Front Desk

Medical practices are often fraught with poor policies and time sucks that undermine staff performance. Here's what to look for - and what to do about it.

Tight staffing and lower reimbursement have made patient volume - and effective patient flow - an imperative. You'll need to be innovative to squeeze more patients into your doctors' day.

To stay safe and weed out the billing and collections problems stifling your practice's revenue stream, our experts recommend a "bottom-to-top" assessment of your entire billing operation.

Is staff mediocrity costing you money? Here's how to fix it.

It isn't easy for practices to become accredited as a patient centered medical home. To help you assess your readiness and make the transition, here are a few guidelines to get you started.

Medical practices have been slow to embrace the "customer comes first" mentality that defines corporate America - an operational oversight they can no longer ignore.

The toughest payers to collect from are your own patients. Don't despair, there are things you can do to get paid.

Expert Greg Mertz offers tips on how to navigate the process of EHR implementation through needs analysis, vendor selection, and training.

Maintaining a Web site is an important part of marketing your practice. Be assured that patients will judge your practice, in part, by the quality of your Web site. Don't be caught lacking.

Large numbers of Americans have been cutting back deeply on needed and preventive care. Now is the time to plot a survival strategy with fewer patients who spend more frugally.

Charitable efforts in your office

If you’re confused about the federal incentives to buy an EHR and what meaningful use means, you're not alone. We have the answers in our 2010 Technology Survey.

Here’s how to skip the drama and hire right the next time at your medical practice.

Make sure you know everything you need to know.

Placing a sign-in sheet on the reception desk makes the reception process less friendly. Instead, try asking patients to fill out this slip -- and do the necessary paperwork immediately.

Get the message right the first time. Use this form to make sure all the information is covered.

Use this sample template for guidelines on documenting patient visits in general. Provided by Hill & Associates.

Indiscriminate tongue wagging around the office can affect everything from staff morale to patient care. Here’s how to stop loose lips and protect patient privacy, care, and trust.

Encouraged by federal subsidies, many practices are exploring the purchase of electronic health records for their offices.

How to create phone system efficiencies without driving your patients nuts.

What is the simplest method for reducing denials? Get the correct patient data from the start.

It’s tough to get away from the office without worrying you’ll come back to a mountain of work. But taking time for yourself is crucial. Here’s advice on doing it right.

Do you feel helpless against the threat of lawsuits? Many docs do. Yet there are ways to reduce your risk of being sued. Arm yourself with best practices, to keep malpractice lawyers at bay.

Does your medical practice have a Web site? If so, you are on your way to building a patient portal.

Social networking is all the rage, but be wary if your staff are posting updates to Facebook. Setting a few ground rules can help avoid damage to your practice.

New technology is supposed to reduce your staffing needs. But how do you get staff on board with a change that may end up costing some of them their jobs?

Want to know how to boost your scores on those seemingly arbitrary online physician-rating sites? The sites aren’t going away, so you’ll need to know how to make the best of them.

In the market for an EHR? Here’s a step-by-step selection guide by internist and pediatrician Rob Lamberts, who’s been through the process himself.

An internal medicine specialist was fleeced badly by the Mother of all Embezzlers. Don’t think it can’t happen to you until you read what happened to her.

Plastic surgeon Suzanne Kim Doud Galli on how an ordinary nose job turned into the worst case of her career.