for information on their news and noticeboard sites, and advertise any courses, workshops or seminars that you may be holding.

Advice

You can get free advice on a wide range of topics through the on-line advice service operated by Citizens Advice. This can range from such diverse topics as how to get your company name registered to advice on pensions and National Insurance contributions. Whilst this service does not offer the full detail of the information which is held by individual Citizens Advice Bureaux, it can help you work through some of your issues and will provide further contact details for more information. Contact:

Benefits

If your income drops below a certain level, depending on the number and ages of the people in your household you may entitled to financial help. The following benefits may apply:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit: for more information about these benefits contact your local authority.

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit: for more information about these benefits and contact details see Tax credits.

BUPA

BUPA is a private health care company. Complementary therapists used to be able to work as part of this scheme if registered with BUPA. The policy now appears to have changed and anyone wishing to work with BUPA will need to have an orthodox medical background. If you would like further information, contact:

BUPA
BUPA House
15-19 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2BA

Business Link

Business Link can offer you free advice on setting up your business and details of any government grants or schemes which may be available in your local area. For further information contact:

Children Act

The Children Act 1989 established the concept of parental responsibility. You can view or purchase a copy of this Act on-line, contact:

Companies House

Companies House can advise you on the legalities of setting up and naming your company. You can download copies of their guidance booklets from their website. Contact:

Complementary health directories and magazines

The following on-line directories and magazines advertise complementary health training courses, business opportunities, health products. Contact:

Creative and lateral thinking

Edward de Bono has written a number of books on lateral and creative thinking. He also runs training courses in these skills. I've listed my favourite book below – it should help you overcome any blocks regarding your business plans:

Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono (Penguin).

Illumine Training runs training courses in lateral thinking and creativity, some of which are directly related to improving your business. Contact:

Credit card transactions

One of the simplest and cheapest ways to accept payments by credit card is to set up an online account with a company such as PayPal. PayPal allows any business or consumer with an email address to securely send and receive payments online. PayPal's service lets users send payments for free, and it can be used from PCs or web-enabled mobile phones. A percentage is charged on every transfer made to you (0.7% – 2.9%).

You can use this service to 'invoice' a client by simply entering the client's email address and the amount you are requesting. The client gets an email and instructions on how to pay you using PayPal. You can send and receive money in a number of currencies. For more information contact:

Data Protection Act 1998

If you would like further information about this Act, or to check whether you need to register, contact:

The website contains a handy on-line questionnaire which will guide you through assessing whether you need to register and, if so, will help you to complete the notification on-line. You will then need to print off a copy and send the form to the address listed below. If you don't want to complete the form on-line, you can ask for the notification form to be sent to you by completing the request for a notification form which can be found on the home page. You can also phone the notification help line, they will send you a draft notification form based on the information you will be asked to provide over the phone.

A notification handbook and self-assessment guide can be accessed at:

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

If you would like further information about the provisions of this Act, log on to:

For further help contact the DDA helpline:

Ebooks and publishing

There are a number of companies specialising in producing and publishing ebooks. You will need to check out what is on offer in terms of contracts, costs, print runs etc. The following is one of the larger sites which you might want to compare. You can download an information pack on producing your ebook, and also use the company to publish your ebook:

Egroups

An egroup is one of the easiest ways for a group of people, such as therapists, to communicate on the internet. To set up an egroup you will need to register with Yahoo! or a similar service provider. It doesn't cost anything to set up an egroup. For more details, contact:

Encryption shareware

Any personal data held on your computer should be encrypted for confidentiality and security reasons. The following company offers downloadable encryption shareware:

Health and Safety Executive

The Health and Safety Executive offers a national general enquiry service. It can be contacted at:

Independent financial advisers

If you want to find an independent financial adviser in your area, contact:

Marketing

For more ideas on marketing you might want to get a copy of the following book which focuses on low-cost ideas for the complementary therapist:

Steven A. Harold, Marketing for Complementary Therapists – 101 tried and tested ways to attract clients (How To Books) ISBN 1-85703-806-1.

Medical charities

Charity Choice is an encyclopaedia of charities on the internet. Contact:

National Insurance (NI) contributions

For more information on NI contributions contact the Inland Revenue:

NHS provider number

You will need an NHS provider number if a GP refers a patient to you and the GP is applying for the cost of that patient's treatment to be met by the local health authority. Having an NHS provider number does not confer any endorsement of your skills or qualifications, as there is no formal process in the application procedure for your qualifications or competence to be examined. It is purely a code to identify you as a person who contracts in the NHS internal market. To apply for an NHS provider number, contact:

ISD4A
380D Skipton House
80 London Road
Elephant and Castle

Office furniture and equipment

IKEA – business

For business furniture and equipment – they have some very stylish and space saving ideas. You need to have a business bank account if you want to open a business account with IKEA. You can fax your orders and they will deliver the goods. Contact:

Viking

For business stationery, furniture and equipment – same day delivery in certain areas. You don't need to have a business bank account to open an account with Viking. Very reliable service. Contact:

Office stationery

Viking

For business stationery – same day delivery in certain areas. You don't need to have a business bank account to open an account with Viking. Very reliable service. Contact:

PayPal

See Credit card transactions.

Pensions

To get the facts you need to start planning your future, you can download or order a free introductory guide to pension options from the government's impartial pensions information site. Contact:

Pension guide
Freepost
Bristol BS38 7WA

Performing Right Society

This society licences anyone who uses music in their practice. The money from the licence fees it collects is then distributed to its members – the writers and publishers of music. The current annual licence fees are:

for using radio in an area containing up to 19 seats – £57.32

for using a CD player in an area containing up to nine seats – £57.32

For further information, or to purchase a licence contact:

Prince's Trust

The Prince's Trust offers financial help and support to young people aged 18-30 who are setting up in business. For further information contact:

The Prince's Youth Business Trust
18 Park Square East
London NW1 4LH

In Scotland, the Prince's Trust is known as the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust, and offers support to young people aged 18-25. For further information contact:

Royalty free music

Royalty-free music is music which you pay a one-off fee to use, and which doesn't then require a licence. The copyright remains with the producer of the music but you are free to use the music in your work. The following site allows you to download royalty free music, and it includes a variety of music such as easy listening and New Age.

Self-assessment tax form

You can complete your self-assessment tax form on-line. Contact:

Self-employed – registration

You must register as self-employed within three months of the date when you first started self-employment. To register, contact:

Taxation

The Inland Revenue has a very user-friendly site which should be able to answer most of your questions regarding your tax situation. They also operate a small businesses helpline where you can speak to advisers direct about any tax queries you may have. There are links from the main site to other sites that may be of interest, such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Tax credits

You don't need to have children to qualify for tax credits, as these benefits are income related. Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit are part of the government's programme for alleviating poverty and making work pay. For more information or to claim on-line, contact:

Time management

There are any number of books written on this topic, but you might like to try the following:

Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, One Minute Manager (Harper Collins). Mark Forster, Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play.

Training courses

As well as looking at the training course advertisements listed in the relevant professional journals and magazines, you could try the following complementary health directories and on-line magazines:

HealthyPages Complementary Health and Healing Directory

Websites – accessibility issues

The following are some useful contacts which can help you by providing guidelines and advice on how to make your website more accessible for those clients who are visually impaired. For advice on good design, contact:

For downloadable accessibility guidelines, contact:

Writing a book

There are numerous books written on this topic, but a good place to start would be to review the following:

Nancy Smith, 501 Writers' Questions Answered – A comprehensive guide to writing and getting published (Piatkus). ISBN 0-7499-1512-9.

Writers' and Artists' Year Book. Published annually by A & C Black.

There are also some useful magazines which detail common problems and how to overcome them, and list useful contacts and ways of getting your work published. These are just a few, and you should be able to get copies from any large newsagents or stationers: