As a medical office manager, ensuring the smooth operation of your practice involves a multitude of responsibilities. One crucial yet often overlooked task is the annual review of purchasing vendor contracts. This process is vital not only for maintaining cost efficiency but also for ensuring compliance, service quality, and adaptability to changing needs. Here’s why and how to … [Read more...] about Why and how to review vendor contracts annually
Compliance
Model HIPAA Privacy Reminder to Reception and Other Staff
Why you need this memo: Your medical office staff understands the imperative of safeguarding personal health information (PHI) and wouldn't let strangers roam about the facilities freely. But it's easy for them to lower their guard when a former employee comes back to the practice, e.g., to pick up a final paycheck or just make a social call. How this memo helps you: This … [Read more...] about Model HIPAA Privacy Reminder to Reception and Other Staff
TOOL: Model Employee Illness/Injury Reporting Policy
The OSHA Recordkeeping Standard requires you to record and potentially report work-related illnesses and injuries. Reporting of illnesses and injuries is also crucial to investigating, identifying and correcting problems that can lead to further incidents and OSHA violations. So, it’s crucial to establish a policy and procedure for workers to report workplace injuries and … [Read more...] about TOOL: Model Employee Illness/Injury Reporting Policy
Model Policy: Medications error reporting
Establishing a written Policy for dealing with medication errors is crucial. Although each practice will handle things differently, that policy should, like the Model Policy below, define “medication errors,” describe how those errors must be reported and to whom, and set out a procedure for assessment and analysis of medications error data generated by reporting. … [Read more...] about Model Policy: Medications error reporting
Office safety inspection checklist
The best checklist for your workplace is one that has been developed for your specific needs. The examples outlined below do not list all the possible items for office inspections. Whatever the format of the checklist, provide space for the inspectors’ signatures and the date. Inspectors: Date: (O) Satisfactory (X) Requires … [Read more...] about Office safety inspection checklist
Could your organization’s website reveal your HIPAA non-compliance?
By Danika Brinda Did you know that your organization’s website can reveal to the world that you are out of compliance with HIPAA? A quick look at your organization’s website could reveal to a HIPAA auditor that your organization is struggling with HIPAA compliance. Wondering what I am referring to? The Notice of Privacy Practices! The regulations state that your … [Read more...] about Could your organization’s website reveal your HIPAA non-compliance?
4 immediate steps to take when an office romance blossoms
To meet that one special guy or gal. . . it's the stuff dreams are made of. But when that love connection takes place within a workplace, it can be an employer's worst nightmare. Couples who live happily ever after are manageable. But when a workplace romance ends in breakup, it usually creates big problems at work. This has not changed in the era of remote work. Surveys have … [Read more...] about 4 immediate steps to take when an office romance blossoms
What, if anything, does OSHA require you to do to protect telecommuters?
While telecommuting is nothing new, the imperative for using it has never been greater. In addition to all the cost-saving, work-life balance, recruiting and hiring advantages, letting employees work from home during a pandemic has become a vital infection control measure. But it also poses significant compliance challenges, particularly in the realm of OSHA. After all, how are … [Read more...] about What, if anything, does OSHA require you to do to protect telecommuters?
5 tested ways to make your billing and coding more profitable
The health of your medical practice depends on good quality coding and billing work. One of the most important roles in the medical office that impacts compliance—and your bottom line—is the coding and billing function. "Coding and billing is the lifeblood of the practice; it's the income," says Michael J. Sacopulos, JD, founder and president of Medical Risk … [Read more...] about 5 tested ways to make your billing and coding more profitable
Integrating telemedicine into your practice
The healthcare landscape is evolving, and telemedicine has emerged as a transformative tool for medical practices to expand their reach, improve patient access, and provide high-quality care remotely. Integrating telemedicine services into your practice requires careful planning and execution, considering aspects like technology, staff training, patient communication, and … [Read more...] about Integrating telemedicine into your practice