Bob Levoy

Your weekly dose of wisdom from the Physicians Practice experts.

Establishing an emotional connection with patients will differentiate your practice in ways that will be profoundly meaningful and appreciated by your patients.

We know patients feel frustration with their physicians on some level. But, surprisingly, it's not always about the long wait.

Employees who are "engaged" have greater commitment to the practice, and often go above and beyond their basic job descriptions.

Hiring mistakes can be costly, resulting in high turnover, reduced productivity, and lackluster moral. Here are some easy ways to refine your interviewing skills.

It's hard to know what your staff really thinks. However, finding out is important: good staff morale isn't a nicety, it's a necessity to the health of your practice.

Physicians may feel they praise staff members, but, in reality many come up short. Here are guidelines for giving effective praise.

When you are sick, dealing with a difficult organization is the last thing you want to do. Here are some easy ways to endear your practice to its patients.

Higher rates of medical staff turnover are most likely related to workplace stress. What can you do to help?

Across-the-board salary increases for staff send the message that stellar efforts will go unrewarded. Let employees know you value and expect excellence.

Exit interviews tell you why good people are leaving – after they've left. Stay interviews help understand an employee's concerns while she is still on the job.

Every single day, an estimated 10,000 people in this country are turning 65. If you haven't made your practice senior-friendly, now is the time.

If like many communities, yours has significant numbers of non-English speaking people with whom neither you nor your staff are able to converse, your practice is at a serious disadvantage.

Health literacy is the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services. How many of your patients truly have a handle on their own healthcare needs?

Your view of compensation ― as a cost or as an investment ― can have a major impact on the long term growth of your practice.

Don't allow your staff meetings to become mired in the muck, stay positive

There's nothing more disruptive than hiring someone who doesn't work out. Here are some tried-and-true tips to head off disaster.

In-house referrals have the longest tenure and highest satisfaction of all newly hired employees.

Taking the time to develop accurate and current job descriptions, schedule annual performance reviews, and make yourself available to employees, will reap rewards for both you as a manager and your practice.

A new employee is typically hired based on the strength of her skills and experience. What's frequently overlooked, however, is how well her personality fits with the practice culture.