Owen Dahl

Reducing patient cycle time and improving patient satisfaction can both be accomplished if you improve your practice's communication channels.

It is vital that practices have systematic ways to address patient collections; the following strategies can help your practice collect all that it is due.

Whatever area of your practice needs improvement, consider lean thinking as a way to get the most out of your time - your patients, staff, and practice will be glad you did.

Corporations know exactly what their costs are and how much they need to charge to make a profit. Do you?

Seasoned practice owners and administrators know the importance of setting practice goals, both short and long term.

When declining reimbursements seem out of control, many physicians focus on the more manageable side of the business equation: costs.

How much time should you spend with your patients? This is an important question, but difficult to answer.

It is easy to fall prey to the pressure to update your own office building. But before you do, there are a few things you should consider.

The most important aspects of integrating new physicians into your practice are clear communication and understanding each others' viewpoints.

Almost every physician, at one time or another, has been the recipient of an angry outburst.

Most physicians would probably not classify themselves as difficult to work with.

I came across an unusual phrase the other day: “compassion fatigue.

The time to plan for a natural disaster is when the sun is shining - in other words, right now.

When one of your neighbors gets a new swimming pool or car, what usually happens? Inevitably, someone else in the neighborhood will go one better and buy a bigger “toy.

So you're a new physician fresh out of residency, ensconced in your first practice.

Successful practices know their numbers.

How do you effectively manage your practice for a full year? Seasonal issues can affect your patient flow and bottom line.

High-deductible health plans like health savings accounts are becoming more common, and that means you’ll have to work harder to collect from patients.

Other industries can teach us a lot about managing our own businesses.

Your employees are facing a raft of new bread-and-butter economic problems. Here’s how you can help, without breaking your bank.

One of the biggest problems I continue to see in medical practices is the difficulty they have communicating between multiple locations.

If physicians use protocols to treat patients there will be consistent outcomes, mechanisms in place to measure success and quality of life, and a foundation for pay-for-performance initiatives.

What protects a practice’s liquid assets?

I hesitate to bring up the topic of disaster planning.

Just one metric of an economic downturn, increased fuel prices not only translate into higher commuting expenses, but they also fatten up food costs due to greater shipping expenses and the need to divert food stuffs to use for fuel.

Overtime pay is expensive. Here’s how to keep it under control.

Like it or not, health savings accounts are becoming more prevalent in today's medical environment.

Recently, I have encountered several circumstances where e-mails between doctors, as well as staff members, have resulted in misunderstandings and subsequent problems.

Yes.

It's that time of year again; Time to brace yourself for deductible and copay changes, effective January 1, 2008.