Medical office management is a growing field with lots of opportunity. Whether you are currently working in a management role or just starting out, you have come to the right place! Practice Management Institute (PMI) administers an online certification course designed exclusively for current and aspiring medical office managers.

A well-written job description will help you find the best candidates for your medical office team. The more detailed a job description, the more candidates with desired skillsets and expertise will be walking through the door. Its benefits are two-fold: 1) It sets clear expectations for applicants searching for medical staff positions and 2) It helps recruit the ideal candidates for the job.

Your patients love your doctors and there’s rarely a slow day in your medical office’s busy waiting room. But recent communication problems with front and back office staff are causing scheduling backlogs, and patient complaints are on the rise. It’s time for swift corrective action.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has stepped forward to recognize and address the increasing struggle physicians are battling against burnout. David O. Barbe, M.D., M.H.A., and AMA President, explained that the increase in administrative burdens is leading many physicians to experience emotional fatigue.

By Thomas G Tiller II
COO | Tiller-Hewitt HealthCare Strategies

Have you ever experienced a violent situation while on the job?  If not, it is likely that you will at some point in your career. It is even more common than you might think. OSHA reports revealed that “From 2002 to 2013, incidents of serious workplace violence were four times more common in healthcare than in the private industry on average.”¹ This includes physical or threats of assault directed toward personnel at work or on duty. According to U.S. News and World Report, “Healthcare workers suffer more workplace injuries than any other profession, with about 654,000 harmed per year on the job.”²

March 9, 2018

By: Steven Kleinberg EVP, COO, CardChoice International

“I think the medical billing field chose me instead of me choosing it,” said Tammy Cooper, a newly certified coding professional in Rochester, NY. “I started as a per diem evening receptionist after my husband urged me to get out of the house and use my brain instead of spending all day, every day with our two toddler daughters as a stay at home mom.”

Health care providers are bearing more financial risk than ever before as more commercial and government payer arrangements progress. With more Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) moving into downside risk in 2019 and many more medical groups focusing on Medicare Advantage, CPC plus, and customized commercial capitation deals, the risk adjustment of their population matters significantly. For providers and medical coding personnel, proper documentation and specificity of a patient's illness and burden of disease is now paramount.

Practice Management Institute® (PMI) has set the dates for its largest learning event of the year in San Antonio, October 10-12. Medical practice administrators, coding, reimbursement and auditing professionals, and compliance officers are encouraged to attend. Participants will learn strategies for professional growth and guidelines for working smart in today’s complex administrative environment.

Contract review is a delicate dance but doing your homework and negotiating for a better deal helps to achieve a better outcome, says healthcare attorney, Heidi Kocher.

By David T. Womack, President/CEO of Practice Management Institute

Billing problems are an ongoing point of frustration in medical offices. Errors and denials can quickly snowball, creating big revenue cycle problems. One study from BMC Health Services Research found that time spent coding, filing claims and obtaining prior authorizations, cost the U.S. healthcare system as much as $471 billion in 2012.[1]