In this 20-minute podcast hear Jeffrey Gorke, author of the new book, "The Physician's Guide to the Business of Medicine: Dreams and Realities," give hints for physicians as they search for their first job (or a change in job) -- how to size up a practice, the questions that must be asked, and why it is crucial for physicians to understand the "business" of medicine. His no-nonsense book is broken down into 2 parts: the job search and the business component of the job search. MDs will find this play book essential as they look for their dream practice -- and this book will better prepare practice administrators and physician partners for positioning the practice as they recruit new physicians. Jeffrey Gorke, www.castlegatemanagement.com
In this 20-minute podcast, Judy Capko, best-selling author of Secrets of the Best-Run Practices, 2nd Edition, discusses the issue of "trust" in the medical practice. Since the concept of trust keeps coming up between physicians, managers and staff members...what are the key issues and the ripple effect? Judy describes how destructive a lack of trust can be in the practice, how the physician and manager sometimes get caught in the crossfire with staff members, how to foster trust between all layers of an organization and lastly, how to regain trust one it has been compromised. Judy's new edition of her Secrets of the Best-Run Practices, 2nd Edition is available at www.greenbranch.com
Judy Capko, best-selling author of Secrets of the Best-Run Practices, 2nd Edition, discusses in this 20-minute podcast, the strategies for dealing with mult-generational staff members including the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y staff members. She describes how these generations are categorized, what makes them so different from each other, how a manager can work with these groups and foster a cooperative spirit. Judy's new edition of her Secrets of the Best-Run Practices, 2nd Edition is available at http://www.greenbranch.com
In this 20-minute podcast hear Larry Brooks, Architect and Principal of Practice Flow Solutions (www.practiceflowsolutions.com) discuss the factors a physician or practice administrator should consider before choosing a new location, how to calculate the space and parking area needed, crucial information about patient flow to promote efficiencies, how the shape and configuration of the space has an impact on the practice, and how to choose a location, including pitfalls to avoid. Larry's firm focuses on helping medical practice efficiencies by identifying and solving problems in patient, staff and doctor flow.
In this 20-minute podcast, Max Reiboldt and Justin Chamblee of the Coker Group, www.cokergroup.com discuss RVUs and physician compensation, the type of specialties being compensated via RVUs, the differences in private practice and hospital employment, the common pitfalls of these types of compensation plans, show health care reform might have an impact on RVU-based compensation plans.
Max and Justin are authors of the Greenbranch Publishing book, (due Jan, 2010) RVUs at Work: Relative Value Units in the Medical Practice. www.greenbranch.com
In this 20-minute pocast, Wendy Lipton-Dibner, MA, author of Best-Selling new book, M.A.D. Leadership for Healthcare: Proven Strategies for Getting People to Do What You Want Them to Do discusses the formula of M.A.D. Leadership -- M for Motivate, A for Align, D for Differentiate -- the formula that the author has used to help hundreds of practices to make significant changes in the ways they work and relate to people. These proven techniques of "getting people to do what you want them to do," are helping doctors and dentists see major increases in their practice revenues. The book published in May, 2009 to rave reviews and is under consideration at a number of medical, dental and health administration schools as part of the required curriculum. The launch of this book is perfect timing -- who is going to help doctors and administrators get through this time of pending health reform change? Who is going to help doctors weather the "people issue," while selecting and installing an EHR System? Who is going to make sure practices thrive and succeed so that the practice stays in business? Practices need a fast-track model to get doctors, staff and patients to work together and this exciting new book is the answer.
Judy Capko the author of Secrets of the Best-Run Practices and her most recent book, Take Back Time: Bringing Time Management to Medicine discusses in this 20-minute podcast the meaning of "smart-sourcing," the most common functions outsourced in the medical practice, strategies on how the practice can identify what they want to outsource, confidence levels in selecting a vendor, and how you maintain control when the work is being done outside of the office. www.capko.com
The author of the best selling book, Take Back Time: Bringing Time Management to Medicine discusses in this 20-minute podcast the hot topic of "Workflow" in the medical practice, the most important issues to increase efficiency, how the economy is bringing these workflow issues into the spotlight, the low-down on doctors and their schedules, how can staff really implement change, how to adopt inexpensive tech tools and why quality is essential in the discussion about workflow.
In this 20-minute podcast, attorneys Jason Newfield and Justin Frankel from Frankel and Newfield, Attorneys at Law discuss the meaning of "dual occupation" in the claims process, the importance of specialty language, common misconceptions about the specialty letter, the definition of residual claims and why they matter, opportunities and pitfalls to backdating of claims, and the major misconceptions surrounding group disability policies, private policies and association policies.
Hear Wayne Glowac and Dean Halverson, authors of the book, Healthcare Tsunami: The Wave of Consumerism that Will Change U.S. Business, discuss what the Healthcare Tsunami is all about, the trends that these leaders are seeing in the provider market, why these changes in the market are so sudden and dramatic, whether the tsunami is a temporary or long term issue, and what medical providers (off all sizes and specialties) need to do to manage this change in the mindset of patients.
In this 15-minute podcast hear Joanie Cochran discuss how Compliance does not have to be a labor and monetary intensive project, how you can web access very specific information regarding Compliance, how is Compliance being incorporated into current and future government initiatives, and why Compliance is (and will continue to be) at the forefront of physician practices. www.dixon-hughes.com
20-minute podcast interview with Charles A. Peck, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer of LifeMasters, where he discusses the following: Why doctors should be aware of disease management and embrace the concept, what exactly is disease management and how it works, the common misconceptions about DM, the benefits of a disease management program in a medical practice, and the important indicators that disease management tracks and how it can work for physicians in the pay-for-performance era. http://www.lifemasters.com
Susan Childs, FACMPE, of Evolution Healthcare Consulting, in this 20-minute podcast, discusses the type of patient who is considered, "consumer driven," how HSAs work, how consumer-driven health has changed the perspective of the patient, how these plans change the cash flow in a practice, and how practices can ramp up for customer service.
In this 20-minute podcast, Marc Halley, MBA, of The Halley Consulting Group, LLC and Editor of the new book, The Medical Practice Start-Up Guide, (available August 18, 2008) discusses the competitive forces that new doctors face in the marketplace, the top five things that new physicians can do to protect their business, options for financing a practice start-up, how new doctors can find patients for their practice and how doctors can look for the best staff members and the concept of the "highest and best use of staff members." The Medical Practice Start-Up Guide (ISBN 978-0-9814728-2-6) can be ordered at http://www.mpmnetwork.com or by calling 800-933-3711.
In this 20-minute podcast interview, Linda A.Brown, CMA, (AAMA) President of the American Association of Medical Assistants discusses the varied and important roles a medical assistant can have in a medical practice -- both from a clinical and an administrative perspective. Also, In its March 2008 issue, the Journal of Medical Practice Management published "Roles for CMAs (AAMA) Enhance Quality and Effectiveness of Care." The article explains how employing the CMA (AAMA) is "proving to be a cost-effective way of providing high-quality care." The article also describes a new frontier for the profession, detailing how researchers are exploring new roles for the CMA (AAMA) that will enhance efficiency and patient compliance. Those interested in a copy of the article can contact Greenbranch Publishing at info@greenbranch.com. American Association of Medical Assistants www.aama-ntl.org
In this 20-minute podcast interview, Deane Waldman, MD, explans the theory of sound "process" and how to balance the need for efficiency with the patients' needs to talk and to have doctors listen. His theory of the "process of medicine" rather than the "practice of medicine" is thought-provoking. An ongoing dialog about the cause of dysfunction in our healthcare system, and suggestions for solutions is Medical Malprocess, a blog by Dr. Waldman at http://www.thesystemmd.com
Judy Capko, Author of the Best-Seller Secrets of the Best-Run Practices and her newest book "Take Back Time: Bringing Time Managmenet to Medicine", discusses in this 20-minute podcast how to get patients on your side. She explains why patients are becoming even more demanding, what patients really want from their doctors, how practices can take advantage of technology to partner with patients, how to effectively use a practice website and how to make a medical practice more friendly...and what it takes to create a true partnership with patients.
Donna Weinstock of Office Management Solution discusses, in this 20-minute interview, the popularity of lean healthcare, provides detail on the "7 wastes" and describes the criteria for determining if a process or system in a medical practice needs to be streamlined. What can medical practices learn from TPS - Toyota Production Systems? Donna Weinstock will tell you...and she will also describe steps on how a medical practice can become a "Lean" provider.
Judy Capko, Author of the Best-Seller Secrets of the Best-Run Practices and her newest book (publishing March 1, 2008) Take Back Time: Bringing Time Management to Medicine, discusses in this 20-minute podcast why medical practices have such trouble with phone demand and she provides concrete tips and solutions to help the problem. Judy covers how to audit your inbound calls, getting to the root of the "system" vs. the "staffing" problem, how to train staff for good telephone skills, and why a common complaint from patients is the insensitivity of staff members on the phone. Judy's new book can be found here - http://shopmpm.com/Take_Back_Time_Management_Medicine.asp
In this 20-minute podcast interview, Wendy Lipton-Dibner, author and speaker, describes the evolution of The Action Formula: The Shortest Distance Between What You Have and What You Want and how the strategy (and her book) is being implemented in medical and dental practices. Is it a book for business or a self-help book? It's both! And Wendy explains how this can be.
As one of the reviewers of the book wrote, "Move over, Tom Peters and Ken Blanchard," and Wendy discusses what the reviewer meant. Lastly, Wendy describes WHAT the Action Formula is and why it has such wide appeal to both healthcare and corporate communities.
Dr. Rubin, the author of "Dying for Compassion," discusses in this 20-minute podcast the roots of his own deep interest in feedback, why hearing the word "feedback" causes most people to cringe, and the negative consequences of poorly delivered feedback. Hear also his opinion of the 360-degree feedback craze, how to make delivering bad news a "win-win" and he wraps up with a few practical suggestions on how to improve giving and receiving feedback. http://www.temenosinc.com
Many physician practices recognize that they can expand business by reaching out to specific communities, including targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients. Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Family Project discusses what strategies physician practices are using to reach out to the LGBT community and meet their needs and expectations. She provides concrete examples of what is likely to work or not work. www.hrc.org
Implementing Real Time Claim Adjudication may be a smart move for many medical practices. In this 20-minute podcast, Doral Davis-Jacobsen, Manager, Physician Services Consulting Unit Dixon Hughes, PLLC, defines the term, how the process of real time adjudication effects accounts receivable workflow, the challenges in implementing the program, keys to success in incorporating the process into the practice workflow, and the impressive impact on the financial performance of the practice.
Why is it that some practices have a flair for rapid growth? It is a combination of good financial planning and terrific customer service that drives referrals. In this 20-minute podcast, Judy Capko, author of the runaway best seller, Secrets of the Best-Run Practices discusses elements of how patients rate their doctors, the most common complaints patients have about their physicians, the importance of office aesthetics, the use of technology for patients to better "connect" with their doctors, and the use of mystery patients or mystery shoppers in the medical practice.
Jennifer Bever, FACHE, the Director of Education for Sg2 discusses hot issues for hospitals and the impact of these issues on physician and physician practices. In this 20-minute podcast, Ms. Bever covers Medicare payment reductions and surgical services, pay-for-performance, projected physician workforce shortages, what makes physician-hospital partnerships successful, and very specific strategies on how physicians can work more effectively with hospitals. Jennifer Bever also discusses when and how physicians should "do it themselves."
In this 20-minute podcast, Judy Capko, author of the runaway best seller, Secrets of the Best-Run Practices covers specific reasons why conflicts can emerge in a practice and how office bickering can impact productivity. She provides tips on how to approach the subject with staff and practical ideas on resolving the bickering. She also describes very proactive strategies physicians and office executives can use to reduce the potential conflicts.
Book available at www.mpmnetwork.com
Judy Capko - www.capko.com
In this 20-minute podcast, consultant Jennifer O'Brien from Karen Zupko & Associates discusses working with family. We're seeing more and more of these types of working arrangements and Ms. O'Brien describes scenarios she has encountered, both successes and disasters. She discusses how to settle on a reasonable wage for a family member, impact of "pillow talk" between a physician and spouse employee, consideration of insurance (and other financial details) when more than one member of a family draws an income from the practice, and legal issues of having one member "report" to another family member.
In this 20-minute podcast, seasoned consultant Randy Bauman discusses the state of independent physician groups, challenges that face small-to-medium sized groups, the impact of The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, values of practices and hospitals' interest in acquiring practices, pitfalls in selling to a hospital, and the future of physician group practices.
Podcast interview on Increasing Patient Volume and Quality of Practice Life (from a space planning viewpoint) with Larry R. Brooks, Partner and Senior Medical Planning Consultant, Medical Design International (MDI) based in Norcross, Georgia (www.mdiatlanta.com).
Mr. Brooks discusses strategies a practice can do to better utilize the doctor's time, with emphasis on his adage, "Things come to the doctor, the doctor does not go to the things." He discusses how to eliminate distractions for the doctor, how to always have patients ready for the doctor, proper use of the appointment schedule, communication system and patient flow system, and discussion of the right amount of space and right layout for a medical office and their impact on productivity. Also hear about the trends of using scribes in office practice.
In this 20 minute podcast, Betsy Nicoletti, MS, CPC, President of Medical Practice Consulting and author of the best-seller, The Field Guide to Physician Coding,
reviews the codes that a physician, NP or PA can use to bill for a patient's annual preventive services, what is included in each of those codes, strategies for billing for sports physicals, Medicare rules and guidelines on annual physical exams, other preventive services such as pap tests, immunizations and diagnostic lab services and imaging. Betsy Nicoletti - find her book at www.shopmpm.com.
Dr. Dan Strakal, through his radio shows, consulting activities and speaking engagements has helped dozens of organizations overcome challenges to create satisfying and successful workplaces. In this podcast, Dr. Strakal discusses practical strategies for medical practice managers on how to set performance goals and expectations, how to handle employees who refuse to set, much less, meet performance goals and how a manager is a complex medical practice can expect employees to self-monitor and self-manage his or her own behavior. Dr. Dan Strakal, www.capableconsulting.com
Sheila Dunn, D.A., MT (ASCP) and Sarah Alholm, M.A.S. of Quality America, Inc. discuss Preventing Workplace Violence in the Healthcare Setting. In this podcast, these experts discuss how widespread these incidents are and how practices should prepare for workplace violence. They also review who are the most likely perpetrators of workplace violence, security measures recommended for medical offices, and the tie-in with OSHA regulations. Quality America, Inc. has posted a free downloadable Risk Assessment for Workplace Violence . Please see the Resource Center section of their website at www.quality-america.com.
Betsy Nicoletti, MS, CPC, President of Medical Practice Consulting (www.mpconsulting.org ) discusses in this timely podcast, "Getting Paid the 1.5% Medicare Bonus." She outlines the strategy for reporting quality indicators to the CMS and the difference between pay for performance and this physician voluntary reporting program mandated by Congress. To sign up for the live audio conference on the procedure for getting the 1.5% bonus, to be held on Feb 14, 2007, visit this link -http://conference.mpmnetwork.com.
Reed Pew, CEO and President of the AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders - www.aapc.com) discusses in this first Soundpractice.net podcast for 2007, the mission of the AAPC, the future of the profession of medical coding, advantages for physician offices to employ certified coders, salary ranges of coders and methods of recruiting certified coders for a medical practice. Reed is interviewed by Nancy Collins, Publisher of The Journal of Medical Practice Management (www.mpmnetwork.com).
Whether you are looking to enhance your success or simply to hold onto it, this 20 minute Pod Cast with Wendy Lipton-Dibner of Professional Impact, Inc. will help you to achieve your goals. You will learn about the 1 key area of your practice where simple interventions can make the difference between increased revenues and falling profit margins. Listeners will receive access to a complimentary self-assessment instrument that will enable them to strategically identify 25 critical interventions that they can make to bring their practices to new heights of success in 2007. Take the complimentary practice assessment at http://www.pro-impact.com
From an article by Veronica McGrath, M.S. in The Journal of Medical Practice Management. Like poor communication, poor office management can create ill-will among patients and can actually contribute to negligence itself. It is imperative that every office have a system for tracking test results and referrals to ensure that patients do not "fall though the cracks". There are several types of effective tracking systems. But, the key to a good follow-up system is to use the system.
Interview with Richard Blanchette, Executive Director, PAHCOM (Professional Association for Health Care Office Management). Mr. Blanchette describes the day-to-day responsibilities of the office manager, the mission of PAHCOM in its support of physicians and medical practices, guidelines for physicians on hiring a qualified office manager, physician "partnering" with the office manager and the future of the profession of medical office management. More info can be found at www.pahcom.com.
Jodi Manfredi, Founder and President of Examine Your Practice, a company dedicated to the process of using "mystery shoppers" for the medical practice. In this podcast interview, Ms. Manfredi, who has had more than 20 years in the healthcare industry, talks about the type of practices that can benefit from the process of using a mystery shopper, the benefits of using a company to discover the positives and negatives in a practice, and how the healthcare industry is changing as a result of this type of service. Their Web site is www.examineyourpractice.com
Tim Coan, CEO of ALN Medical Management, presents compelling reasons behind collecting and analyzing business intelligence in the medical practice. He reviews "Insight" and the results that these insights produce. He further discusses the technology, data collection processes and reporting needed in the practice to drive collection of business intelligence. Lastly, he provides strategies on how physicians or business administrators can use business intelligence to drive changes in the medical practice.
Many physicians face a common problem that can be frustrating and can cause a practice to become stagnant. The situation occurs when, to the outside observer, the practice appears to be in chaos. Boxes, papers, and books are piled all over the business area, as well as every other area of the office. Cash flow is tight, morale is low, and you just don't know where to start to turn your practice around.
In this podcast, Judy Capko, author of Secrets of the Best-Run Practices, discusses how physicians and managers can control the cost of staff when there are so many demands on everyone's time, how to identify the practice activities that need the most attention, some easy-to-implement strategies that can be applied to give staff relief without increasing costs, and the logic behind outsourcing and implementing new technologies in the practice.
In this timely podcast, Gloria Mayer, RN, Ed.D. and President & CEO of Institute for Healthcare Advancement discusses the focus on health literacy and the surrounding problems of patient compliance with regimens, patient understanding of medical problems and the tricky aspects of identifying patients who have difficulty reading. Gloria Mayer reviews the "Ask Me 3" program - 3 basic questions that health professionals should answer for every patient. She discusses problems affiliated with medical jargon and she also shares practical tools and innovative solutions to combat low health literacy.
Jennifer Bever, a member of the consulting team of Karen Zupko & Associates, based in Chicago, works extensively with medical practices, primarily in Orthopaedic practices to review and improve billing and collection processes. In this podcast, Jennifer reviews billing protocols for non-physician providers (Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists), differences between "direct" and "incident to" billing for non-provider physicians, and common pitfalls for this area of billing. Jennifer also shares practical guidelines for medical practices to ensure they are following the appropriate guidelines for correct billing.
Fran Parrish is the Administrator of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and served as President of the Association of Dermatology Administrators/Managers (ADA/M) since 2004. Ms. Parrish, with 18 years as a practice administrator, describes the day-to-day activities of an administrator in an academic practice and she provides hints for physicians in hiring an office manager and how physicians can be good partners with the administrative staff. How does a physician decide between an office manager and an office administrator? Also traits that make a good office manager and hot topics in practice are also covered.
Starting a health care consulting business involves more than expertise in your field: it takes business savvy, lots of financial smarts, excellent people and communication skills and marketing know-how. Consulting in heath care is one of the hottest trends in the market today, as more and more people appreciate the independence and flexibility it brings and the range of potential income that the business can generate. In this podcast Betsy Nicoletti, author of Physician Auditing Workbook and owner of Medical Practice Consulting, shares the strategies that worked for her, as well as mistakes made along the way.
Employing someone you're close to in your medical practice can have many advantages. Yet, as many doctors find, employing relatives can also have its pitfalls. This podcast describes the financial benefits of employing a loved one in your medical practice. It suggests the specific steps you will need to take to legitimize your spouse's, significant other's, or relative's employment.
Max Reiboldt, CPA is Managing Partner and CEO of The Coker Group, based in Alpharetta, GA. Mr. Reiboldt oversees Coker's services and coordinates and/or supervises most projects. He works with providers to improve financial operations, develop and implement compensation systems, and institute profitable service lines. His expertise encompasses governance analysis and design, strategic planning, and financial performance. This podcast includes dicussion into what physicians need to do to stay on top of the financial reporting, what most physicians do to acquaint themselves with the operations of the practice and the accompanying financial details, tips for the practice administrator or office manager who may be preparing statements or reports for the doctors in the practice, costs spiraling out of control, a method of reviewing expenses to determine ways to reduce costs and to control increases, monthly meeting where the practices' financial reports are reviewed, trends in the reporting materials and the role of the office administrator, what practices needs to concentrate on in 2006 to become more profitable.
From an article by Robert C. Calway, M.H.C.A., B.S., M.T.(A.S.C.P.) in The Journal of Medical Practice Management. Workplace violence, in the form of verbal threats and/or intimidation and physical aggression, is commonplace in medical practices today. The practice must be prepared to respond to this disaster in the same manner with which they prepare for responses to a medical emergency, fire, or loss of electricity.
An interview with Michelle Wier, B.S. CMPE, of The Halley Consulting Group. Discussion includes finding the correct legal and business structure, necessary types of insurance coverage, typical physician to staff ratios, the importance of implementing and electronic medical record when starting up of a new practice, evaluating where your new practice will locate, the marketing mind-set of new physicians, recommendations for the new practitioner and resources available.
Success in your practice depends on having a strategic plan that works. Regardless of practice size or specialty, a strategic plan is essential in guiding a practice to achieve objectives and maintain quality, growth and profits. Physicians, practice administrators, office managers and business managers must have these tools to fulfill the vision of the practice.
This podcast, from an article by Gregory H. Nizich, C.H.B.C., describes a manual tracking system that lets the billing service do all the work and requires a minimal amount of time to maintain. The goal of the system is to keep the billing service on its toes by routinely requesting the status of random claims. Eventually you will become a very polite, but squeaky wheel, and will get the attention you deserve.
This podcast explores when and how to hire a temporary employee. It suggests strategies for preparing for the temporary employee's arrival, orienting the employee to the practice and assigned tasks, and evaluating the temporary worker's performance. In addition, this article offers ideas about working well with temporary employment agencies, as well as likely policies one would encounter when trying to hire a temporary employee permanently.
Nancy Collins, Publisher of The Journal of Medical Practice Management, interviews Dr. Edward E. Goldman, President and CEO of MDVip, Inc. Magazine's number 30 pick in their top 500 fastest growing companies in 2005. The discussion includes the evolution of the concept of Concierge Medicine; the advantages which include enhanced professional satisfaction; better personal life and increased income; the disadvantages which includes the possible discomfort of some physicians with deeper personal patient relationships and also becoming "rusty" from seeing too few patients; the "typical" concierge practitioner; the process involved in switching from a traditional practice to a concierge practice; the concern about separation in health care between the "haves and the have-nots"; the continued participation in third party player plans; concierge medicine as a genuine option for consumers in the health care landscape; where to find additional information on concierge or boutique medicine.
The 2006 CPT book from the AMA brought changes to nursing home codes. Both comprehensive nursing home assessments and subsequent nursing home visit procedure codes were deleted and redefined. The discharge visit codes are the same.
Interview with Urologist Dr. Neil Baum. Discussion includes topics such as grass roots marketing efforts using newspaper, radio, TV and local community organizations; The difference between marketing and public relations; Affordable or "shoestring" marketing techniques; Exceeding patient expectations; Effective use of email and Web sites for communication with patients and patient satisfaction; Reasons for and dealing with patient defection; Time saving techniques to see more patients per day; Strategies for physicians with a shrinking population base; Working with non-medical professionals for referrals.
From a JMPM article by Laura Sachs. Most medical practice managers know that delegation is a useful practice management tool to streamline both personal and practice efficiency. However, delegation is often underused, misused, and misunderstood.
SoundPractice interviews Paul H. Keckley, PhD and Executive Director of the Institute of Evidence-Based Medicine, Vanderbilt University. Their discussion includes details on Vanderbilt's program, acceptance by clinicians, ways to deliver evidence, levels of study analysis, the acceptance of innovation and technology in the medical world, patterns in training clinicians and behavioral change, advice for the smaller practictioner on staying current, and the educated patient and the effects on the doctor-patient relationship.
SoundPractice and Mary Witt of The Camden Group. During this interview they discuss the use of technology in a practice, pay for performance, the total patient experience, picking a physician, electronic medical records, improving practice from finance and process perspectives, expense management, revenue enhancement, hiring a consultant, professional associations, preparing people for change, practice managment as a career, using retreats for building a vision and building relationships, and finally newer trends in medical practice such as advanced access, group visits, and care models.
SoundPractice interviews President/Founder of the Practice Management Resource Group, Ron Rosenberg. Topics discussed are the business side of medicine, more sophisticated patients, customer service, the difference between primary care and sub specialties, working with doctors, consumer driven health care, the importance of teaching physicians-in-training the art of communication, health saving accounts, transparency and how patients will choose physicians in the future, electronic medical records, having the physician involved in understanding the business through some basic and fairly simple processes, and practice marketing.
SoundPractice interviews Ann Teliczan from the Allie Group about marketing medical practices and physicians services. Topics include difficulty in convincing physicians to pursue marketing, why marketing is necessary, the advantages of Web sites, Web site costs, the process to select a marketing group, physician use of email, physicians use of blogs and marketing costs.
SoundPractice interviews Dr. Gordon Moore, solo family practice physician in Rochester, New York and Institute for Healthcare Improvement faculty member. They chat about open access patient scheduling, lowering practice overhead, and returning joy to the physician workplace.
This podcast addresses a number of steps that medical practices can use to improve their long-term success: developing an agreed-upon "vision" for the practice, establishing a sound decision-making process, putting into place an effective practice governance structure, and taking steps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of group meetings.
Medical practices will increasingly need part-time physicians and indeed are becoming aware that many doctors prefer or require only part-time employment. This podcast sketches the emerging demographic patterns fueling this trend and discusses some of the contractual details to consider in terms of salary, benefits, liability coverage, and noncompete covenants.
SoundPractice interviews Anthony Cirillo, a healthcare marketer and consultant. Topics discussed are consumer directed health, empowered consumers of healthcare, pricing transparency, medical tourism, and listening to your customer-loyalist.
SoundPractice interviews Elisa Camahort, founder of the medblog HealthyConcerns.com. Initially they discuss the nature of medblogging, the concept behind the Grand Rounds blog, and then move on to a discussion on improving the patient experience, consumer driven health and what medical practices need to do to serve and retain patients.
Employment liability has become an important issue for all enterprises. Medical practices often are not aware of the impact their policies and actions may have on their employees and the liability that may result. This podcast surveys this important area of human resource management and provides some guidelines to avert potential pitfalls.
SoundPractice and Ivo Drury, MD/MBA, of Career Consulting for Physicians. Topics discussed are career development opportunities for physicians, some of the current dilemmas facing medical practitioners, the value of additional degrees, and whether there was a generational divide in attitudes within the medical profession.
Employees with high morale are likely to work harder, contribute more to your practice, and stay with you. With a little ingenuity, almost anyone can come up with affordable, effective morale boosters that can add fun and excitement to your practice. This podcast suggests tried-and-true morale boosting techniques to be used with your staff, such as meeting enhancements, contests, and outings.
SoundPractice interviews Professor Carl E. Schneider from The University of Michigan Schools of Law and Medicine on what patients really want from their private practice physicians. Professor Schneider holds the Chauncey Stillman Chair of Law and is the author of "The Practice of Autonomy: Patients, Doctors, and Medical Decisions"
Mark Huizenga is a West Michigan accountant and a former private practice manager who helps doctors' offices improve the efficiency of their systems. He talks to SoundPractice about fee schedules and other ways "not to leave money on the table."
Dr. Michael S. Woods of www.doctorsintouch.com, practicing surgeon, former Johnson & Johnson researcher, leadership coach, and author of Healing Words and Applying Personal Leadership Principles to Healthcare discusses the importance of effective communication with patients, colleagues, and staff with SoundPractice.
SoundPractice interviews Dr. Maulik Joshi, President and CEO of the Delmarva Foundation about what every medical practice can do immediately to improve their quality.
Kent Bottles interviews Kris White, RN, Senior Hospital Director, The Center for Exceptional Experiences, Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kris talks about seeing your office through the eyes of your patients and how to make sure that every patient who visits your facility has an exceptional experience. She shares her own experience and reveals the resources that you can use to improve patient satisfaction.
SoundPractice interviews John Ritch, FACHE, Executive Director The Wege Institute for Health and Learning, Saint Mary's Healthcare, Grand Rapids, MI Tags: Medical Practice Management
Shaun Soller provides advice for the practice manager from her perspective as a former experienced practice manager and now with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Tags: Medical Practice Management
Medical licensing boards and clinical societies encourage (and most boards require) physicians to report colleagues reasonably suspected of not practicing safely and competently. Failure to report unsafe, incompetent, or illegally acting clinicians can seriously damage patients, the profession, and the doctor himself/herself. Good-faith reporting is generally protected from lawsuit.
Medical licensing boards and clinical societies encourage (and most boards require) physicians to report colleagues reasonably suspected of not practicing safely and competently. Failure to report unsafe, incompetent, or illegally acting clinicians can seriously damage patients, the profession, and the doctor himself/herself. Good-faith reporting is generally protected from lawsuit. This podcast discusses how you can recognize and deal with clinicians in this situation.
An in-depth Podcast interview by SoundPractice discussing physician's supply and demand, demographics, geographic location, and effects of outsourcing and the use of non-physician clinicians.
Time and productivity go hand-in-hand. For years I've listened to physicians tell me how difficult it is to manage their time. They are continually and equally frustrated with not enough time and dead time - the time they are in the office, expecting to see a patient and the exam room is empty.
Patient flow is as critical to the revenue cycle as it is to the efficient delivery of clinical care. In fact, it is part and parcel of the entire package of effective and efficient clinical care, customer service, staff and physician productivity, practice cost, and cash flow. The purpose of patient flow and the revenue cycle is to collect or have a payment arrangement in place for all patients lowering bad debt, accelerating billing, and enhancing customer service while supporting patient care. Tags: Medical Practice Management, Healthcare Policy, Law and Medicine, Medical Practice Finance
Parental and sick leave are medical staff benefits that can lead to all kinds of problems. An article by Laura Sachs Hills is presented as a podcast entitled: Setting Trouble-Free Policies for Parental and Sick Leave.
Often times medical practices can recive huge responses to a help-wanted ad. Here are strategies, presented in a podcast and excerpted from an article by Laura Sachs Hills.
Even though most physicians will only negotiate a few leases during their careers, it pays to be proficient in the language of leasing. In this podcast, Karen Zupko and Melissa Lupella provide the basis for understanding leasing arrangements.
