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

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

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

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

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, JD, MBA, CHC, of DC-based Law Firm, Liles Parker. Before you start the negotiation process, here are a few things to consider.

Topics: Practice management, contract negotiation, payer contract, carrier contract, value proposition, carrier contract guidelines, Heidi Kocher, medical practice benchmarking

Lots of healthcare organizations say their core values reflect a diverse and inclusive workplace but fall flat in implementation. A diverse workplace must be welcoming of all individuals, no matter their ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation. More than a mission statement, everyone in your medical office plays an active role in its successful integration. In this post, we discuss what it takes to create a strong workplace culture of diversity and inclusion and why you must elevate its presence in your medical office.

Topics: Practice management, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, diversity and inclusion

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

Mix together long hours, hectic schedules, heavy caseloads, COVID-19 chaos, and office politics, and you get a toxic recipe for medical practice burnout. Don't ignore these signs! Medical office managers can reduce the effects of stress and burnout with strategies that support providers and staff. Learn best practices to avoid burnout, protect your practice, and increase patient satisfaction.

Topics: Practice management, time management, medical office manager topics, medical practice issues, medical office staff, administrative burdens

When demands at work leave you overwhelmed or exhausted, knowing where to turn for support is important before stress builds and spreads into other areas of your life. Relief starts with giving up some control, said Practice Transformation Coach Debbie Rozanski.

Topics: Practice management, medical office certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical practice issues, administrative burdens

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

You didn’t sign up to play referee or counselor to adults that don’t get along. But personality conflicts and unprofessional behavior in the workplace should not be taken lightly. It can destroy your medical office productivity, morale, and send good employees packing.

Topics: Practice management, CMOM, PMI Certification, Certified Medical Office Manager, medical office, medical office manager topics, cmom certification, difficult personalities

When the economy is strong, the retail industry experiences growth. However, that extra consumer cash does not always flow into the medical industry. That is because for most consumers, budgeting for healthcare is lower priority, and high deductibles put cost of care out of reach for many Americans. Consumers are more reserved when it comes to healthcare, often seeking the least expensive approach to care.

Topics: Practice management, Practice debt, Practice cash flow

With an above average salary base and an optimistic job forecast there’s no better time than now to consider a job in medical office management. The fact is medical offices and healthcare facilities cannot run smoothly without a great manager at the helm. The role of a medical office manager is critical in today’s fast-paced facilities where above board patient care and quality is expected.

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

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

With patients to serve and open positions to fill recruiting qualified, caring healthcare professionals for your medical practice can be time consuming, overwhelming, and challenging. Learn how you can draw top talent and keep abreast of cutting-edge technology and new techniques with skilled, trained and knowledgeable employees. 

Topics: Practice management, medical office staff, staff recruiting