Practice Management Institute® announces a new partnership with Ascension Medical Group- Wisconsin in a joint effort to provide and promote a continued standard of excellence in skillset among practice leaders. The partnership supports the commitment by the organization to enhance the knowledge base of practice leaders through successful completion of the Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM)® certification program. The web-based training course begins next week, facilitated by PMI faculty superstar Jan Hailey MHL, CMC, CMCO, CMIS, CMOM, CMCA E/M.

The CMOM course teaches practical administrative skills that lead to improved communication with providers, third-party payers, patients, and business associates. Candidates will learn important guidelines, and work through exercises that will improve decision-making and tactical skills, leading to enhanced preparedness to manage risk, motivate employees, and improve the financial outlook in the medical office in the disciplines of Practice Management, Personnel Management, Financial Management, Compliance, and the Managed Care Delivery System.

PMI wishes to extend our sincerest gratitude to Carol Opgenorth, MBA, CMPE, Chief Operating Officer for her vision and tireless effort in helping to solidify this important initiative, and for the obvious commitment she demonstrates to her employees and to the organization as a whole.

"I’d like to personally acknowledge the value and importance of providing organizationally hosted and mandated educational programming," said PMI Vice President Michael Moore. "Ascension Medical Group – Wisconsin is an amazing organization, and PMI is proud to be of service to them in this initiative.  Our companies share a common mission to help medical office personnel stay on top of the latest industry changes, trends, and solutions. In addition, I’ve learned firsthand the kind of importance Ascension places on professional empowerment, and PMI stands firmly behind the commitment they have to their team."

Ascension Medical Group Wisconsin delivers primary care and chronic disease management for adults. Ascension believes it’s as important to care for the mind and spirit as it is to care for the body. When you see an Ascension Medical Group Wisconsin provider, you’re connected to so much more. Their providers have access to the latest technologies and treatments, as well as thousands of primary and specialty care doctors across the state and across the country. This ensures that patients receive the very best care, tailored to their own unique situation and needs. #PMIPARTNERSHIPS #CMOMSTRONG

Topics: PMI Certification, cmom certification, financial management, Client Relations

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

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

The rapid evolution of telehealth services has helped keep medical practice virtual doors open to meet their patients' health needs during the pandemic. But with new utilization comes cautionary areas from a billing standpoint, and it's important to stay current on updates and compliance protocols to promote revenue growth and avoid financial loss. 

Topics: Practice management, payer contract, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, medical billing, financial management, medical coding

How would you characterize the success of your medical office? Is it a steady flow of patients, low denials, providers that take an active role in the business, a great clinical and administrative team? How about the financial health of the practice? It’s hard to guide the ship in the right direction when you are too busy plugging holes in the galley.

Topics: Practice management, Practice cash flow, medical practice issues, financial management, patient billing, patient collections

Changes to healthcare delivery, and billing codes during the pandemic, along with major updates to the E/M documentation guidelines have created a ripe environment for government-contracted auditors. But you have the right to challenge auditors. Take steps now to establish your culture of compliance.

Topics: Practice cash flow, payer contract, carrier contract guidelines, medical office, medical billing, financial management, auditing

Elizabeth Daley, MHA, CMIS, CMOM, CMCO, is Director of Client Success at Collect Rx, a 15-year-old company launched by former executives from third-party vendors who pioneered the out-of-network (OON) industry. The company works with 2,100 clients across the country and have built a proprietary database with thousands of claim resolutions at their fingertips to facilitate and expedite the negotiation process.

Topics: Practice cash flow, value proposition, carrier contract guidelines, medical practice issues, medical billing, financial management

Looking to start or advance your career in Medical Office Management? Earning a certification can be a huge bargaining chip when trying to snag a dream job or advance into a supervisory role with your current employer. In either case, you’ll want to weigh factors like the investment of time and money to know if a certification is right for you.

Topics: medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, financial management, HIPAA compliance

A Medical Office Manager’s Guide to Patient Collections

Topics: Practice cash flow, medical office manager topics, medical billing, financial management

Is your medical practice following current HIPAA compliance guidelines? Keeping track of current regulations is challenging and time consuming. But disregard for mandatory patient privacy laws can bring costly violations, fines, and penalties if a breach occurs. The following checklists outline important steps that organizations must take to secure Protected Health Information (PHI). Keep these checklists on hand to help keep your practice compliant.

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

With rising costs in today’s medical practice, it’s becoming more important than ever to receive timely payments from patients. With the high costs associated with printing and mailing statements, and lingering late and missing patient payments, it’s enough to send the medical office budget into deficit. Though collecting insurance company payments is the lifeblood of all medical facilities, out-of-pocket patient expenses such as deductibles, copays, and coinsurance amounts can’t be dismissed. They can add up quickly in lost revenue if stricter collection procedures aren’t in place. 

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

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

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