Management & Administration

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.

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

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.

You might feel more justified than most in taking out your frustration on others, but be careful - the emotional hangovers you might create can often have a long-lasting effect on your practice.

Coding questions? We've got the answers.

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

Inflation can be both good and bad for a practice. Therefore, understanding the nature of inflation can save your practice money.

Times are tight for small and large practices alike. But there are ways to supplement your income without selling out. Here are 10 ways you can leverage your skills to boost your income.

Opting for an in-house pharmacy or office dispensing can enable your practice to maintain higher profit margins, but before you jump onboard examine all the costs first.

Today's practice managers must plan proactively for the new year - finding new ways to cut costs and improve efficiencies.

Medical coding guidance on prevention planning; the ICD-10 transition; ABN advice; and more.

The deadline for conversion from the present electronic claims transaction standard to Version 5010 is fast approaching. Make sure both your practice and systems vendor are ready for the change.

Doctors don't always get along with each other. Some might avoid contact with other physicians, or speak negatively about a colleague in front of a patient. This kind of behavior can directly compromise patient care.

Workplace negativity can drag down a practice and its staff, hurting both patient care and the bottom line. So what can you do to boost staff morale and encourage teamwork at your office?

Do you have an emergency plan in place? You should. Our disaster-planning checklist gets you started.

Effectively controlling costs in a medical practice essentially means controlling personnel costs.

Even if you choose not to implement a full EHR right now, you can take a big step toward digitizing your practice.

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.

Advance preparation is your key to successfully managing the ICD-10 conversion. Here’s what your practice needs to know and do to get ready.

Maryland, Massachusetts, and Minnesota are putting extra pressure on physicians to adopt EHRs. Now it's time to see if other states follow.

Like most administrators, your education and experience have given you all the tools you need to help your practice succeed - Not that you’ll get the chance to prove it. When you find that your tasks are overwhelming your projects, that’s when it’s time to hire an assistant.

Here are the fourteen key measurements you need to make -- about once a quarter -- to measure your practice's financial health. We've made it easy for you. Just enter some information; we'll do the math.

Tell 'em what you want and how you'd like to hear about what happened.

Abstracted with permission from Chapter 4 of The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker. This chapter summarizes the principles of lean manufacturing, now being used in medical practices. Order the book at www.amazon.com.

A sample review form for staff performance.

Consider this template for annual or quarterly reviews of the performance of business managers in your practice. Of course, make sure your review reflects goals set at the beginning of the year or in a job description.

Opening a new practice? Here are some of the things you will need to get done before the doors open.

Detailed elements to consider when reviewing workflow in your office. Use this checklist to help define staff responsibilities and best methods to make workflow seamless.

You give annual reviews to staff, why not to physicians? This form gives physicians feedback about their clinical quality, bedside manner, and ability to work with others.