Medical practice overhead is a growing concern for many practices that are looking to thrive and simultaneously maintain quality patient care. In today’s medical practice, overhead is directly related to patient volume, collections, and its general structure. These ongoing administrative and clinical expenses are necessary for the business to function but can have a negative impact on the practice’s revenue.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, financial management

An excerpt from the new ebook: The Medical Office Manager's Guide to Time Management 

Key tips, best practices, insights—we've shared a number of ways to better manage your medical practice. But if you're looking for guidance in getting better at time management, all in one place, you'll want to download the latest ebook on The Medical Office Manager's Guide to Time Management. Not only does this guide provide you with educational and informative gems, it also shares how to help put all of this great knowledge into practice. 

Topics: Practice management, time management, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues

We know CMOM is a huge investment. But the financial piece shouldn't keep you from personal development. In the  video below, PMI Faculty Member and CMOM Instructor Linda D'Spain discusses the different ways to pay for CMOM.

Topics: CMOM, PMI Certification, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, CMOM FAQs

A provider’s workload is never ending. Time is always ticking, and there never seems to be enough of it in the day. With regular patient visits, mounds of paperwork, administrative meetings, and countless other demands, it’s no wonder that patients are kept waiting. This is why provider time management is an essential skill for the medical office manager. Improving a provider’s time management can have beneficial results including a decrease in stress, an increase in productivity, and much happier patients.

Topics: Practice management, time management, medical office manager topics

To be effective time administrators, concentration must be focused on what is important rather than what is urgent.

Learning to concentrate on the important reduces crises mode and urgency addictions. The important eventually becomes urgent, so the strategy is to act on the important before it becomes urgent. 

Topics: Practice management, time management, medical office manager topics, medical office staff

In today’s medical practice HIPAA regulations provide both guidance and compliance standards for all financial and administrative procedures involved when it comes to protected health information (PHI). With patient privacy on the line these standards cover all key transactions in which organizations collect, handle, and store their information. Complying with these standards will protect the medical practice against theft and violations along with helping to ensure their patient information is secure.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, HIPAA compliance, HIPAA

HIPAA Compliance can be a complex issue. Especially with advancements in technology and the rising prominence of social media and online reviews. However, there is a degree of solace in knowing that you are not alone in your quest to successfully navigate HIPAA requirements. Medical office managers across the country must be able to effectively understand the federal regulations that deal with protected health information (PHI).

Topics: Practice management, medical office compliance, HIPAA compliance, HIPAA

Sexual harassment can be a tremendous liability in the workplace if not addressed properly. In a medical office environment it can have disastrous effects on both employee retention and patient care. Addressing the issue and implementing protocol to handle claims is essential. Creating an environment where employees can work without being harassed is fundamental. Making employees feel comfortable and ensuring that they are aware that they can report an incident-free of retaliation are key roles for the medical office manager.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, medical office staff, sexual harassment

In a busy medical practice, the risk of error runs high. This is a dangerous assertion when you consider that mistakes in a medical record can negatively impact a patient’s health. Mistakes made repeatedly in medical claims may flag your practice for an audit and, if overpayments are found, can result in huge fines and penalties from the government.

Topics: Practice management, PMI Certification, cmom certification, medical practice issues, medical fraud, medical billing, medicare

Managing the day-to-day finances and budgetary needs of a busy medical office is a huge responsibility. Medical office managers should have formal training in accounting and financial best practices like cost analyses, financial reports, and financial forecasts. Managing the budget is a major undertaking but learning this one skill will set you up for success in other areas of financial management.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, medical office manager topics, budget planning, financial management

Every year nearly 2 million American workers are exposed to violence in the workplace. Astonishing as it sounds, experts say it’s just a fraction of the cases that take place; many incidents are never reported. The propensity for violence in the workplace has escalated in recent years, and notably in healthcare. From verbal abuse to physical violence, harassment, intimidation, and even homicide, healthcare and social service workers face threats to their safety at a more frequent rate than other professions.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, medical office, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, medical office staff, workplace violence, emergency preparedness

In today’s robust job market, competition for finding the best talent can be challenging. Most often the task of recruiting new employees in the office is the Medical Office Manager's responsibility. When searching for qualified candidates, it is important to follow recruitment best practices and be familiar with laws and legal guidelines governing employment. It’s definitely a balancing act, but being able to successfully juggle both will yield clear-cut results.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, staff recruiting

An integral part of a medical office manager’s role is to protect the health and safety of employees by preventing illnesses and possible risks associated with hazardous exposure. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, also known as HazCom, is the federal regulation that oversees and evaluates the communication of chemical hazards in a work setting.

Topics: CMOM, medical office certification, medical office manager topics, osha, hazard communication, medical office staff

Portions of this article were originally published in BC Advantage Magazine March 5, 2019

A whopping 25 to 31 percent of total health care expenditures in the U.S. are administrative costs, according to a time-driven, activity-based costing study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)¹. These are huge margins for healthcare providers already squeezed by insurers and increasing costs of care. You may wonder if the grass is greener on the other side.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, PMI Certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, medical billing

In 2017, 16.7 million people in the U.S. experienced some type of identity theft with $17 billion in losses to organizations, according to a recent Harris Poll. Medical identity theft is fraud and recognizing and controlling it is a growing and serious compliance concern for medical office managers.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, medical fraud, medical identity theft