You are thinking about the busy workday ahead as your car inches forward in heavy morning traffic. An incoming call from the medical office building manager changes the trajectory of your day. Downed power lines from a heavy storm have forced the offices to close indefinitely. Water has seeped into the building. Now your thoughts shift to the patient load for the week, in-office procedures scheduled for the day, and communicating with staff heading into the office. How can you address the closure, property damage, system outages, and other unknown perils as quickly as possible?

Topics: CMOM, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, workplace violence, leadership, workplace safety, Crisis Leadership

By now, every medical practice leader in the nation has completed the "school of hard knocks" apprenticeship in Crisis Management, compliments of COVID-19. Hopefully, most have made it through unscathed and learned a lot in the process. Now that the pandemic waves appear to be subsiding, some medical office managers may be wondering whether to relax protocols and get back to pre-pandemic normalcy, stay on course, or prepare for new possible threats. The answers will present themselves in due time. 

Topics: medical office compliance, workplace violence, emergency preparedness, Opioid Addiction, medical office leadership, personnel management, Practice safety

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

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

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

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

Nearly 2 million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year, and the number has only grown since the start of the pandemic. While workplace violence can strike anywhere and at any time, the risk of assault can be prevented or minimized if employers take appropriate precautions.

Topics: medical office compliance, medical practice issues, workplace violence

As a Medical Office Manager, there are few actions as uncomfortable as firing an employee. Yet, after verbal warnings, write-ups, and other corrective actions, you know when this time has come to gather your documentation and make difficult decisions about how and when to proceed. But failure to follow proper procedures and federal guidelines could put your practice at risk of an employee lawsuit or a compliance violation. Take a look at some best practices and a termination checklist below to help you proceed professionally and safely.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, personnel management

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 26 announced law enforcement actions for several COVID-19-related Medicare fraud schemes totaling $143 million. The actions involved the exploitation of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policies designed to increase access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen defendants were charged for their actions involving the exploitation of the broadened COVID-19 emergency declaration, telehealth regulations, and rules. 

Topics: medical office compliance, medical fraud, Medicare fraud, medicare compliance

Pay careful attention to the latest reimbursement, compliance guidelines, and waivers as you integrate telehealth into patient care, experts warn. As the newness wears off, denials could start rolling in if you aren't watching the updates closely. 

Topics: Practice management, Practice cash flow, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, medical billing

Your Family Doktors, a 25-year-old family practice in Webster, TX, faced many operational challenges over the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic sent healthcare into a tailspin. Office Manager Ashton Ardila, CMOM, CMIS, shared some of the hurdles and frustrations her team faced, and how the practice has persevered.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, medical office staff, administrative burdens

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week submitted a 357-page proposal for publication to the Federal Register detailing proposed changes to the Privacy Rule under the HIPAA & HITECH Act standards.

Topics: medical office compliance, HIPAA, administrative burdens

The rapid spread of the coronavirus across the U.S. and many parts of the globe has drawn quite a bit of attention to employee safety. As business leaders look over their employee policies and procedures, they may begin to wonder about legal risks that a pandemic may expose them to. Medical offices are no exception. OSHA requires every employer to have policies and procedures to address the pandemic spread of viral illnesses such as the flu or coronavirus. A review of your policies and response plans now is essential.

Topics: medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance

Medical information is the number one prime target when it comes to cybersecurity hacks, FBI Computer Scientist Thomas Ervin at Practice Management Institute’s National Conference for Medical Office Professionals in December. A single click on a phishing email can turn a machine into a “slave,” as termed in the cybersecurity industry. Phishing email incidents are not new and have increased more than 200 percent. It has become so prevalent that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Division has set up a website to report phishing emails. Ervin, FBI Special Agent Raymond Martinez, and Cybersecurity Expert Richard Avery delivered an eye-opening demonstration to show how easy it can be for your personal and work data to be compromised by a hacker. Cybercriminals target all types of organizations and these experts warned that healthcare entities need to be especially vigilant.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical office compliance, medical practice issues, medical fraud, medical identity theft, HIPAA compliance

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