Once your current marketing strategies translate into new patients and referrals, you may want to think abut expanding your efforts into more commercial advertising such as newspapers, radio, or even television.
Again, there are several commercial agencies that will provide you with these services. The price tag is often hefty, however, and you may find that the message you wish to convey is not adequately understood.
There are a few simple tips that can help you produce your advertisements in house, saving you additional costs and assuring that your practice message reaches your target audience.
Begin with a small quarter page newspaper ad. What message do you want to convey? What types of patients do you want to attract? Don't waste your time and money paying for a newspaper ad that simply shows your name, address, phone number and specialty. Save that information for your practice brochure and marketing handouts. Your ads should be designed to grab the patient's attention, have relevance to their symptoms and convey the message that your are present to deal effectively with the particular complaint.
Building a practice web-site also gives you the opportunity to display your beautiful office and highlight the most recent medical trends that your office is following and offering to your community. You may want to include sections specifically devoted to patient information along with an FAQ page to answer what your office finds to be the most commonly asked questions. Some web-sites provide on-line appointments or live chats at specific periods of time. Today's patients are more informed than those of years ago, and appreciate an office where their specific concerns are immediately addressed. Your web-site can allow your front office more time to concentrate on the money aspect of the practice and less time answering the same patient questions over and over again.
Use creativity when planning your site and target your advertising to a savvy patient base that is computer literate and represent the consumer population at large. Produce attention grabbing advertisements, especially if you are going to present radio commercials or television spots.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Take What You Have and Run With It !
Imagine that you are an ophthalmology practice that shares space with an optometrist. The possibilities are endless for collaborative enterprises. You might want to offer a plan where patients can receive a free eye exam and eyeglasses for a price just above wholesale. Purchase a selection of wholesale frames for the patients to choose from and then offer the plan free to the human resources department of every small business or organization in your area. Print membership cards that offer this benefit to employees and to their families. In our case, in 1994, we charged $ 29.00 for an eye exam and glasses.
Think about the number of new cataract and glaucoma patients you could discover from offering an exam and glasses well below market price. Discover how many patients will upgrade to more expensive frames. Then think about expanding your efforts into producing safety eyewear and contracting with labor groups who require this service and who will also need annual eye exams. In the early 1990's, I was shocked to find that the eyeglass frames that I spent $200.00 buying cost the optician $5.00. I am sure that the same level of mark-up exists today so believe me when we charged the patient $29.00 for the exam and glasses, we still made a profit.
This is an actual success story that I brought to my first job in medicine as the director of marketing. The idea was the brainchild of an extremely well know ophthalmologist who was as devoted to marketing as he was to his specialty. He had a talent for looking at his practice and envisioning how it would move forward each year. The "Eyes Plus" program was a huge marketing bonanza for the practice; a simple idea that translated into a new source of revenue.
Any practice looking to grow and change has the ability to tap into the current trends in medicine and the resources already exist if you use a little imagination and are dedicated to your specialty. For example: It is widely known that women face an additional risk of fatal heart attack simply because they may present with symptoms so different from their male counterparts. A Cardiology practice with concerns for these differences may be wise to promote a women's heart program with marketing materials that outline the risk markers designed especially for this demographic group. This type of program will go over well with women's groups, OB-GYN practices, infertility practices, cosmetic surgeons, endocrinologists and on and on...
Growing your practice by expanding on your established skills not only has the potential for increasing practice revenue but it can also provide your physicians with a chance to diversify their current patient base and add new challenges to the daily routine.
Tomorrow : Playing With the Big Boys
Think about the number of new cataract and glaucoma patients you could discover from offering an exam and glasses well below market price. Discover how many patients will upgrade to more expensive frames. Then think about expanding your efforts into producing safety eyewear and contracting with labor groups who require this service and who will also need annual eye exams. In the early 1990's, I was shocked to find that the eyeglass frames that I spent $200.00 buying cost the optician $5.00. I am sure that the same level of mark-up exists today so believe me when we charged the patient $29.00 for the exam and glasses, we still made a profit.
This is an actual success story that I brought to my first job in medicine as the director of marketing. The idea was the brainchild of an extremely well know ophthalmologist who was as devoted to marketing as he was to his specialty. He had a talent for looking at his practice and envisioning how it would move forward each year. The "Eyes Plus" program was a huge marketing bonanza for the practice; a simple idea that translated into a new source of revenue.
Any practice looking to grow and change has the ability to tap into the current trends in medicine and the resources already exist if you use a little imagination and are dedicated to your specialty. For example: It is widely known that women face an additional risk of fatal heart attack simply because they may present with symptoms so different from their male counterparts. A Cardiology practice with concerns for these differences may be wise to promote a women's heart program with marketing materials that outline the risk markers designed especially for this demographic group. This type of program will go over well with women's groups, OB-GYN practices, infertility practices, cosmetic surgeons, endocrinologists and on and on...
Growing your practice by expanding on your established skills not only has the potential for increasing practice revenue but it can also provide your physicians with a chance to diversify their current patient base and add new challenges to the daily routine.
Tomorrow : Playing With the Big Boys
Monday, July 25, 2011
Community Services
Years ago, when drastic cuts in reimbursements were not an issue, certain medical practices offered everything from pick up and drop off services to fully equipped medical offices on wheels that would travel the community and provide free medical evaluations.
Today, when it seems as if money is dwindling more and more each year, and cuts in reimbursement have reached an all time high, physicians spend most of their time trying to make up for lost revenue by increasing the number of patients they see each day. In this vein, many doctors now feel that community services are no longer a viable option.
Providing a link between your office and your community doesn't have to be cost prohibitive and is still a good way to attract new patients to your practice.
For very little money, you can become familiar with the labor organizations, women's groups, PTA, fire and police departments in your area. Most of these groups have monthly meetings and welcome speakers from the medical community. Labor organizations with their own health coverage often have the opportunity to contract exclusively with specialty physicians for office and testing services. Police and the volunteer fire departments in your area require annual fitness testing for their employees and special needs groups are often looking for practices to accommodate their members. Small businesses in your community may need a physician for their sick employees or to provide treatment for minor on the job injuries.
Your office can also become a community service center at little to no cost to the practice. Patients love free testing. Blood pressure or cholesterol screenings, cataract and glaucoma testing, or testing for diabetes can be offered in your office using a separate appointment scheduler. These free screenings often translate into the discovery of untreated problems that will provide new patients for your practice. You might want to consider dedicating four hours on a Saturday morning to these services which can familiarize the community with your practice as well as providing a valuable service.
You can also consider advertising a series of in office lectures for your established patients and the community at large. These programs can work well for a large number of specialties. For example, you may want to promote a lecture series for diabetic patients that would include something like: "Diabetes - An Introduction to Nutritional Choices." Inviting physicians in your area to speak or attend these lectures is a good way to develop long lasting relationships with other medical professionals.
Your billing staff may want to chair an informational meeting on Medicare changes or the benefits and drawbacks to various HMO and PPO plans that serve your specialty.
Local community papers are the most cost effective way to advertise these meetings. A quarter page advertisement in the weekly community mailer usually fits into the most stringent practice budget. Flyers can be produced in house and distributed to local businesses. Don't forget that you can also use your local supermarkets. Often they have a bulletin board dedicated to community affairs. It is a good idea to have an R.S.V.P. in place for any in house lectures. This will guarantee that you have enough available seating or help you plan ahead if you want to serve refreshments.
Put on your thinking cap and you and you and your staff will come up with a number of brilliant ideas.
Tomorrow : Expanding Services : Take what you have and run with it !!!!
Today, when it seems as if money is dwindling more and more each year, and cuts in reimbursement have reached an all time high, physicians spend most of their time trying to make up for lost revenue by increasing the number of patients they see each day. In this vein, many doctors now feel that community services are no longer a viable option.
Providing a link between your office and your community doesn't have to be cost prohibitive and is still a good way to attract new patients to your practice.
For very little money, you can become familiar with the labor organizations, women's groups, PTA, fire and police departments in your area. Most of these groups have monthly meetings and welcome speakers from the medical community. Labor organizations with their own health coverage often have the opportunity to contract exclusively with specialty physicians for office and testing services. Police and the volunteer fire departments in your area require annual fitness testing for their employees and special needs groups are often looking for practices to accommodate their members. Small businesses in your community may need a physician for their sick employees or to provide treatment for minor on the job injuries.
Your office can also become a community service center at little to no cost to the practice. Patients love free testing. Blood pressure or cholesterol screenings, cataract and glaucoma testing, or testing for diabetes can be offered in your office using a separate appointment scheduler. These free screenings often translate into the discovery of untreated problems that will provide new patients for your practice. You might want to consider dedicating four hours on a Saturday morning to these services which can familiarize the community with your practice as well as providing a valuable service.
You can also consider advertising a series of in office lectures for your established patients and the community at large. These programs can work well for a large number of specialties. For example, you may want to promote a lecture series for diabetic patients that would include something like: "Diabetes - An Introduction to Nutritional Choices." Inviting physicians in your area to speak or attend these lectures is a good way to develop long lasting relationships with other medical professionals.
Your billing staff may want to chair an informational meeting on Medicare changes or the benefits and drawbacks to various HMO and PPO plans that serve your specialty.
Local community papers are the most cost effective way to advertise these meetings. A quarter page advertisement in the weekly community mailer usually fits into the most stringent practice budget. Flyers can be produced in house and distributed to local businesses. Don't forget that you can also use your local supermarkets. Often they have a bulletin board dedicated to community affairs. It is a good idea to have an R.S.V.P. in place for any in house lectures. This will guarantee that you have enough available seating or help you plan ahead if you want to serve refreshments.
Put on your thinking cap and you and you and your staff will come up with a number of brilliant ideas.
Tomorrow : Expanding Services : Take what you have and run with it !!!!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Who Should Market Your Practice ?
Ok ! You've done your homework. Your office looks like a page from Architectural Digest. Your staff has recently posed for Glamour Magazine and your doctors are the stand-ins for McDreamy and McSteamy.
You are definitely ready to take your show on the road. The question now is - Who will be your representative to the medical and patient community surrounding your practice?
Your first lesson is to assume that no one in your immediate area has even heard of your facility and act accordingly. You want to flood your market with name recognition and a strong understanding of the services that your practice offers. That means that you will have to develop strong bonds with physicians and residents of your areas and continue to market over and over again until you are sure that your target audience is aware of who and where you are.
Recent college graduates in the field of marketing and a select group of undergrad marketing students will be delighted to have the opportunity to hone their skills by marketing for your group. In the past, and especially in the current economic condition, these young people will often be willing to work for a small base salary and a commission based on the number of new patients and referring physicians that they bring to the practice. These newcomers to the field have unique skills and can provide a valuable asset to physicians looking to carry their message outside the office.
Marketing majors often have a good grasp on the computer software that will allow you to create most of your marketing materials in house and they know that pounding the pavement is a necessary part of their daily routine.
Before setting these employees loose, make sure you have them observe testing and procedures performed by your practice. They will need to understand the practice mission statement and the background of each physician. They should be able to answer any questions from prospective physician referrals or at least make provisions to get these answers to them as soon as possible.
Essential items that they should carry with them at all times will include:
Business cards for the practice.
A brochure outlining practice specialties.
Referral pads to leave with physicians.
Some small token items to leave with the front office - pens, note pads, magnets, mugs etc. ( It's all about name recognition)
For their first few visits, I would encourage that a member of your ancillary professional staff accompany them and judge their people skills and ability to convey your message. I have often used my echo or nuclear techs in this capacity on off schedule days and found it highly successful.
So many physicians have stopped marketing with all pharmaceutical and sales reps, so it won't be easy for your marketing staff to see them personally. In this case, they should be making strong contacts with the office managers or practice administrators and should follow up with them to make sure the physicians have seen any material provided during their visit. If you have the budget, you may want to provide a staff breakfast, luncheon, or desert tray for the prospective referring doctor or invite the office manager to lunch. Nothing gets to the heart of the matter better than a great tray of food !
In order to assess the efficiency of your marketing staff and to make sure they are not just parking at Dunkin Donuts or sleeping in their cars, they need to provide you with a list of physicians that they plan to market every day. They must bring back the business cards of each physician they met with or each office they visited, noting results. Each afternoon, they should return to the office and spend a few minutes with you, outlining their success or lack thereof and new strategies should be discussed. An additional responsibility is the tracking of referrals resulting from their efforts. A majority of their time must be spent in the field, rather than in the office and this should be made clear from their hire date. Require that they provide a business plan week to week and conduct scheduled marketing business meetings each month to discuss impressions and future plans.
Commercial insurers are placing a number of restrictions on testing that can be done by internists or family practitioners. These procedures are now authorized only for specialists. For example, if you are a cardiologist, you may want to send your echo tech to family practices and make them familiar with the services you provide and to assure them that appointments for echocardiograms are available to their patients either at your office or as part of a lease agreement where you would provide these services at their location and provide them with a monthly fee for leasing part of their space. In times like these where reimbursements are not what they once were, many practices welcome this influx of additional cash and the opportunity to keep their patients in house. Make sure you instill confidence in the family practitioner that you will not solicit the care of their patients and will see them only for services referred.
Your local hospital will usually offer monthly meetings to discuss administrative needs facing medical practices. Invitations to these meetings are made directly to the physician or office manager and attendance should be encouraged. Important contacts often result from these group sessions so take advantage of them whenever possible.
Tomorrow : Community Services
You are definitely ready to take your show on the road. The question now is - Who will be your representative to the medical and patient community surrounding your practice?
Your first lesson is to assume that no one in your immediate area has even heard of your facility and act accordingly. You want to flood your market with name recognition and a strong understanding of the services that your practice offers. That means that you will have to develop strong bonds with physicians and residents of your areas and continue to market over and over again until you are sure that your target audience is aware of who and where you are.
Recent college graduates in the field of marketing and a select group of undergrad marketing students will be delighted to have the opportunity to hone their skills by marketing for your group. In the past, and especially in the current economic condition, these young people will often be willing to work for a small base salary and a commission based on the number of new patients and referring physicians that they bring to the practice. These newcomers to the field have unique skills and can provide a valuable asset to physicians looking to carry their message outside the office.
Marketing majors often have a good grasp on the computer software that will allow you to create most of your marketing materials in house and they know that pounding the pavement is a necessary part of their daily routine.
Before setting these employees loose, make sure you have them observe testing and procedures performed by your practice. They will need to understand the practice mission statement and the background of each physician. They should be able to answer any questions from prospective physician referrals or at least make provisions to get these answers to them as soon as possible.
Essential items that they should carry with them at all times will include:
Business cards for the practice.
A brochure outlining practice specialties.
Referral pads to leave with physicians.
Some small token items to leave with the front office - pens, note pads, magnets, mugs etc. ( It's all about name recognition)
For their first few visits, I would encourage that a member of your ancillary professional staff accompany them and judge their people skills and ability to convey your message. I have often used my echo or nuclear techs in this capacity on off schedule days and found it highly successful.
So many physicians have stopped marketing with all pharmaceutical and sales reps, so it won't be easy for your marketing staff to see them personally. In this case, they should be making strong contacts with the office managers or practice administrators and should follow up with them to make sure the physicians have seen any material provided during their visit. If you have the budget, you may want to provide a staff breakfast, luncheon, or desert tray for the prospective referring doctor or invite the office manager to lunch. Nothing gets to the heart of the matter better than a great tray of food !
In order to assess the efficiency of your marketing staff and to make sure they are not just parking at Dunkin Donuts or sleeping in their cars, they need to provide you with a list of physicians that they plan to market every day. They must bring back the business cards of each physician they met with or each office they visited, noting results. Each afternoon, they should return to the office and spend a few minutes with you, outlining their success or lack thereof and new strategies should be discussed. An additional responsibility is the tracking of referrals resulting from their efforts. A majority of their time must be spent in the field, rather than in the office and this should be made clear from their hire date. Require that they provide a business plan week to week and conduct scheduled marketing business meetings each month to discuss impressions and future plans.
Commercial insurers are placing a number of restrictions on testing that can be done by internists or family practitioners. These procedures are now authorized only for specialists. For example, if you are a cardiologist, you may want to send your echo tech to family practices and make them familiar with the services you provide and to assure them that appointments for echocardiograms are available to their patients either at your office or as part of a lease agreement where you would provide these services at their location and provide them with a monthly fee for leasing part of their space. In times like these where reimbursements are not what they once were, many practices welcome this influx of additional cash and the opportunity to keep their patients in house. Make sure you instill confidence in the family practitioner that you will not solicit the care of their patients and will see them only for services referred.
Your local hospital will usually offer monthly meetings to discuss administrative needs facing medical practices. Invitations to these meetings are made directly to the physician or office manager and attendance should be encouraged. Important contacts often result from these group sessions so take advantage of them whenever possible.
Tomorrow : Community Services
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Internal Marketing - Always Start Here !!
Marketing begins at home! Before you invest in any marketing campaign, take a long hard look at your office and your staff. Try to see what a patient will experience when they walk through the door. First and foremost, Is the office clean? I hate to cite this as the truth, but many patients will go to a subpar doctor with a beautiful decor, than a great doctor whose office looks like it was recently hit by a small tornado ! Look at your carpeting... Is it shredded and torn ? Are you exam room floors cleaned and polished ? Most of all, are your bathrooms clean? If not, don't waste your time on a marketing campaign, because even if you attract several new patients, chances are you won't have them for long..
Now look at your staff. Do they have a uniform, professional appearance? Six inch fingernails and nose rings might be cute at a club, but they have no place at the front desk. Medicine is now a consumer business and if you don't meet consumer needs and judgements, the office down the block or around the corner will. You may have an M.D. from Harvard and a P.H.D. from Yale, but if your office and staff look like a zombie film - you might want to consider investing in some storage space and look for another job...
One of the easiest ways to gauge the appearance of your office is to invite a brutally honest friend to pay a visit to your facility and give you their first impressions. Have this same individual call your practice with questions and requests for an appointment and gauge how long they waited on hold and if the staff was courteous and respectful.
Each member of your front office staff should be interchangeable with the next. They should all use the same greeting when answering the phone, know the waiting limits for appointments, especially if referrals or pre-certifications are needed, and be able to answer patient questions regarding tests and procedures with some degree of intelligence. If they are not doing all of the above right now, I suggest that you provide them with a set of cheat sheets and monitor their calls.
If your practice is suffering from any of these problems, you should first hold an after hours meeting with all the members of your staff. Clarify that the patient's first impression of the practice will last a lifetime and that every employee will be charged with the responsibility for presenting the practice in a positive light.
Suggest that all employees answer the phone with a smile on their faces. Smiling when speaking gives a positive tone to your voice. Unkempt hair or unwashed uniforms all send a message that you don't want associated with patient care. You may need to make a provision in your budget for a uniform allowance for your staff if they are not presenting a clean team look. Don't be afraid to challenge inappropriate jewelry or make-up and set a standard for a look that makes you proud to present your representatives. Loud voices, the use of obscenities, even in the employee kitchen, should be prohibited. Your office is dedicated to meeting patient needs and your employees all participate in the daily theatre for this goal.
Advise all employees that a clean, well kept office is everyone's responsibility. A piece of paper on the floor won't wait. Coffee pots and refrigerators should be cleaned daily, along with the restrooms, and if it takes a schedule to make it happen, then create a schedule and make sure it is followed. If your practice is doing well financially, consider hiring a cleaning person that comes in for a few hours each morning or evening. Not only will this be a marketing plus, it will also assure that germs are taken care of right away and lessen sick absences. If you cannot afford a professional, invest in some cleaning products, mops, brooms, and a good vacuum and make sure they are put to good use.
In short, put your best foot forward before venturing into the outside world. Every employee in your practice is involved in its marketing each and every day. It is your responsibility to assure that all staff members are doing their best.
Now look at your staff. Do they have a uniform, professional appearance? Six inch fingernails and nose rings might be cute at a club, but they have no place at the front desk. Medicine is now a consumer business and if you don't meet consumer needs and judgements, the office down the block or around the corner will. You may have an M.D. from Harvard and a P.H.D. from Yale, but if your office and staff look like a zombie film - you might want to consider investing in some storage space and look for another job...
One of the easiest ways to gauge the appearance of your office is to invite a brutally honest friend to pay a visit to your facility and give you their first impressions. Have this same individual call your practice with questions and requests for an appointment and gauge how long they waited on hold and if the staff was courteous and respectful.
Each member of your front office staff should be interchangeable with the next. They should all use the same greeting when answering the phone, know the waiting limits for appointments, especially if referrals or pre-certifications are needed, and be able to answer patient questions regarding tests and procedures with some degree of intelligence. If they are not doing all of the above right now, I suggest that you provide them with a set of cheat sheets and monitor their calls.
If your practice is suffering from any of these problems, you should first hold an after hours meeting with all the members of your staff. Clarify that the patient's first impression of the practice will last a lifetime and that every employee will be charged with the responsibility for presenting the practice in a positive light.
Suggest that all employees answer the phone with a smile on their faces. Smiling when speaking gives a positive tone to your voice. Unkempt hair or unwashed uniforms all send a message that you don't want associated with patient care. You may need to make a provision in your budget for a uniform allowance for your staff if they are not presenting a clean team look. Don't be afraid to challenge inappropriate jewelry or make-up and set a standard for a look that makes you proud to present your representatives. Loud voices, the use of obscenities, even in the employee kitchen, should be prohibited. Your office is dedicated to meeting patient needs and your employees all participate in the daily theatre for this goal.
Advise all employees that a clean, well kept office is everyone's responsibility. A piece of paper on the floor won't wait. Coffee pots and refrigerators should be cleaned daily, along with the restrooms, and if it takes a schedule to make it happen, then create a schedule and make sure it is followed. If your practice is doing well financially, consider hiring a cleaning person that comes in for a few hours each morning or evening. Not only will this be a marketing plus, it will also assure that germs are taken care of right away and lessen sick absences. If you cannot afford a professional, invest in some cleaning products, mops, brooms, and a good vacuum and make sure they are put to good use.
In short, put your best foot forward before venturing into the outside world. Every employee in your practice is involved in its marketing each and every day. It is your responsibility to assure that all staff members are doing their best.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Marketing Your Medical Practice
Most physicians would appreciate an influx of new patients to offset today's changes in reimbursement. Even physicians with a solid patient base, in a busy demographic area could use the higher reimbursement rates and referrals that are associated with a new patient visit.
Yet, most physicians would be surprised to find that many prospective patients in their immediate demographic area have no idea that their practice even exists. Curbside practices have the advantage of foot and drive by traffic, but even those practices may remain invisible unless the physician reaches out.
Some doctors feel that direct patient marketing carries a negative connotation and would rather rely on referrals from colleagues, family and friends to make their practice more successful. However, medicine is entering an age where consumer savvy baby boomers will be making more of their own health care decisions. This population will have a better understanding of the health care marketplace than prior generations and will not be afraid to challenge decisions made by their physicians or to shop around for the physician that best suits their needs.
Marketing directly to patients and to other prospective health care providers is an excellent tool to maintain a direct communication to your community. The process can be both enjoyable as well as rewarding and will assure that patients and physicians in your area are aware of the services that your provide. In addition, marketing campaigns and the development of associated materials can be a great motivational tool for your professional and clerical staff. Hidden away inside each medical practice are staff members that love to write, draw, or create computer graphics. Tapping into these resources often allows you to run with your marketing ideas and still keep costs within the practice budget. The process is easier than you might imagine and certainly more cost effective than services offered by a professional advertising agency.
What is successful marketing? There are no steadfast rules to developing a successful marketing strategy. At the core of every good campaign is the steady flow of ideas coupled with a motivated staff to make these ideas a reality.
Even the best advertising agencies can create campaigns for your practice that fall short of achieving consumer interest. When you assess the cost of a thirty second television spot and realize how few of these interest the general population, you come to the inevitable conclusion that marketing is basically throwing many ideas up in the air and determining which ones stick to the ceiling and which fall to the ground. Your goal in medical marketing is to share your practice mission with members of your community and to attract patients to services and treatment options that your practice provides. At the end of every campaign, you should feel confident that you reached as many members of the community as possible and that this community has a clear cut understanding of your practice.
How do you start a marketing campaign? The first step in marketing your office should be the creation of practice brochure. Yours can be a simple one page foldout or a more elaborate design, depending on the size of your practice, your budget, and the number of services that your provide.
Your practice brochure should contain the following:
Your mission statement describing your dedication to providing the best in medical care for your patients.
An introduction to the physicians in your practice, noting their qualifications and specialties and Board Certifications.
A brief description of each procedure or special service that your provide.
Your office address (s), phone and fax numbers.
Directions to your location(s).
Any age limitations for your services.
Consider shopping internet artwork for the front of your brochure. There are literally thousands of graphics that are free to download. Whatever you choose, keep the front of your brochure as simple as possible, including a graphic, and the name, address, and phone number of your practice. You may also want one line stating your specialty. Additional office addresses can be listed on the back cover.
If your office is equipped with a state of the art copier, your brochure can be printed in house on glossy or bond paper and still have a professional appearance, while keeping your costs in line. Choose uncomplicated fonts and make sure the brochure is easy to read and not overcrowded with print. Avoid loud colors when choosing your paper. A white brochure with a neat bold font is often the most effective and presents a professional appearance. Remember that this brochure is an introduction to your practice and should be prepared with both patients and prospective referring physicians in mind.
Should you decide to utilize a printing service for your brochure, make sure that more than one proofread is done before you submit the work for final print. Editing errors will cost you additional funds and you will be charged full price for any work performed by the publisher if these errors are not corrected before the brochure is printed.
You should already have an adequate supply of business and appointment cards for your practice. If you are considering using a folder with a pre-made card holder for sending marketing materials to referring physicians, you will want to choose colors and textures that compliment your brochure. Keep all marketing materials consistent to color and texture to present the most professional appearance. When preparing marketing materials for possible referring physicians, you may want to consider adding a referral pad where referring providers can check off what services they want you to provide for their patients. This material will increase the number of referrals and make the process easier for the referring provider.
Make sure that your practice brochure is available and visible at your front desk. If you mail out your new patient registration paperwork in advance of the patient appointment, you should include a practice brochure as well as an appointment card and directions to your office.
There are several companies that are solely dedicated to providing mailing lists that cover every possible demographic in your immediate and close-by communities. You can tailor your list by patient age, sex, number of households with children, and almost any other specific demographic that covers your practice needs. The lists are relatively inexpensive and you may want to begin your basic marketing strategy with a general mailer to homes in your immediate area. Sending a practice brochure to patient who have not returned to your office in some time may also remind these patients that your are still active in your community and may be effective for return visits.
Many medical software systems come equipped with print outs designed to provide patients with a more detailed description of their diagnosis or of future procedures scheduled in your office. Patients appreciate this effort and they often assist in alleviating patient fears. This information can also help reduce the number of phone calls by answering the patients questions in advance. You can also create these types of materials in house as well. In addition, many companies offer pre-printed patient information booklets that can be purchased in bulk. Check online pricing and delivery information in your area and choose the best options for your practice.
Tomorrow - Internal and External Marketing
Yet, most physicians would be surprised to find that many prospective patients in their immediate demographic area have no idea that their practice even exists. Curbside practices have the advantage of foot and drive by traffic, but even those practices may remain invisible unless the physician reaches out.
Some doctors feel that direct patient marketing carries a negative connotation and would rather rely on referrals from colleagues, family and friends to make their practice more successful. However, medicine is entering an age where consumer savvy baby boomers will be making more of their own health care decisions. This population will have a better understanding of the health care marketplace than prior generations and will not be afraid to challenge decisions made by their physicians or to shop around for the physician that best suits their needs.
Marketing directly to patients and to other prospective health care providers is an excellent tool to maintain a direct communication to your community. The process can be both enjoyable as well as rewarding and will assure that patients and physicians in your area are aware of the services that your provide. In addition, marketing campaigns and the development of associated materials can be a great motivational tool for your professional and clerical staff. Hidden away inside each medical practice are staff members that love to write, draw, or create computer graphics. Tapping into these resources often allows you to run with your marketing ideas and still keep costs within the practice budget. The process is easier than you might imagine and certainly more cost effective than services offered by a professional advertising agency.
What is successful marketing? There are no steadfast rules to developing a successful marketing strategy. At the core of every good campaign is the steady flow of ideas coupled with a motivated staff to make these ideas a reality.
Even the best advertising agencies can create campaigns for your practice that fall short of achieving consumer interest. When you assess the cost of a thirty second television spot and realize how few of these interest the general population, you come to the inevitable conclusion that marketing is basically throwing many ideas up in the air and determining which ones stick to the ceiling and which fall to the ground. Your goal in medical marketing is to share your practice mission with members of your community and to attract patients to services and treatment options that your practice provides. At the end of every campaign, you should feel confident that you reached as many members of the community as possible and that this community has a clear cut understanding of your practice.
How do you start a marketing campaign? The first step in marketing your office should be the creation of practice brochure. Yours can be a simple one page foldout or a more elaborate design, depending on the size of your practice, your budget, and the number of services that your provide.
Your practice brochure should contain the following:
Your mission statement describing your dedication to providing the best in medical care for your patients.
An introduction to the physicians in your practice, noting their qualifications and specialties and Board Certifications.
A brief description of each procedure or special service that your provide.
Your office address (s), phone and fax numbers.
Directions to your location(s).
Any age limitations for your services.
Consider shopping internet artwork for the front of your brochure. There are literally thousands of graphics that are free to download. Whatever you choose, keep the front of your brochure as simple as possible, including a graphic, and the name, address, and phone number of your practice. You may also want one line stating your specialty. Additional office addresses can be listed on the back cover.
If your office is equipped with a state of the art copier, your brochure can be printed in house on glossy or bond paper and still have a professional appearance, while keeping your costs in line. Choose uncomplicated fonts and make sure the brochure is easy to read and not overcrowded with print. Avoid loud colors when choosing your paper. A white brochure with a neat bold font is often the most effective and presents a professional appearance. Remember that this brochure is an introduction to your practice and should be prepared with both patients and prospective referring physicians in mind.
Should you decide to utilize a printing service for your brochure, make sure that more than one proofread is done before you submit the work for final print. Editing errors will cost you additional funds and you will be charged full price for any work performed by the publisher if these errors are not corrected before the brochure is printed.
You should already have an adequate supply of business and appointment cards for your practice. If you are considering using a folder with a pre-made card holder for sending marketing materials to referring physicians, you will want to choose colors and textures that compliment your brochure. Keep all marketing materials consistent to color and texture to present the most professional appearance. When preparing marketing materials for possible referring physicians, you may want to consider adding a referral pad where referring providers can check off what services they want you to provide for their patients. This material will increase the number of referrals and make the process easier for the referring provider.
Make sure that your practice brochure is available and visible at your front desk. If you mail out your new patient registration paperwork in advance of the patient appointment, you should include a practice brochure as well as an appointment card and directions to your office.
There are several companies that are solely dedicated to providing mailing lists that cover every possible demographic in your immediate and close-by communities. You can tailor your list by patient age, sex, number of households with children, and almost any other specific demographic that covers your practice needs. The lists are relatively inexpensive and you may want to begin your basic marketing strategy with a general mailer to homes in your immediate area. Sending a practice brochure to patient who have not returned to your office in some time may also remind these patients that your are still active in your community and may be effective for return visits.
Many medical software systems come equipped with print outs designed to provide patients with a more detailed description of their diagnosis or of future procedures scheduled in your office. Patients appreciate this effort and they often assist in alleviating patient fears. This information can also help reduce the number of phone calls by answering the patients questions in advance. You can also create these types of materials in house as well. In addition, many companies offer pre-printed patient information booklets that can be purchased in bulk. Check online pricing and delivery information in your area and choose the best options for your practice.
Tomorrow - Internal and External Marketing
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Politics and the Inevitable Decline of the Community Hospital
If you pay close enough attention to the executive staff at some community hospitals, you can't help but notice that every few years they seem to have a new C.E.O. or C.O.O. or some other honcho at the top. Whenever I see this trend the first thing that pops into my mind is "Politics."
Although, some clawing your way to the top is to be expected in all corporations and management is prey to "better dealing," I believe that this trend signals a bigger issue and poses a serious danger to the survival of hospitals in general, small community hospitals in particular.
The real issue is not so much the back biting of politics but rather where the political climate leads. I have seen some hospitals where "just perfect" is the catch phrase of the day. Picture a board meeting with the heads of the various departments seated around an oblong table and one by one each department head presenting a report for a new business venture. "Billing?" "Great!" "IT?" "Great!" Etc. etc. etc.
Round and round each member of management making sure that no boat was rocked and NO problem was addressed.
Unfortunately, this is the consequence of the political life - making sure that CYA is taken to the extreme, hiding out to protect your job at the cost of making significant changes that would increase revenue. Playing "nice, nice" with the big boys at the top. Believe me, you would never see a successful private practice using these tactics - you would never see any successful private corporation believe that issues be hidden under the table. Small community hospitals are taking a big hit these days and have a large bitter pill to swallow with all the changes in reimbursement and coding that is coming their way. Larger hospital corporations are gobbling up these harbors of the community like small fish in a big fish pond, and soon their very existence will be a thing of the past.
Another huge error in the community hospital is promoting the nursing staff to positions outside of medicine or even within hospital based practices. My sister has been a nurse for thirty years, and I am well aware of the overwhelming responsibilities of this profession. In todays' market, every hospital is understaffed and nurses are inundated with paperwork and an exploding, less tolerant patient population.
This does not mean, however, that we allow nurses, with little to no administrative experience in managing a private office, or directing telecommunications, to head these departments. I have seen nurses, working on their Masters degrees, trying to juggle the day to day administrative tasks of a medical practice and fail miserably. There is a different skill set needed to be a brilliant nurse than there is to be a brilliant administrator. Unless you are equipped with the complete package or are pursing a career in Health Care Administration, your nursing staff should move up the ranks in the areas of their special talents.
Our hospitals are soon to be judged and reimbursed on patient satisfaction scores. It is time for us to stop believe our own press releases, and to bring our specific problems to the table and make sure that they are addressed. In a large urban setting or a small community hospital there is certainly enough talent to carry us successfully forward into this uncertain future. Less politics, more truth, and hard work are the skill sets we need to cultivate.
Although, some clawing your way to the top is to be expected in all corporations and management is prey to "better dealing," I believe that this trend signals a bigger issue and poses a serious danger to the survival of hospitals in general, small community hospitals in particular.
The real issue is not so much the back biting of politics but rather where the political climate leads. I have seen some hospitals where "just perfect" is the catch phrase of the day. Picture a board meeting with the heads of the various departments seated around an oblong table and one by one each department head presenting a report for a new business venture. "Billing?" "Great!" "IT?" "Great!" Etc. etc. etc.
Round and round each member of management making sure that no boat was rocked and NO problem was addressed.
Unfortunately, this is the consequence of the political life - making sure that CYA is taken to the extreme, hiding out to protect your job at the cost of making significant changes that would increase revenue. Playing "nice, nice" with the big boys at the top. Believe me, you would never see a successful private practice using these tactics - you would never see any successful private corporation believe that issues be hidden under the table. Small community hospitals are taking a big hit these days and have a large bitter pill to swallow with all the changes in reimbursement and coding that is coming their way. Larger hospital corporations are gobbling up these harbors of the community like small fish in a big fish pond, and soon their very existence will be a thing of the past.
Another huge error in the community hospital is promoting the nursing staff to positions outside of medicine or even within hospital based practices. My sister has been a nurse for thirty years, and I am well aware of the overwhelming responsibilities of this profession. In todays' market, every hospital is understaffed and nurses are inundated with paperwork and an exploding, less tolerant patient population.
This does not mean, however, that we allow nurses, with little to no administrative experience in managing a private office, or directing telecommunications, to head these departments. I have seen nurses, working on their Masters degrees, trying to juggle the day to day administrative tasks of a medical practice and fail miserably. There is a different skill set needed to be a brilliant nurse than there is to be a brilliant administrator. Unless you are equipped with the complete package or are pursing a career in Health Care Administration, your nursing staff should move up the ranks in the areas of their special talents.
Our hospitals are soon to be judged and reimbursed on patient satisfaction scores. It is time for us to stop believe our own press releases, and to bring our specific problems to the table and make sure that they are addressed. In a large urban setting or a small community hospital there is certainly enough talent to carry us successfully forward into this uncertain future. Less politics, more truth, and hard work are the skill sets we need to cultivate.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sweat The Details
There are many physicians who believe that the business end of their practice will simply run itself. Their job is to see patients, and provide medical care and the rest of their shop is left to the staff, without any intervention at all. Other physicians micro-mange their practice to death, so they are left doing everything and their staff may as well be mannequins, since they never have the support or initiative to solve any problems on their own.
Both of these situations do great damage to the practice and doctors must find a balance between apathy and complete control. It is very important to take a careful look at the outer edges of the day to day operations, since you can be assured that your practice will be in great danger unless this situation is addressed.
A few years ago I took a position in a large Long Island hospital with a great reputation for patient care. My job was to oversee the billing department and to assess why the physician's revenue stream was declining. The practice had purchased a new medical software in 2004 and as part of their purchase agreement allowed the software seller to perform the billing data entry and accounts receivable follow up. As always, my first step was to run an accounts receivable and make a careful examination of practice billing trends. What I discovered was unbelievable ! From 2004 until the start of my tenure in 2007, the practice had not been paid for 1 claim for their nurse practitioners who followed patients in the hospital post cath and bypass surgery. Not 1 claim !!!!! Why? In the set up of the new software, nurse practitioners were entered into the system with their social security numbers, rather than the practice Tax ID. No one had noticed, either in house or through the billing department. Not 1 claim was paid for the radioactive isotopes used in Nuclear Stress Testing ! Not 1 claim ! Why? The description for the isotope was not standard for CMS approval so all claims were denied. In addition, 2 physicians were transmitting claims with the same NPI number, also resulting in claim denial!
These problems resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in write offs for timely filing and the consequences of these errors would be felt in practice revenue for some time. Eventually, I was able to correct these problems, but you cannot fix the mentality behind them. There needs to be a vested interest in the practice that involves checking the details over and over again until you are certain that your data is correct and your claims will be paid. Print out your HCFA's and examine each physician detail and use resource materials if you are not sure how your information should be entered. If you think this is an isolated incident you are sadly mistaken.
Simply transposing a physicians Medicare or commercial ID number can result in a disaster for the practice and in a single physician practice, you may lose everything! This is what happens when any physician simply shrugs off the danger signs or doesn't educate themselves, or trusts their practice to staff that doesn't have enough information or education to assure success. Physicians need to know that their office is a business and they need to arm themselves with enough information to run this business correctly or look for another career ! There is absolutely no excuse for practicing medicine year after year and claiming ignorance of what makes a practice work.. Once your staff knows that you have no idea of what's going on in your business, you can rest assured that they will adopt the same apathetic attitude that you have. For those employees who want a productive active day and who would add value to your practice, you can expect their resignation shortly after their start date. Staff can sniff out a practice that's a loser in one week and will either ride the tide until the practice closes, or they will look for another job.
Your patients will also read the climate of your room and if your staff is apathetic and doesn't return phone calls, or make timely appointments, they will bolt for the nearest exit and you will never see them again.
In this healthcare climate, where vendors are rushing to market with sub-standard software, where the unemployment rate is at an all time high, and cut backs and changes are like a great flood, all practices are finding themselves in a sink or swim situation.
The decision to survive is up to you....
Both of these situations do great damage to the practice and doctors must find a balance between apathy and complete control. It is very important to take a careful look at the outer edges of the day to day operations, since you can be assured that your practice will be in great danger unless this situation is addressed.
A few years ago I took a position in a large Long Island hospital with a great reputation for patient care. My job was to oversee the billing department and to assess why the physician's revenue stream was declining. The practice had purchased a new medical software in 2004 and as part of their purchase agreement allowed the software seller to perform the billing data entry and accounts receivable follow up. As always, my first step was to run an accounts receivable and make a careful examination of practice billing trends. What I discovered was unbelievable ! From 2004 until the start of my tenure in 2007, the practice had not been paid for 1 claim for their nurse practitioners who followed patients in the hospital post cath and bypass surgery. Not 1 claim !!!!! Why? In the set up of the new software, nurse practitioners were entered into the system with their social security numbers, rather than the practice Tax ID. No one had noticed, either in house or through the billing department. Not 1 claim was paid for the radioactive isotopes used in Nuclear Stress Testing ! Not 1 claim ! Why? The description for the isotope was not standard for CMS approval so all claims were denied. In addition, 2 physicians were transmitting claims with the same NPI number, also resulting in claim denial!
These problems resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in write offs for timely filing and the consequences of these errors would be felt in practice revenue for some time. Eventually, I was able to correct these problems, but you cannot fix the mentality behind them. There needs to be a vested interest in the practice that involves checking the details over and over again until you are certain that your data is correct and your claims will be paid. Print out your HCFA's and examine each physician detail and use resource materials if you are not sure how your information should be entered. If you think this is an isolated incident you are sadly mistaken.
Simply transposing a physicians Medicare or commercial ID number can result in a disaster for the practice and in a single physician practice, you may lose everything! This is what happens when any physician simply shrugs off the danger signs or doesn't educate themselves, or trusts their practice to staff that doesn't have enough information or education to assure success. Physicians need to know that their office is a business and they need to arm themselves with enough information to run this business correctly or look for another career ! There is absolutely no excuse for practicing medicine year after year and claiming ignorance of what makes a practice work.. Once your staff knows that you have no idea of what's going on in your business, you can rest assured that they will adopt the same apathetic attitude that you have. For those employees who want a productive active day and who would add value to your practice, you can expect their resignation shortly after their start date. Staff can sniff out a practice that's a loser in one week and will either ride the tide until the practice closes, or they will look for another job.
Your patients will also read the climate of your room and if your staff is apathetic and doesn't return phone calls, or make timely appointments, they will bolt for the nearest exit and you will never see them again.
In this healthcare climate, where vendors are rushing to market with sub-standard software, where the unemployment rate is at an all time high, and cut backs and changes are like a great flood, all practices are finding themselves in a sink or swim situation.
The decision to survive is up to you....
Friday, July 15, 2011
Reinforce The Message
A quarterly assessment of your staff's success will allow you to properly gauge your practice's human resource needs. You may find that a particular job can be accomplished on a part time basis and then restructure your needs accordingly. You can also consider giving some ancillary personnel the option of unpaid time off whenever physicians are on vacation or conferences, or in slower periods during the year. Often employees are more than willing to take some unpaid time and will jump at the chance for an extra week off during the year. This option will help avoid practice burn out, which seems to be an ever increasing side effect of working in a medical office. At any rate, it will help you to conserve revenue and give your employees something to look forward to at certain times of the year.
Meetings : Every practice should schedule a quarterly meeting where members of the professional and management staff are in attendance. The meeting should address the strengths and weaknesses of the office for each quarter, by examining the number of new and return patients, the number of procedures performed, and collected practice revenue for each location. Comparisons should be noted and any reason for decline in revenue should be immediately addressed. Often trends continue in a downward spiral if they are not properly addressed and carefully examined. There may be an error in your billing system or a problem with your credentialing with Medicare or the commercial insurers.
In addition to meeting expectations each quarter, office equipment, and marketing needs should be analyzed and clear plans for forward growth should be outlined. The office manager should present significant statistical data to physicians and staff and a future plan for each department should be part of this agenda. Don't forget that your practice is a corporation and should be subject to the same analysis as any other business looking toward future growth and continued success.
Meetings : Every practice should schedule a quarterly meeting where members of the professional and management staff are in attendance. The meeting should address the strengths and weaknesses of the office for each quarter, by examining the number of new and return patients, the number of procedures performed, and collected practice revenue for each location. Comparisons should be noted and any reason for decline in revenue should be immediately addressed. Often trends continue in a downward spiral if they are not properly addressed and carefully examined. There may be an error in your billing system or a problem with your credentialing with Medicare or the commercial insurers.
In addition to meeting expectations each quarter, office equipment, and marketing needs should be analyzed and clear plans for forward growth should be outlined. The office manager should present significant statistical data to physicians and staff and a future plan for each department should be part of this agenda. Don't forget that your practice is a corporation and should be subject to the same analysis as any other business looking toward future growth and continued success.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Your Chain of Command
When a practice creates a workplace where departments are answerable and responsible to each other, they not only have the ability to double check the accuracy of the work, but also to reinforce the idea that the practice functions as a single unit with a team mentality.
Your chain of command will appear as follows: The Medical Director or senior partner establishes the mission statement for the practice and all employees are directly answerable to this individual. He or she will meet each month with their department heads and should expect a full report on the functionality of the department along with a listing of any emergent problems so that they can be immediately addressed.
The Administrator or office manager assures that each department adheres to the practice guidelines in order to realize the mission statement goals. The administrator will staff the practice with employees that promise to excel in their job descriptions, keep true to the idea of a team mentality and practice in an atmosphere of courtesy and professionalism where patients are the number one priority.
Department managers, including those assigned to the clinical staff will report to the administrator, supervise and evaluate their employees and form relationships with each department within the practice. Their goal is to make sure that each department is equipped with the resources and skills that are needed to realize both individual and practice goals.
Professional Staff : Members of your professional staff should be contracted employees with job descriptions and practice expectations clearly outlined. Any professional contract should also include a request for generous notice should these employees terminate their agreement. Losing an echo technician or a physician assistant without adequate time for replacement can result in months of lost revenue and a disruption in the patient schedule.
Prepare your practice with adequate coverage in the event of illness or family emergencies. There are a number of temporary agencies that can supply you with per-diem employees in cases where a member of your team will be absent. You will want to familiarize yourself with these agencies long before an emergency presents itself. Check to make sure that your office insurance policy provides per-diem coverage for this situation or that the agency has its own coverage that can apply to your facility.
Vacations and sick-personal time should be clearly noted in the contracts of your professional employees. In some cases, you may be willing to offer additional vacation time as leave without pay if you find that there are quarters during the calendar year where your practice has less visits. A well qualified health care attorney should prepare all of your employee contracts and you should have a clear notion of any bonus structures prior to hiring. Often new physicians entering an established practice are more interested and eager to meet the bonus structure requirements and will entertain a smaller base pay for their first year or two. The bonus structure offered, should be dependent not only on the performance of the physician but also on the annual practice overhead. With constant changes to reimbursement and the rising cost of maintaining the practice, overhead can fluctuate drastically from year to year. Most physicians are less than optimistic about the immediate future of healthcare so structuring your bonus package to balance earnings minus shared overhead has proven to be the formula that works best for most offices. Providing this information to new physician hires well in advance will alleviate unnecessary resentments and disappointment.
Tomorrow: Reinforce the Message
Your chain of command will appear as follows: The Medical Director or senior partner establishes the mission statement for the practice and all employees are directly answerable to this individual. He or she will meet each month with their department heads and should expect a full report on the functionality of the department along with a listing of any emergent problems so that they can be immediately addressed.
The Administrator or office manager assures that each department adheres to the practice guidelines in order to realize the mission statement goals. The administrator will staff the practice with employees that promise to excel in their job descriptions, keep true to the idea of a team mentality and practice in an atmosphere of courtesy and professionalism where patients are the number one priority.
Department managers, including those assigned to the clinical staff will report to the administrator, supervise and evaluate their employees and form relationships with each department within the practice. Their goal is to make sure that each department is equipped with the resources and skills that are needed to realize both individual and practice goals.
Professional Staff : Members of your professional staff should be contracted employees with job descriptions and practice expectations clearly outlined. Any professional contract should also include a request for generous notice should these employees terminate their agreement. Losing an echo technician or a physician assistant without adequate time for replacement can result in months of lost revenue and a disruption in the patient schedule.
Prepare your practice with adequate coverage in the event of illness or family emergencies. There are a number of temporary agencies that can supply you with per-diem employees in cases where a member of your team will be absent. You will want to familiarize yourself with these agencies long before an emergency presents itself. Check to make sure that your office insurance policy provides per-diem coverage for this situation or that the agency has its own coverage that can apply to your facility.
Vacations and sick-personal time should be clearly noted in the contracts of your professional employees. In some cases, you may be willing to offer additional vacation time as leave without pay if you find that there are quarters during the calendar year where your practice has less visits. A well qualified health care attorney should prepare all of your employee contracts and you should have a clear notion of any bonus structures prior to hiring. Often new physicians entering an established practice are more interested and eager to meet the bonus structure requirements and will entertain a smaller base pay for their first year or two. The bonus structure offered, should be dependent not only on the performance of the physician but also on the annual practice overhead. With constant changes to reimbursement and the rising cost of maintaining the practice, overhead can fluctuate drastically from year to year. Most physicians are less than optimistic about the immediate future of healthcare so structuring your bonus package to balance earnings minus shared overhead has proven to be the formula that works best for most offices. Providing this information to new physician hires well in advance will alleviate unnecessary resentments and disappointment.
Tomorrow: Reinforce the Message
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Patient Billing
Billing your patients for uncollected co-payments, deductibles, and self pay services is always a delicate matter. Too much of a strong-arm approach can turn off patients and may prompt them to seek services elsewhere. Allowing large uncollected patient debt can have a significant impact on your practice revenue.
Co-payments are automatically deducted from the physicians reimbursement and are required by the commercial insurers as part of the patient's participation in their health plan. All co-payments should be collected at check-in rather than check-out. Patients will avoid paying their co-payments whenever they have the opportunity and will duck out without even making a return appointment in order to avoid doing so. Your policy should be that co-pays are made before services are rendered. Your confirmation calls for appointments must remind your patients to bring their insurance cards and any applicable co-payments to their visit. If you have a patient who does not bring their co-payment, they should be given a postage paid envelope addressed to your office and encouraged to write a co-payment check as soon as they arrive home. Your daily data sheet should have a comments section that lists a clear reason for non-payment of the office co-pay and these listing should be reviewed by management each day.
Many practices find themselves sending out the statements for co-payments to the same patients month after month, with little or no response from the patient. The mailing costs for sending multiple statements often end up exceeding the original co-payment amount and is clearly a waste of time and money. Any patient who fails to reimburse the office after sixty days should receive a reminder phone call from the billing department reminding them of their co-payment obligation. You may want to remind the patient that the co-payment is automatically deducted from the physicians reimbursement.
Unfortunately, sometimes even the best efforts cannot prompt a patient to fulfill their obligations. At this point the billing manager must decide that this amount be declared as "bad debt." You will want to make some notation in the patient's demographics or in the chart stating that this patient must be urged to present with their co-payment at all future visits. Including a personal note with the monthly statement may also serve as an additional reminder. In all cases, personal contact with patients regarding lapsed co-payments must be conducted in private with a sense of professionalism and courtesy. Patients who do not respond in kind should be referred to the billing manager. It will be up to you to decide if the patient who is chronically a non -payer should remain in your care. You should speak to the patient to ascertain whether or not there is a legitimate hardship on a case by case basis. Patients who claim hardship are required by CMS to have a letter on file stating the reasons they are not able to fulfill their obligations. You will want to note "hardship" somewhere in the patient notes so that these patients are not asked for payment at future visits.
It is always a good idea to assign one member of your staff to act as a liaison to Medicare and to place them in charge of outstanding Medicare claims. This staff member will also keep the practice current on any changes in Medicare billing and reimbursements as well as preparing appeals for rejected claims. In cases where the practice has a limited number of Medicare patients, this employee may also be assigned to assist with commercial and patient account reconciliation.
Practices that have not yet converted to an EHS system will also require dedicated employees for charge entry and payment posting, including the downloading of any electronic payment transfers. The billing manager can share responsibility for charge ad payment entry as well as making a careful examination of all explanation of benefits. In most cases, practices that do utilize electronic records will have charges automatically entered into the system as the physician concludes his patient visit or at the end of daily office hours. Charges will, however, still need to be checked for accuracy and to assure that each patient has the appropriate set of charges for services rendered. As mentioned in previous chapters, practices utilizing electronic records must guard against having their systems choose the level of billing. As with traditional charge entry, the employees in the billing department will have a different set of responsibilities but still remain an integral part of the practice service. This is also true for traditional payment entry positions. Although more practices are obtaining reimbursement via electronic fund transfers, the explanation of benefits for these payments will still need a thorough analysis. The employee originally responsible for payment posting will not be responsible for downloading the transfers and assuring that patient ledgers are correctly credited.
Your billing manager will be responsible for the supervision and evaluation of your billing staff. In addition, this employee will also oversee both the efficiency of the front desk in obtaining referrals and pre-certifications and as the tasks relate to the preparation of the daily billing packages. They will also receive the completed billing package each day and assign the charge entry or electronic appraisal to the staff. Having your billing manger also function as the oversight for the front office will guarantee that no charges will be entered without the necessary related paperwork and authorizations.
Centralize your billing department in an area away from the front desk, keeping HIPAA policies for privacy in mind. All daily packages, including cash and checks should be returned to this location each day. Multiple location practices may choose to utilize either a messenger service or a staff member who travels between locations to handle this responsibility. Some physicians choose to make their bank deposits themselves, but this task is most often assigned to the administrator or billing manager.
Tomorrow : Your Chain of Command
Co-payments are automatically deducted from the physicians reimbursement and are required by the commercial insurers as part of the patient's participation in their health plan. All co-payments should be collected at check-in rather than check-out. Patients will avoid paying their co-payments whenever they have the opportunity and will duck out without even making a return appointment in order to avoid doing so. Your policy should be that co-pays are made before services are rendered. Your confirmation calls for appointments must remind your patients to bring their insurance cards and any applicable co-payments to their visit. If you have a patient who does not bring their co-payment, they should be given a postage paid envelope addressed to your office and encouraged to write a co-payment check as soon as they arrive home. Your daily data sheet should have a comments section that lists a clear reason for non-payment of the office co-pay and these listing should be reviewed by management each day.
Many practices find themselves sending out the statements for co-payments to the same patients month after month, with little or no response from the patient. The mailing costs for sending multiple statements often end up exceeding the original co-payment amount and is clearly a waste of time and money. Any patient who fails to reimburse the office after sixty days should receive a reminder phone call from the billing department reminding them of their co-payment obligation. You may want to remind the patient that the co-payment is automatically deducted from the physicians reimbursement.
Unfortunately, sometimes even the best efforts cannot prompt a patient to fulfill their obligations. At this point the billing manager must decide that this amount be declared as "bad debt." You will want to make some notation in the patient's demographics or in the chart stating that this patient must be urged to present with their co-payment at all future visits. Including a personal note with the monthly statement may also serve as an additional reminder. In all cases, personal contact with patients regarding lapsed co-payments must be conducted in private with a sense of professionalism and courtesy. Patients who do not respond in kind should be referred to the billing manager. It will be up to you to decide if the patient who is chronically a non -payer should remain in your care. You should speak to the patient to ascertain whether or not there is a legitimate hardship on a case by case basis. Patients who claim hardship are required by CMS to have a letter on file stating the reasons they are not able to fulfill their obligations. You will want to note "hardship" somewhere in the patient notes so that these patients are not asked for payment at future visits.
It is always a good idea to assign one member of your staff to act as a liaison to Medicare and to place them in charge of outstanding Medicare claims. This staff member will also keep the practice current on any changes in Medicare billing and reimbursements as well as preparing appeals for rejected claims. In cases where the practice has a limited number of Medicare patients, this employee may also be assigned to assist with commercial and patient account reconciliation.
Practices that have not yet converted to an EHS system will also require dedicated employees for charge entry and payment posting, including the downloading of any electronic payment transfers. The billing manager can share responsibility for charge ad payment entry as well as making a careful examination of all explanation of benefits. In most cases, practices that do utilize electronic records will have charges automatically entered into the system as the physician concludes his patient visit or at the end of daily office hours. Charges will, however, still need to be checked for accuracy and to assure that each patient has the appropriate set of charges for services rendered. As mentioned in previous chapters, practices utilizing electronic records must guard against having their systems choose the level of billing. As with traditional charge entry, the employees in the billing department will have a different set of responsibilities but still remain an integral part of the practice service. This is also true for traditional payment entry positions. Although more practices are obtaining reimbursement via electronic fund transfers, the explanation of benefits for these payments will still need a thorough analysis. The employee originally responsible for payment posting will not be responsible for downloading the transfers and assuring that patient ledgers are correctly credited.
Your billing manager will be responsible for the supervision and evaluation of your billing staff. In addition, this employee will also oversee both the efficiency of the front desk in obtaining referrals and pre-certifications and as the tasks relate to the preparation of the daily billing packages. They will also receive the completed billing package each day and assign the charge entry or electronic appraisal to the staff. Having your billing manger also function as the oversight for the front office will guarantee that no charges will be entered without the necessary related paperwork and authorizations.
Centralize your billing department in an area away from the front desk, keeping HIPAA policies for privacy in mind. All daily packages, including cash and checks should be returned to this location each day. Multiple location practices may choose to utilize either a messenger service or a staff member who travels between locations to handle this responsibility. Some physicians choose to make their bank deposits themselves, but this task is most often assigned to the administrator or billing manager.
Tomorrow : Your Chain of Command
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
How Many Employees?
A guarantee that patient care will never be compromised is the first determining factor in deciding on the number of staff that you will need to employ. Patient requests for appointments, prescription refills or test results must be handled in a timely manner or slowly but surely your number of return patients will diminish. If your phone system is not operating properly or your front office is not able to triage calls, your patients will let you know it, first by their loudly voiced opinion and finally by their absence.
It is no surprise that everyone hates automated messages under any circumstance, and patients seem to be the most frustrated group of consumers when it comes to the ability to be able to speak to a live person when they are sick, or in pain. Unfortunately, patient volume and time demands on physicians and staff have made automation a necessary evil, but any time your call volume can be handled live, you should make every effort to do just that. If you absolutely need to automate your system, you will need a program that has the fewest number of prompts and allows the patient to leave a detailed message after a certain number of rings. The patient should be reminded to spell their last name, clearly state their phone number and the reason for their call. Your system should be designed so that messages have an annoying flash to assure that all calls are returned prior to the end of business each day.
In the case of a medical emergency, patients should be prompted to dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. A dedicated phone extension for prescription refills also aids in phone triage. Let your patients know that they can expect a call or e-script to their pharmacy within 48 hours. When they become familiar with this routine, they are more likely to refill their medications before they take their last few pills. In the best case scenario, your practice will have a licensed medical assistant or RN to man the prescription line. Problems with medications can be immediately referred to the physician and you are less likely to have a medication error if your script line is handled by a medical professional.
Many practices now have a short series of prompts that can alleviate call volume. Appointment calls should be your number one priority, but you will want to include a prompt for fax number, directions to the office, parking information and the like. This will allow your front office more time for face to face patient care and take care of calls where a live person communication is not necessary.
Some of the more sophisticated larger practices have a dedicated call center to handle only incoming phone calls for appointments. Usually, two telephone operators will be able to effectively handle a six-person practice. New patient calls for appointments can also be sent to the verification department where more time can be spent with the patient without interruption. This will also free the front desk to handle check in and out and their other associated tasks without answering a constantly ringing phone.
Filing, copying, scanning and faxes can often be handled by part time employees. The guidance offices at your local high schools and colleges will be only too happy to post your job needs and steer good students your way, often for minimum wage. You may also want to contact university nursing programs and offer to participate in their internship programs. Often these internships last six months or longer and you may find a valuable future employee by utilizing these programs.
Billing - If your billing is done in house, you will want to dedicate at least one full time employee to work on your accounts receivable. This employee will be responsible for running a weekly report for outstanding receivables for both the commercial insurers and patient accounts. Commercial accounts receivables can be shown either by insurance name or via an aging report. Listing outstanding receivables by insurance provider is preferable since it allows the billing employee to check a number of claims with one call or visit to the particular web-site. Some systems can accommodate both name and aging in the same report.
It is reasonable to expect that all outstanding claims have received attention within thirty days. The billing manager should analyze a completed accounts receivable report, with special attention paid to any difficulties posed by individual insurance providers. The manager may choose to personally handle the more difficult reimbursements problems and may utilize the help of the insurance provider representatives to make payment a smoother process. A quarterly analysis for the aging trial balance will highlight the efficiency of the accounts receivable employee and assure that the oldest outstanding claims have been paid.
Tomorrow: Medicare and Patient Statements
It is no surprise that everyone hates automated messages under any circumstance, and patients seem to be the most frustrated group of consumers when it comes to the ability to be able to speak to a live person when they are sick, or in pain. Unfortunately, patient volume and time demands on physicians and staff have made automation a necessary evil, but any time your call volume can be handled live, you should make every effort to do just that. If you absolutely need to automate your system, you will need a program that has the fewest number of prompts and allows the patient to leave a detailed message after a certain number of rings. The patient should be reminded to spell their last name, clearly state their phone number and the reason for their call. Your system should be designed so that messages have an annoying flash to assure that all calls are returned prior to the end of business each day.
In the case of a medical emergency, patients should be prompted to dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. A dedicated phone extension for prescription refills also aids in phone triage. Let your patients know that they can expect a call or e-script to their pharmacy within 48 hours. When they become familiar with this routine, they are more likely to refill their medications before they take their last few pills. In the best case scenario, your practice will have a licensed medical assistant or RN to man the prescription line. Problems with medications can be immediately referred to the physician and you are less likely to have a medication error if your script line is handled by a medical professional.
Many practices now have a short series of prompts that can alleviate call volume. Appointment calls should be your number one priority, but you will want to include a prompt for fax number, directions to the office, parking information and the like. This will allow your front office more time for face to face patient care and take care of calls where a live person communication is not necessary.
Some of the more sophisticated larger practices have a dedicated call center to handle only incoming phone calls for appointments. Usually, two telephone operators will be able to effectively handle a six-person practice. New patient calls for appointments can also be sent to the verification department where more time can be spent with the patient without interruption. This will also free the front desk to handle check in and out and their other associated tasks without answering a constantly ringing phone.
Filing, copying, scanning and faxes can often be handled by part time employees. The guidance offices at your local high schools and colleges will be only too happy to post your job needs and steer good students your way, often for minimum wage. You may also want to contact university nursing programs and offer to participate in their internship programs. Often these internships last six months or longer and you may find a valuable future employee by utilizing these programs.
Billing - If your billing is done in house, you will want to dedicate at least one full time employee to work on your accounts receivable. This employee will be responsible for running a weekly report for outstanding receivables for both the commercial insurers and patient accounts. Commercial accounts receivables can be shown either by insurance name or via an aging report. Listing outstanding receivables by insurance provider is preferable since it allows the billing employee to check a number of claims with one call or visit to the particular web-site. Some systems can accommodate both name and aging in the same report.
It is reasonable to expect that all outstanding claims have received attention within thirty days. The billing manager should analyze a completed accounts receivable report, with special attention paid to any difficulties posed by individual insurance providers. The manager may choose to personally handle the more difficult reimbursements problems and may utilize the help of the insurance provider representatives to make payment a smoother process. A quarterly analysis for the aging trial balance will highlight the efficiency of the accounts receivable employee and assure that the oldest outstanding claims have been paid.
Tomorrow: Medicare and Patient Statements
Monday, July 11, 2011
Building A Team Mentality
So many practices find themselves constantly under or overstaffed. In most cases, this problem can be alleviated if the employees have a clear understanding of their job descriptions and are willing to embrace the teamwork attitude.
One way to accomplish the team mentality is to institute a standard training program for each new clerical employee. Proper training is vital to overall accomplishment of any new employee. Don't wait until your practice is overwhelmed before you take on new hires. Staff your office in advance of critical situations and you will have time to promote a better understanding of required responsibilities.
The most successful training program is one in which the new hire spends their first week on arbitrary tasks that may not even be a part of their future job description. Tasks, such as verifying patient insurance, preparing charts, filing and copying will expose the employee to the daily routine of the practice and give them time to find a comfort level in their new home. A senior staff member should be assigned to shadow the new hire and to assure that tasks are accomplished according to practice guidelines and provide them with a sense of security and familiarity in the new environment.
The senior staff member would also be responsible for introducing the new hire to all staff members and physicians. They would conduct a review of the practice handbook, outline job descriptions, and provide the employee with all practice materials needed to make a smooth transition to their assigned role. In a specialty practice, the employee would also be provided with materials that would give them a basic understanding of the testing and procedures done in the office. In cardiology, I recommended that every new hire spend some time in the nuclear and echo labs for the express purpose of readying them to answer patient questions and to promote the feeling of professionalism for the office in general.
Assigning a staff member gives the sense of belonging to the new hire and helps them feel part of the team from day one. It avoids any uncomfortable and often solitary lunch and break times and allows the senior staffer to immediately identify possible future problems or the need for more intensive training.
The second week of training will move the new hire to their department to observe and participate on a basic level. For example, a prospective new front office employee will be seated with a more senior worker to observe and learn the procedures for check in and check out and listen to appointment calls. They will perform simple tasks such as pulling charts for future visits and/or scanning-copying insurance cards.
A new billing hire will work directly with the billing manger. They can be given a small accounts receivable and asked to make phone calls to check on claim status or assist in mailing the monthly patient statements. This busy work will help the new hire feel as if they are part of the team and take care of those early butterflies that can plague all of us whenever we find ourselves in unfamiliar surroundings. It also helps us to make an immediate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the new employee and to gauge their people skills. The office manger can then sit down with her senior staffer and make arrangements for an extended training period or a faster transition into their future roles. In some cases, the training period might show that this employee is not a good fit for their hired position and they will need to be transitioned into another role or let go.
A standard training program will assure that each of your departmental employees can perform all the tasks required by the entire department. This means that you will never be lacking for team members in case of illness or vacations and it also allows employees to feel they have a good grasp of each others roles. Encourage employee questions and be prepared to repeat the same information over and over to make sure that each of your staff members are a confident well prepared member.
The concept of teamwork should be well defined in your interview process and employees should understand that they may be requested to perform tasks deemed necessary for the success of the practice and that these tasks may not necessarily be specifically listed in their job descriptions. This does not mean that you multi-task your employees to death, but rather that each member of the team understands that patient satisfaction is priority number one and that the practice is committed to achieving this goal. Job number one is making this goal a reality.
Recognize the difference between discipline and rigidity and don't trap yourself into a set of rules that leave you no room for adaptation. The ebb and flow of a medical practice can easily be affected by emergencies or add-on patients, so leave yourself a bit of wiggle room when organizing your daily schedule. If you establish strict lunch or break times and suddenly ten patients are checking in without anyone to greet them, your rules are ineffective and harmful to the practice. If you never pay overtime, and three patients are still in the waiting room at the end of hours, the practice is not working. Adapt and move forward. Give yourself the opportunity to make changes and create an atmosphere of trust rather than suspicion.
Keep in mind that life goes on outside of the office. Children or parents of employees become ill. Personal problems arise and mental health days are critical every once in a while. As long as these issues are not habitual to an employees routine, be cautious in your response to them. Constant disciplinary actions towards your employees will guarantee that you are spending a large part of your tenure interviewing and training. If you manage with a steady hand, and set a good example, you employees will consider the office their second home, and invest their time and energy to make the workday as productive as possible.
Tomorrow : How Many Employees
One way to accomplish the team mentality is to institute a standard training program for each new clerical employee. Proper training is vital to overall accomplishment of any new employee. Don't wait until your practice is overwhelmed before you take on new hires. Staff your office in advance of critical situations and you will have time to promote a better understanding of required responsibilities.
The most successful training program is one in which the new hire spends their first week on arbitrary tasks that may not even be a part of their future job description. Tasks, such as verifying patient insurance, preparing charts, filing and copying will expose the employee to the daily routine of the practice and give them time to find a comfort level in their new home. A senior staff member should be assigned to shadow the new hire and to assure that tasks are accomplished according to practice guidelines and provide them with a sense of security and familiarity in the new environment.
The senior staff member would also be responsible for introducing the new hire to all staff members and physicians. They would conduct a review of the practice handbook, outline job descriptions, and provide the employee with all practice materials needed to make a smooth transition to their assigned role. In a specialty practice, the employee would also be provided with materials that would give them a basic understanding of the testing and procedures done in the office. In cardiology, I recommended that every new hire spend some time in the nuclear and echo labs for the express purpose of readying them to answer patient questions and to promote the feeling of professionalism for the office in general.
Assigning a staff member gives the sense of belonging to the new hire and helps them feel part of the team from day one. It avoids any uncomfortable and often solitary lunch and break times and allows the senior staffer to immediately identify possible future problems or the need for more intensive training.
The second week of training will move the new hire to their department to observe and participate on a basic level. For example, a prospective new front office employee will be seated with a more senior worker to observe and learn the procedures for check in and check out and listen to appointment calls. They will perform simple tasks such as pulling charts for future visits and/or scanning-copying insurance cards.
A new billing hire will work directly with the billing manger. They can be given a small accounts receivable and asked to make phone calls to check on claim status or assist in mailing the monthly patient statements. This busy work will help the new hire feel as if they are part of the team and take care of those early butterflies that can plague all of us whenever we find ourselves in unfamiliar surroundings. It also helps us to make an immediate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the new employee and to gauge their people skills. The office manger can then sit down with her senior staffer and make arrangements for an extended training period or a faster transition into their future roles. In some cases, the training period might show that this employee is not a good fit for their hired position and they will need to be transitioned into another role or let go.
A standard training program will assure that each of your departmental employees can perform all the tasks required by the entire department. This means that you will never be lacking for team members in case of illness or vacations and it also allows employees to feel they have a good grasp of each others roles. Encourage employee questions and be prepared to repeat the same information over and over to make sure that each of your staff members are a confident well prepared member.
The concept of teamwork should be well defined in your interview process and employees should understand that they may be requested to perform tasks deemed necessary for the success of the practice and that these tasks may not necessarily be specifically listed in their job descriptions. This does not mean that you multi-task your employees to death, but rather that each member of the team understands that patient satisfaction is priority number one and that the practice is committed to achieving this goal. Job number one is making this goal a reality.
Recognize the difference between discipline and rigidity and don't trap yourself into a set of rules that leave you no room for adaptation. The ebb and flow of a medical practice can easily be affected by emergencies or add-on patients, so leave yourself a bit of wiggle room when organizing your daily schedule. If you establish strict lunch or break times and suddenly ten patients are checking in without anyone to greet them, your rules are ineffective and harmful to the practice. If you never pay overtime, and three patients are still in the waiting room at the end of hours, the practice is not working. Adapt and move forward. Give yourself the opportunity to make changes and create an atmosphere of trust rather than suspicion.
Keep in mind that life goes on outside of the office. Children or parents of employees become ill. Personal problems arise and mental health days are critical every once in a while. As long as these issues are not habitual to an employees routine, be cautious in your response to them. Constant disciplinary actions towards your employees will guarantee that you are spending a large part of your tenure interviewing and training. If you manage with a steady hand, and set a good example, you employees will consider the office their second home, and invest their time and energy to make the workday as productive as possible.
Tomorrow : How Many Employees
Friday, July 8, 2011
Your Employees - The Key to Your Success
Your shop needs to be a strong cohesive entity, with as little separation as possible between the medical and clerical staff. The most successful corporations practice the rule that employees will live up to your expectations or down to them. If you expect a daily atmosphere of excellence in your day-to day operations, and you participate in trying to attain this status, you will achieve exactly that.
Unfortunately, too many practices are structured where the physician operates on one plane and the employees may as well be functioning in a foreign country ! Consequently, employees are not challenged, they never practice their problem solving skills; their day becomes one boring set of routines. Eventually, the practice transmits a "who cares" attitude that is quickly passed on to any new employee who joins the staff. Patients become aware that the practice operates on a drudgery bandwagon and will leave the office with a negative impression that they will only be too happy to share with family and friends.
If this scenario is at all familiar to your practice, you had better make some changes and make them fast. The attitude of your staff and the feelings that they send the patient's way is often the first clear sign that your practice is in deep trouble. If your staff is not engaged or challenged and have not been geared to prioritize your expectations, if indeed they don't even have an idea of what your expectations are, you will soon begin to wonder where all your patients went.
Face the fact that every employee in the world would like his or her day to be as simple as possible. Without a vested interest or a clear set of goals, you can expect that your staff will actively pursue "doing nothing" whenever possible. Certainly, six appointments are easier than ten. Leaving the office early is preferable to working late. If no one notices, why knock yourself out!
You will not have a successful growing practice if the only area you cover each day is the distance between your office and the exam rooms. You staff should expect that you are going to know each one of their functions and that means the functions for every department. Ask intelligent questions. Solicit opinions in order to promote positive change and remember that these people are showing up every day For YOU... and that they have the power to make or break your organization. Consider them your colleagues, not just your staff. Provide positive feedback for a job well done, expect only the best and reward such behavior appropriately. Create a team mentality and don't be afraid to challenge anyone who is not actively working to be an essential part of your team.
Every practice needs a "go to" person, aside from the physician, to handle the dozens of decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. The administrator or office manager can save the physician hours of valuable time and help assure practice organization and growth. In many practices, the office manager functions as both patient and employee advocate and their influence on the practice reputation can be formidable. The very best administrators know every function in your practice. They often have a past history in a front office or billing setting and should be able to function in any of the clerical or administrative positions with skill and ease.
Managers are responsible for providing the employees with all the necessary tools and training to assure they have the greatest chance for success in their assigned roles. Their own role requires visibility and accessibility to patients and staff. One of the most familiar employee gripes is often " I was not trained properly," so your managers must devote the time and attention it takes to make the staff an expert in their job function. It is a great idea to have the employee sign off after each training session and to test the employee on their newly learned skills during the training process.
When choosing an administrator for your practice you will want to find an individual with the ability to motivate others and to understand the mission of your practice. Provide them with the ability to make decisions and make it clear to your staff exactly where the managers role fits into your chain of command. If you want your managers to succeed, the staff must know that their decisions meet with your approval and that you are ready to back them up.
A weekly meeting should be scheduled with your management staff, where you review the progress and problems that have cropped up in any department. Request suggestions, reward problem solving skills, and make it clear that the management staff must interact with employees with mutual respect and consideration and that this is a mandatory requirement for continued employment.
Physicians often seek management staff with advanced degrees in health care administration or nursing. This works if the individual has prior knowledge of the inner workings of a medical practice and the experience to supervise various departments. Often this is not the case, and unfortunately for these practices, an individual armed with only their degrees can become overwhelmed by the daily tasks that are an integral part of medical management. You need to make a careful evaluation of any office manager candidate because you will be entrusting them with the care and growth of your practice. Consider promoting a staff member that has shown dedication and problem solving skills as part of their daily routine. In so many cases, these employees are already aware of the problems in your arena and may have unvoiced opinions on how to solve them. Don't be afraid to give a great employee a chance to grow into a management position, especially if you are willing to provide them with the guidance they will need to succeed.
Tomorrow: Building A Team Mentality
Unfortunately, too many practices are structured where the physician operates on one plane and the employees may as well be functioning in a foreign country ! Consequently, employees are not challenged, they never practice their problem solving skills; their day becomes one boring set of routines. Eventually, the practice transmits a "who cares" attitude that is quickly passed on to any new employee who joins the staff. Patients become aware that the practice operates on a drudgery bandwagon and will leave the office with a negative impression that they will only be too happy to share with family and friends.
If this scenario is at all familiar to your practice, you had better make some changes and make them fast. The attitude of your staff and the feelings that they send the patient's way is often the first clear sign that your practice is in deep trouble. If your staff is not engaged or challenged and have not been geared to prioritize your expectations, if indeed they don't even have an idea of what your expectations are, you will soon begin to wonder where all your patients went.
Face the fact that every employee in the world would like his or her day to be as simple as possible. Without a vested interest or a clear set of goals, you can expect that your staff will actively pursue "doing nothing" whenever possible. Certainly, six appointments are easier than ten. Leaving the office early is preferable to working late. If no one notices, why knock yourself out!
You will not have a successful growing practice if the only area you cover each day is the distance between your office and the exam rooms. You staff should expect that you are going to know each one of their functions and that means the functions for every department. Ask intelligent questions. Solicit opinions in order to promote positive change and remember that these people are showing up every day For YOU... and that they have the power to make or break your organization. Consider them your colleagues, not just your staff. Provide positive feedback for a job well done, expect only the best and reward such behavior appropriately. Create a team mentality and don't be afraid to challenge anyone who is not actively working to be an essential part of your team.
Every practice needs a "go to" person, aside from the physician, to handle the dozens of decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. The administrator or office manager can save the physician hours of valuable time and help assure practice organization and growth. In many practices, the office manager functions as both patient and employee advocate and their influence on the practice reputation can be formidable. The very best administrators know every function in your practice. They often have a past history in a front office or billing setting and should be able to function in any of the clerical or administrative positions with skill and ease.
Managers are responsible for providing the employees with all the necessary tools and training to assure they have the greatest chance for success in their assigned roles. Their own role requires visibility and accessibility to patients and staff. One of the most familiar employee gripes is often " I was not trained properly," so your managers must devote the time and attention it takes to make the staff an expert in their job function. It is a great idea to have the employee sign off after each training session and to test the employee on their newly learned skills during the training process.
When choosing an administrator for your practice you will want to find an individual with the ability to motivate others and to understand the mission of your practice. Provide them with the ability to make decisions and make it clear to your staff exactly where the managers role fits into your chain of command. If you want your managers to succeed, the staff must know that their decisions meet with your approval and that you are ready to back them up.
A weekly meeting should be scheduled with your management staff, where you review the progress and problems that have cropped up in any department. Request suggestions, reward problem solving skills, and make it clear that the management staff must interact with employees with mutual respect and consideration and that this is a mandatory requirement for continued employment.
Physicians often seek management staff with advanced degrees in health care administration or nursing. This works if the individual has prior knowledge of the inner workings of a medical practice and the experience to supervise various departments. Often this is not the case, and unfortunately for these practices, an individual armed with only their degrees can become overwhelmed by the daily tasks that are an integral part of medical management. You need to make a careful evaluation of any office manager candidate because you will be entrusting them with the care and growth of your practice. Consider promoting a staff member that has shown dedication and problem solving skills as part of their daily routine. In so many cases, these employees are already aware of the problems in your arena and may have unvoiced opinions on how to solve them. Don't be afraid to give a great employee a chance to grow into a management position, especially if you are willing to provide them with the guidance they will need to succeed.
Tomorrow: Building A Team Mentality
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Essential Features For Your EHR
The following features should be available in any practice software you may consider :
Claims Transmission - The transmission of your electronic claims should go through as few channels as possible between your office and Medicare or the commercial insurer. If your software vendor uses a clearing house for claims, you must make sure that the house is recognized by both CMS and the private insurance companies. You should have a claim editing feature that will advise you of errors in coding and provide a daily listing of your transmissions that will allow you to view the total number of claims transmitted, those accepted and any rejected claims as well. This transmission log should be examined each day and rejected claims should be carefully reviewed before the claim is re-transmitted. Store your transmission logs in a binder in your billing office and do a quarterly audit to assure that none of the commercial insurers are making an error in payment month after month. Occasionally, you should print out a paper claim for each provider to assure that their provider ID numbers are entered into your system correctly. I have seen practices who were not paid for their Nurse Practitioners for months because they were entered into the system with their social security numbers rather than the practice Tax ID. Before you transmit your first electronic claim with your new software, you must go to the data base and assure that Tax ID, NPI and insurance ID are correct for each physician in your group. You should also assure that the descriptions for certain testing or isotopes are transmitting according to CMS requirements, or these claims will be denied.
One important word of caution for obtaining your CPT and diagnosis codes for transmission. Many new systems will prompt you to use codes that they consider more appropriate for your claim and to obtain the highest reimbursement rates. This is fine if your patient's list of complaints is aligned with the coding recommended. However, if there are glaring discrepancies in patient notes or medical tests or records, you will find yourself the target of perpetual audits and may be subject to penalties when coding seems to generate from your system rather than your physicians. Use your software appropriately.
Data Change - Some of the software programs available today have glaring problems, and this is especially true with the software that is internet based. One of the more serious issues is a lack of communication between the different task modules. These internet systems are often created as a series of independent books. A book for demographics, one for coding, one for billing etc... Very often, data changes entered in one of the books does not communicate with the system as a whole requiring staff to navigate between screens to make changes in each task module. This may be especially true in systems that were developed for use by single practitioners. Make sure that the changes you need to make in your systems are noted and saved in each of your patient screens.
Multiple Location Features - In a large practice with multiple locations, you will want a system that allows you to designate the different locations by short name rather than by creating separate entities. This will allow you to enter charges and payments by location rather than making it necessary to switch entities and allows you to report your billing and demographics as one bulk or by location. Billing should be separated by location and entered under the short name.
Auto Population - Most systems will offer features to streamline demographic and billing data entry. A zip code feature will populate city and state . Guarantor information and insurance mailing address and phone numbers are also possible auto population features you may want to consider.
Report Modules - You will want a system reporting module that gives you several options for reporting practice financials. Charges and payments should be geared to report financials for any physicians, locations, or procedures and to compare these statistics each month and quarter. Better systems will allow you to plug in your own choice of desired options for reporting so that your examination of your practice is comprehensive and less time consuming. This data can then be converted automatically into an Excel spreadsheet for meetings and quarterly comparison. Accounts receivable reports should always contain the patients name, date of birth and both primary and secondary insurance coverages as well as insurance ID numbers to make it easier to communicate with the insurance providers by phone regarding aged claims.
All systems will require you to make a commitment to assure your system functions at maximum efficiency. While the software vendor will assist you in obtaining transmitted identification numbers for Medicare and the commercial carriers, you will need to make certain that each physician's information is correct. You staff will require comprehensive training and a clear understanding of each feature of your software so that its use will allow maximum performance and job description.
Tomorrow : Your Employees - the key to you success...
Claims Transmission - The transmission of your electronic claims should go through as few channels as possible between your office and Medicare or the commercial insurer. If your software vendor uses a clearing house for claims, you must make sure that the house is recognized by both CMS and the private insurance companies. You should have a claim editing feature that will advise you of errors in coding and provide a daily listing of your transmissions that will allow you to view the total number of claims transmitted, those accepted and any rejected claims as well. This transmission log should be examined each day and rejected claims should be carefully reviewed before the claim is re-transmitted. Store your transmission logs in a binder in your billing office and do a quarterly audit to assure that none of the commercial insurers are making an error in payment month after month. Occasionally, you should print out a paper claim for each provider to assure that their provider ID numbers are entered into your system correctly. I have seen practices who were not paid for their Nurse Practitioners for months because they were entered into the system with their social security numbers rather than the practice Tax ID. Before you transmit your first electronic claim with your new software, you must go to the data base and assure that Tax ID, NPI and insurance ID are correct for each physician in your group. You should also assure that the descriptions for certain testing or isotopes are transmitting according to CMS requirements, or these claims will be denied.
One important word of caution for obtaining your CPT and diagnosis codes for transmission. Many new systems will prompt you to use codes that they consider more appropriate for your claim and to obtain the highest reimbursement rates. This is fine if your patient's list of complaints is aligned with the coding recommended. However, if there are glaring discrepancies in patient notes or medical tests or records, you will find yourself the target of perpetual audits and may be subject to penalties when coding seems to generate from your system rather than your physicians. Use your software appropriately.
Data Change - Some of the software programs available today have glaring problems, and this is especially true with the software that is internet based. One of the more serious issues is a lack of communication between the different task modules. These internet systems are often created as a series of independent books. A book for demographics, one for coding, one for billing etc... Very often, data changes entered in one of the books does not communicate with the system as a whole requiring staff to navigate between screens to make changes in each task module. This may be especially true in systems that were developed for use by single practitioners. Make sure that the changes you need to make in your systems are noted and saved in each of your patient screens.
Multiple Location Features - In a large practice with multiple locations, you will want a system that allows you to designate the different locations by short name rather than by creating separate entities. This will allow you to enter charges and payments by location rather than making it necessary to switch entities and allows you to report your billing and demographics as one bulk or by location. Billing should be separated by location and entered under the short name.
Auto Population - Most systems will offer features to streamline demographic and billing data entry. A zip code feature will populate city and state . Guarantor information and insurance mailing address and phone numbers are also possible auto population features you may want to consider.
Report Modules - You will want a system reporting module that gives you several options for reporting practice financials. Charges and payments should be geared to report financials for any physicians, locations, or procedures and to compare these statistics each month and quarter. Better systems will allow you to plug in your own choice of desired options for reporting so that your examination of your practice is comprehensive and less time consuming. This data can then be converted automatically into an Excel spreadsheet for meetings and quarterly comparison. Accounts receivable reports should always contain the patients name, date of birth and both primary and secondary insurance coverages as well as insurance ID numbers to make it easier to communicate with the insurance providers by phone regarding aged claims.
All systems will require you to make a commitment to assure your system functions at maximum efficiency. While the software vendor will assist you in obtaining transmitted identification numbers for Medicare and the commercial carriers, you will need to make certain that each physician's information is correct. You staff will require comprehensive training and a clear understanding of each feature of your software so that its use will allow maximum performance and job description.
Tomorrow : Your Employees - the key to you success...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hardware and Phones
In light of the enormous changes affecting medical practices throughout the United States, many physicians are updating or replacing their practice software. The age of total conversion to EHR is upon us and can pose a financial burden on physicians who suddenly find themselves having to adapt to a new style of medicine. In many cases, computer hardware will need to be replaced as well and you want to find some areas where your practice can realize some cost savings. Often, your software vendor will offer pricing for accompanying hardware in their estimate for updates to your computer programs. In most cases, these prices are not at all competitive and I believe that you can get a better deal by making a separate hardware package yourself.
Find out the specs that are required for your new program and shop around until you make the best deals. Hewlett Packard and Dell can offer bulk purchase discounts and will work with your software vendor to insure compatibility. They will also customize your systems for additional programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point. Do a careful check of your warranty coverage and consider additional warranties that cover the machines as these systems are often subject to more use than a personal computer.
Servers should be chosen to expand with practice growth and should be stored in an air-cooled space to avoid overheating. Allow for the space for your servers prior to the completion of your build out or renovation and one that allows for the addition of programs without overtaxing the system. The servers should be housed in a locked room and should also be covered by an extended warranty.
Your phone systems should be uncomplicated and contain enough memory to add additional lines and hardware for new workstations, along with the capability to store a number of practice messages and the ability to retrieve messages from any work station. If you need a large number of incoming lines, you will want to have an employee from the phone company assigned to your account. They will be able to monitor your charges, make changes to your lines and answer any ongoing questions regarding your system. Local phone companies will also be able to offer you packages that include both phone services as well as the hardware for your office. Often their phones are more durable, so look at samples from independent vendors and your local carrier before making a final decision.
Software : It almost seems as if every computer programmer is busy developing medical practice software and the rush to develop systems for electronic medical records is being done at warp speed. Many of these programs have the same or similar features and are either hardwired into the servers directly or are internet based and the manufacturer of the software controls the hardware off site. There can be a tremendous variation in prices however and don't be surprised to find that every additional feature you may want will ultimately carry an additional price.
Many practices are already at full implementation of electronic medical records and are delighted with both their purchase and their use. Inevitably CMS and the commercial insurances will require that all practices convert to an electronic system, but EMR's are not without their own set of problems. Once all systems are paperless, what features will allow the various softwares to communicate with each other to provide a uniform patient health record? How can we guarantee privacy for medical records in systems that are internet based? What impact will the cost of conversion to EHR pose for some smaller, less financially successful practices? It often seems as if the cart is well ahead of the horse in this issue and I have to wonder about additional costs when CMS eventually requires a uniform system for health care records.... The future is certainly fraught with concerns that will shape a new face for medicine in the years to come....
In many cases, physicians who are using electronic systems will utilize some form of tablet computer, where they enter patient symptoms and treatments. Of course, in 2013 their systems will have to be updated to handle the new ICD-10 codes. A stylus is used to tap a series of pull down menus that the physician completes during the course of the exam. The tablet is especially useful during hospital visits and as long as these computers have long range capacities they can help assure that hospital charges are made at time of visit or directly after.
Doctors can also have the option of using a laptop or office PC where data is entered after the visit and can be placed in every exam room or confined to the physicians private office. Computers in the exam rooms can be utilized by the medical assistants to enter patients vital signs into the system prior to the actual exam. Some doctors feel quite comfortable entering vital data into their tablet or PC during the course of the exam. Others feel that this process detracts from the intimacy of the visit and prefer to wait until the patient is discharged before entering their findings. For simple visits such as a sore throat or cold, the tablet method is easier and poses less intrusion than for more complicated medical exams. In specialty practices, such as Cardiology, where the patient often presents with a complex history and wide variety of symptoms and past treatments, the process of entering data may be too extensive to use during the exam. In these cases, a progress note can be utilized in the exam room and entered at the end of business hours or during the course of the day when the physician has time.
Perhaps the EHR system will eventually eliminate paper and provide a more uniform system for health records, however the time you need to invest prior to implementation of your system is going to be extensive. Your software vendor must customize your package to meet the needs of your daily practice routine. Software should be created with your appropriate diagnosis and treatment options so that you are not constantly searching for a match for your patients symptoms and management. It is surely a good idea to choose a vendor that has worked with other physicians that practice the same specialty or otherwise your initial time investment in setting up your system will be overwhelming.
Exercise extreme caution prior to purchasing any EHR system. Practices can be literally crippled when the features advertised by the software vendor do not function properly post installation. This can be especially true in the present rush to market from start up companies that look great in demonstration and prove disastrous in use. To avoid this risk, it is best to choose a medical software with a significant track record in the industry. These companies have had years of experience in creating software that is user friendly and better geared for use in a specialty practice. Take the time to visit other offices that are using the software and ask how its implementation impacted billing and overall practice statistics. Finally, you must have the support and willingness of all the physicians in your group if you are going to make your conversion a success. Prior to using your new EHR, both your old and new systems should remain in place so that you can make a slow smooth transition and allow enough time for your staff to feel completely comfortable with the software. This will also allow you to evaluate how the new software meets the daily office routine.
Tomorrow: Essential Features For Any EHR System
Find out the specs that are required for your new program and shop around until you make the best deals. Hewlett Packard and Dell can offer bulk purchase discounts and will work with your software vendor to insure compatibility. They will also customize your systems for additional programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point. Do a careful check of your warranty coverage and consider additional warranties that cover the machines as these systems are often subject to more use than a personal computer.
Servers should be chosen to expand with practice growth and should be stored in an air-cooled space to avoid overheating. Allow for the space for your servers prior to the completion of your build out or renovation and one that allows for the addition of programs without overtaxing the system. The servers should be housed in a locked room and should also be covered by an extended warranty.
Your phone systems should be uncomplicated and contain enough memory to add additional lines and hardware for new workstations, along with the capability to store a number of practice messages and the ability to retrieve messages from any work station. If you need a large number of incoming lines, you will want to have an employee from the phone company assigned to your account. They will be able to monitor your charges, make changes to your lines and answer any ongoing questions regarding your system. Local phone companies will also be able to offer you packages that include both phone services as well as the hardware for your office. Often their phones are more durable, so look at samples from independent vendors and your local carrier before making a final decision.
Software : It almost seems as if every computer programmer is busy developing medical practice software and the rush to develop systems for electronic medical records is being done at warp speed. Many of these programs have the same or similar features and are either hardwired into the servers directly or are internet based and the manufacturer of the software controls the hardware off site. There can be a tremendous variation in prices however and don't be surprised to find that every additional feature you may want will ultimately carry an additional price.
Many practices are already at full implementation of electronic medical records and are delighted with both their purchase and their use. Inevitably CMS and the commercial insurances will require that all practices convert to an electronic system, but EMR's are not without their own set of problems. Once all systems are paperless, what features will allow the various softwares to communicate with each other to provide a uniform patient health record? How can we guarantee privacy for medical records in systems that are internet based? What impact will the cost of conversion to EHR pose for some smaller, less financially successful practices? It often seems as if the cart is well ahead of the horse in this issue and I have to wonder about additional costs when CMS eventually requires a uniform system for health care records.... The future is certainly fraught with concerns that will shape a new face for medicine in the years to come....
In many cases, physicians who are using electronic systems will utilize some form of tablet computer, where they enter patient symptoms and treatments. Of course, in 2013 their systems will have to be updated to handle the new ICD-10 codes. A stylus is used to tap a series of pull down menus that the physician completes during the course of the exam. The tablet is especially useful during hospital visits and as long as these computers have long range capacities they can help assure that hospital charges are made at time of visit or directly after.
Doctors can also have the option of using a laptop or office PC where data is entered after the visit and can be placed in every exam room or confined to the physicians private office. Computers in the exam rooms can be utilized by the medical assistants to enter patients vital signs into the system prior to the actual exam. Some doctors feel quite comfortable entering vital data into their tablet or PC during the course of the exam. Others feel that this process detracts from the intimacy of the visit and prefer to wait until the patient is discharged before entering their findings. For simple visits such as a sore throat or cold, the tablet method is easier and poses less intrusion than for more complicated medical exams. In specialty practices, such as Cardiology, where the patient often presents with a complex history and wide variety of symptoms and past treatments, the process of entering data may be too extensive to use during the exam. In these cases, a progress note can be utilized in the exam room and entered at the end of business hours or during the course of the day when the physician has time.
Perhaps the EHR system will eventually eliminate paper and provide a more uniform system for health records, however the time you need to invest prior to implementation of your system is going to be extensive. Your software vendor must customize your package to meet the needs of your daily practice routine. Software should be created with your appropriate diagnosis and treatment options so that you are not constantly searching for a match for your patients symptoms and management. It is surely a good idea to choose a vendor that has worked with other physicians that practice the same specialty or otherwise your initial time investment in setting up your system will be overwhelming.
Exercise extreme caution prior to purchasing any EHR system. Practices can be literally crippled when the features advertised by the software vendor do not function properly post installation. This can be especially true in the present rush to market from start up companies that look great in demonstration and prove disastrous in use. To avoid this risk, it is best to choose a medical software with a significant track record in the industry. These companies have had years of experience in creating software that is user friendly and better geared for use in a specialty practice. Take the time to visit other offices that are using the software and ask how its implementation impacted billing and overall practice statistics. Finally, you must have the support and willingness of all the physicians in your group if you are going to make your conversion a success. Prior to using your new EHR, both your old and new systems should remain in place so that you can make a slow smooth transition and allow enough time for your staff to feel completely comfortable with the software. This will also allow you to evaluate how the new software meets the daily office routine.
Tomorrow: Essential Features For Any EHR System
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Negotiating the Best Deals
Some price savvy physicians tailor their contractor agreements to end once the walls are sheet rocked and electrical outlets and plumbing are all in place. At this time your build-out will be subject to a preliminary inspection and you will receive a certificate that should be posted in your facility until all work is completed.
At this stage, you can save a bundle of money by doing the finishing work on your own. Wholesale vendors for cabinetry, light and plumbing fixtures and flooring are readily available and sometimes offer free installation with purchase. Check prices at your local Home Depot, Lowes or IKEA. They offer a wide range of choices and their sale prices are often far below retail.
You may want to enlist the help of a local handyman in your area who can complete your finishing work in a reasonable time and for a good price. In light of today's economy, your local papers are filled with talented people who will be only too happy to have this work. Check with your local Better Business Bureau to make sure they hold a valid contractors license. If all is in good order, they will be able to use this license to obtain additional savings on purchases.
Wholesale tile, marble and carpeting vendors are also abundant and the time you spend looking at samples of these products will be worth the savings. When you choose your carpeting for your waiting rooms and professional offices, make sure you pick a fiber that will not thread when chairs are moved back and forth. Spending a little more for good carpeting that will last will not only save you money but will not pose tripping hazards to patients or employees.
Tile or linoleum squares are the best choice for your exam rooms and they are very easy to install. Use additional glue on tiles that come with their own adhesive to avoid future lifting. These tiles are durable, easy to clean and will last for some time. It is advisable to use rubber strips rather than wood molding where the tiles meet the walls. These stay cleaner looking and will not chip or scratch.
Consider chair railings for the walls of the exam rooms where patient or visitor chairs can scrape wall paint and affect the overall clean look you want to maintain.
Local painters in your area will also offer you discounts for painting multiple rooms. Many also have connections will wallpaper outlets as well. Choose paint that is washable so that scuffs and spills are easily remedied, and make sure your choose colors that will blend with your choices in furniture, wall covering and any artwork.
Once again check your patient demographics when it comes time to choose furniture for your waiting room. For elderly patients, chairs should be easy to get in and out of without assistance, and arms are often warranted. Colors and fabrics should be durable and stain resistance and you may want to consider at least one bench for overweight patients or for those with back problems. If you want to add tables to your area, make sure that they are strategically placed to avoid bumps. Have sufficient lighting and reading materials available. Some practices run a series of informative videos in their waiting area that provide patients with health and fitness tips. These can prove a valuable distraction for extended waiting times.
If anyone in your family has a flair for decorating, this is the best time to enlist their help. They can shop around for the best prices and bring you samples of everything from paint colors to artwork. This can be an enjoyable experience where your furnishings can reflect your personal sense of style and purpose, so get involved in the process as much as you can. You will be living with the result of your choices for some time, so you will want to create rooms that you can live with from day to day.
Tomorrow : Hardware and Phones
At this stage, you can save a bundle of money by doing the finishing work on your own. Wholesale vendors for cabinetry, light and plumbing fixtures and flooring are readily available and sometimes offer free installation with purchase. Check prices at your local Home Depot, Lowes or IKEA. They offer a wide range of choices and their sale prices are often far below retail.
You may want to enlist the help of a local handyman in your area who can complete your finishing work in a reasonable time and for a good price. In light of today's economy, your local papers are filled with talented people who will be only too happy to have this work. Check with your local Better Business Bureau to make sure they hold a valid contractors license. If all is in good order, they will be able to use this license to obtain additional savings on purchases.
Wholesale tile, marble and carpeting vendors are also abundant and the time you spend looking at samples of these products will be worth the savings. When you choose your carpeting for your waiting rooms and professional offices, make sure you pick a fiber that will not thread when chairs are moved back and forth. Spending a little more for good carpeting that will last will not only save you money but will not pose tripping hazards to patients or employees.
Tile or linoleum squares are the best choice for your exam rooms and they are very easy to install. Use additional glue on tiles that come with their own adhesive to avoid future lifting. These tiles are durable, easy to clean and will last for some time. It is advisable to use rubber strips rather than wood molding where the tiles meet the walls. These stay cleaner looking and will not chip or scratch.
Consider chair railings for the walls of the exam rooms where patient or visitor chairs can scrape wall paint and affect the overall clean look you want to maintain.
Local painters in your area will also offer you discounts for painting multiple rooms. Many also have connections will wallpaper outlets as well. Choose paint that is washable so that scuffs and spills are easily remedied, and make sure your choose colors that will blend with your choices in furniture, wall covering and any artwork.
Once again check your patient demographics when it comes time to choose furniture for your waiting room. For elderly patients, chairs should be easy to get in and out of without assistance, and arms are often warranted. Colors and fabrics should be durable and stain resistance and you may want to consider at least one bench for overweight patients or for those with back problems. If you want to add tables to your area, make sure that they are strategically placed to avoid bumps. Have sufficient lighting and reading materials available. Some practices run a series of informative videos in their waiting area that provide patients with health and fitness tips. These can prove a valuable distraction for extended waiting times.
If anyone in your family has a flair for decorating, this is the best time to enlist their help. They can shop around for the best prices and bring you samples of everything from paint colors to artwork. This can be an enjoyable experience where your furnishings can reflect your personal sense of style and purpose, so get involved in the process as much as you can. You will be living with the result of your choices for some time, so you will want to create rooms that you can live with from day to day.
Tomorrow : Hardware and Phones
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