Consumer healthcare spending continues to rise, not surprisingly due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. National health spending projections for 2021-23 will continue to inch upward 5.4 percent per year, according to research compiled by the National Health Expenditures Accounts (NHE). Insurers have tightened the reins shifting more financial burden to their members. And with inflation, furloughs, unpaid family leave, and mounting medical and prescription costs, it's no surprise that family budgets are stretched thin.

Topics: Practice debt, medical practice issues, medical billing, patient billing, patient collections

Need to hire someone who can hit the ground running fast?  Hiring a new team member should not be a rushed decision. Consider these steps to draw in the right people, and ultimately choose the right candidate. Taking steps to find the right fit for your medical office team is going to save you a lot of effort in the long run.

Topics: Practice management, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, cmom certification, staff recruiting

The average listener retains only about 50 percent of a conversation. After 48 hours, retention drops to about 25 percent. Everyone working in a healthcare setting, listen up! Poor listening skills can result in relaying incorrect information to a provider or erroneously transcribing information into a patient file. These errors impact the quality of patient care and may even lead to accusations of fraud.

Topics: medical office manager topics, medical office leadership

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

The last few years have caused many of us to delay our plans on professional development and turn our attention to other things to help get us through. With a new year around the corner, it's time to reset and refocus on your career.

Topics: CMOM, PMI Certification, cmom certification

Ready to level up your leadership skills in medical office management? Check out these three courses developed for new/aspiring practice managers who need to quickly build a foundation for effective leadership. They are also excellent precursor training for the Certified Medical Office Manager training course and certification exam. 

Topics: cmom certification, medical office training, CMOM training courses

If you work with provider claims in a medical office, then you have probably heard the phrase, “If it isn’t documented, it wasn’t done.” But a 2020 Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report found that more than 70 percent of claims submitted for payment were paid improperly, meaning something was incomplete or missing from the documentation submitted with a claim.

Topics: carrier contract guidelines, medical billing, Medicare fraud, medicare compliance, patient billing

How would you characterize the success of your medical office? A steady flow of patients is one benchmark. What about your team; do your providers take an active role in practice management? Are your clinical and administrative teams showing up with purpose? How about financial health? It is an ongoing struggle in every practice, and we've found two CMOMs on a mission to help you improve it.

Topics: Practice management, Practice cash flow, medical practice issues, financial management

Working in healthcare, a range of illnesses and injuries walk through your medical practice doors. Serious and emergent situations may arise, depending on your specialty, and protocols are in place to refer to local emergency facilities. When it comes to your staff's safety, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all employers to prepare and maintain records that document serious occupational injuries and illnesses using the OSHA 300 Log.

 

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, osha, Practice safety

In 2018, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky identified soft skills as the biggest skills gap in the U.S. Further research has shown that gaps in soft skills exist across all roles and nearly all functions. Healthcare careers are almost always in demand with far more jobs than qualified candidates in many markets.

Topics: medical office, medical office staff, staff recruiting, medical office training

Asking the right questions not only will secure the right talent but will also keep the practice out of legal trouble. Learn the questions you can and can't ask to avoid putting yourself and your practice at risk. What you ask and how you ask matters. 

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

If you dread conducting employee performance reviews, you're not alone. But perception is everything; a performance evaluation does not have to be confrontational. it can be an uplifting and productive opportunity to connect with your team members. Reviews are a good time to formally recognize your team members for going above and beyond. It is also a confidential space to address problems head-on and provide a pathway for improvement. What you say, and how you say it must be carefully considered during a review to avoid a negative result.

Topics: medical office manager topics, cmom certification, medical practice issues, medical office staff, medical office leadership

Rachel K. Downey, MHA, is an Administrator at Dermatology Associates of Virginia where she has worked for more than six years. Founded in 1969 by Richmond native Charles M. Caravati, Jr., M.D., the practice has grown to 16 Board-certified physicians and four mid-level providers practicing at six central Virginia locations with a goal to excel in quality, patient experience, and cost-effectiveness.

Topics: medical practice issues, emergency preparedness, financial management, medical office leadership, COVID, change management

With all the major stressors involved in practice management, it's easy to lose sight of an obscure issue like ergonomics. But studies like this one in the Journal of Preventative Medicine and Hygiene (JPMH) have shown that time spent evaluating the health and safety of your team's workstation will help improve mental acuity and decrease physical stress and absenteeism.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, osha, hazard communication

Tense situations in a medical office are inevitable, and knowing how to de-escalate a potentially violent situation is a skill that every provider and employee needs to know.  You hope you never have to use it, but having an emergency action protocol and team response training will help protect your team when seconds count. 

Topics: Practice management, medical practice issues, workplace violence, emergency preparedness, personnel management