Northern California Medical Associates (NCMA) has been a leading association of medical practitioners in the North Bay Area since 1975, when Cardiology Associates of Santa Rosa, Inc. first opened its doors. Since then, NCMA has expanded its expertise and scope of care by merging with several private practices to better serve patients in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.
Topics: Practice management, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, quality assurance, staff recruiting
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
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
Maintaining compliance in a medical office is one of the most significant challenges that office managers face. With new regulations coming down the pipe, new employees to train, and policies to implement, it can be unnerving to stay on top of it all. To avoid healthcare fraud and abuse in the practice, the medical office manager must be knowledgeable and current with compliance laws and be equipped to manage issues when they arise.
Topics: Practice management, PMI Certification, medical office manager topics, cmom certification, medical office compliance, medical practice issues
How high are you setting the bar for patient care in your medical practice? Their health is in your hands, and they expect quality personalized care. Quality assurance is more important than ever. This article offers medical office managers insights for measuring quality assurance in your office. Read further and learn the “how” using two common tasks that can be easily improved when quality assurance is top-of-mind.
Topics: CMOM, PMI Certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, cmom certification, quality assurance
The time clock is ticking the moment patients enter your waiting room. How soon do you greet them? How long will they wait until they are called to the back? Respect for a patient’s time is perhaps among the most highly valued attributes of the patient experience. It’s also very frequently overlooked. So why is time management in a medical office so hard to control, and what can be done about it? Let us count the ways.
Topics: CMOM, PMI Certification, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office, time management, cmom certification
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.
Topics: Practice management, medical office certification, medical office manager topics, cmom certification
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.
Topics: Practice management, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, cmom certification
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.
Topics: CMOM, PMI Certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, time management, medical office manager topics
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.
Topics: Certified Medical Office Manager
When sexual harassment is taking place in a medical practice, it can have devastating effects. Every office should have a strict protocol for addressing claims. Alleged victims need to know that their claims are taken seriously and will be fully investigated, says Michelle Goodwine, CEO, Diversity Advice Consultants.
Topics: Practice management
If you have worked in a medical office for a long time, then you have probably seen a lot of change in the way providers are paid. In the past, doctors used to rely on a patient’s insurance to cover most of their health care costs. Now, more insurers are paying less of the cost share with in-network fee reductions and a shift to higher deductibles and co-pays. The services the physician provides may be the same, but the patient bears more responsibility for the costs of care...