Laurie Hyland Robertson

A couple of years ago, my own physician sent me a hand-scrawled note along with some lab results that had turned out normal: “Hope you’re feeling better!” No provider before or since has made such a gesture - I’d call it alternative practice, in fact - and it’s one that really stuck with me.

A busy internal medical practice learns to push back at payers’ administrative requirements.

An in-demand psychiatrist needs help leveraging his popularity for a more appropriate fee schedule.

It’s a common problem: How do you find competent administrative staff willing to work part time? We help one practice solve this conundrum.

A pediatric group gets help resolving its digital decision.

You didn’t think you could just hang a shingle and wait for the patients to come, did you? Most new practices have to do a little bit of horn-tooting to build their patient base. We’ll show you how.

Opening Day for your new practice is drawing nearer, and all the little details are starting to bear down on you. Relax: The key to a successful opening - and ongoing profitability - is to know which little details are most important.

The latest installment of our series on starting a practice from scratch offers key pointers on hiring the staff you’ll need.

Our series on everything you need to know to open a practice continues with expert advice on equipment and office space. You’ll get one chance only to design the right space for your needs, and you’ll be stuck for years with the equipment you select. Better know what you’re doing.

In this, the second of our six-part series on launching a new practice from scratch, expert Laurie Hyland Robertson explains how to develop a reasonable budget for the early years. Don’t even think about opening your own shop until you’ve read this.

Our six-part series on everything you need to know to open a practice begins this month with a comprehensive guide to the crucial planning stages. Whether you’re just thinking about starting out on your own, gung-ho to get going, or even running your own practice already, you can’t miss this series.

Solo endocrinologist Richard Plotzker isn’t worried about how to grow his business. He’s trying to figure out how to keep from drowning in his own popularity. Expert Laurie Hyland Robertson throws him a life preserver.

We were worried about Roy Gondo, the likeable but disorganized family physician we told you about last year. He was up to his neck in incomplete charts and saddled with staffing difficulties. You’ll be surprised with what we found when we checked in again - and with what you can learn.

An incredible 93 percent of communication is unspoken, says a well-known UCLA study.

Robert Blanco, MD, wants to lower his risk of being sued, but isn’t sure how. Expert Laurie Hyland Robertson has a few ideas.

A Texas psychiatry practice gets help finding its backbone in dealing with negligent payers.

Patients are increasingly asking doctors to keep diagnoses and treatments out of their records to avoid damaging their chances of obtaining insurance coverage in the future. What should you do?

How to select appropriate office artwork. (Yes, it matters.)

A Virginia urology practice is struggling with a monster schedule and high staff turnover. Our expert Laurie Hyland Robertson comes to the rescue.

What do you do when your overhead seems beyond your control? Makeover maven Laurie Hyland Robertson helps a North Carolina OB/GYN practice find the answers.

Gastroenterologist Dordaneh Maleki works in her office only part-time. Is she overstaffed?

In our revamped Makeover column, expert Laurie Hyland Robertson helps a busy pediatric office solve its patient-flow problems.

Mary Kay Balluff’s plan to run a bare-bones, cash-only psychiatric practice from a home office sure is idealistic. But is it naive?

We help a small subspecialty practice compete with the big dogs

Physicians Practice has been helping struggling offices with our Great Practice Makeover for a year now. Here’s one of our toughest challenges yet: This well-meaning but disorganized solo family physician has serious control issues, a stressed-out office manager/wife, and huge staffing problems. Piece of cake.

Mark Davis, MD, has gotten his new urgent-care clinic beyond the will-we-make-it? worries common to start-ups. Now he’s ready for some “serious marketing” while looking anew at his patient mix and payer relationships.

As a fertility clinic, this practice needs a steady flow of new patients to remain viable. But its marketing strategies haven't been working.

Your bank is the financial institution you probably deal with more than any other. Are you sure your money is in the right one - and that you're taking advantage of all it has to offer?

How can a practice survive, even thrive, despite being forced to cancel a majority of its appointments due to the physician's chronic illness? Find out.

Whether they're getting a taste of retirement or dabbling in job sharing, more physicians are finding part-time hours work just right.