– a MOM mini seminar – Direct care, boutique medicine, retainer medicine – by whatever name, concierge medicine is a patient-physician arrangement where the patient pays an annual fee or retainer, the physician reduces the patient population from several thousand to an average of 300 to 600, and patients get personal 24-hour access to the physician and, … [Read more...] about Concierge medicine – coming on strong
Managing patients
Top 10 cities with happiest medical practice patients
Did you make the list? Patients in San Francisco and Oakland appear to be happiest with their doctors, while the least satisfied American health care consumers live in other California cities as well as in New York State locales. This is according to an in-depth evaluation of the ever-contentious online reviews that many physicians denounce. In a nationwide study, Denver-based … [Read more...] about Top 10 cities with happiest medical practice patients
3 technologies that improve patient collections
By Cheryl Toth, MBA bio "Don't worry, you don't need to pay us today…we'll bill you after insurance pays." This is music to patients' ears. It means they can receive services, treatments, and/or tests in your office, and leave without paying for them. Months later when the bill arrives, it will be easy for them to set it aside. Because (probably) no one is going to call and … [Read more...] about 3 technologies that improve patient collections
What you need to know about medical marijuana
With medical marijuana now legal in 20 states and Washington, D.C., and legislation pending in 13 other states*, medicinal use of cannabis has very much become a national issue – and of course it's an issue with numerous implications for medical practices and the people who manage them. Richard F. Comenzo is a Massachusetts attorney specializing in medical marijuana laws. His … [Read more...] about What you need to know about medical marijuana
How the new OIG 2014 Work Plan affects your medical office
The OIG, Office of Inspector General, oversees Medicare and Medicaid enforcement and highlights areas of focus in its enforcement efforts in a Work Plan. The 2014 Work Plan was released at the end of January and contains some items of note for medical practices. Some items are new and others have been on the OIG Work Plan in prior years and are a continuing project. The … [Read more...] about How the new OIG 2014 Work Plan affects your medical office
New York OB/GYN practice discovers 2 astonishingly easy ways to pull in more patients
A one-physician OB/GYN practice that opened in the last decade reached its patient census goals almost immediately using nothing but common-sense marketing. It became so busy, in fact, that it is now open an additional two nights a week plus Saturday mornings. The marketing has focused on two elements. First is no waiting. “We’ve had patients transfer here just because they … [Read more...] about New York OB/GYN practice discovers 2 astonishingly easy ways to pull in more patients
Editor watches staggering changes in medical office management
By Susan Crawford Founding Editor Dear Readers: Medical Office Manager’s first issue came out in November 1987. And now after 26 years as your editor, I have retired. This is a good time to look at the issues and conundrums you as manager have faced during all that time and to congratulate you on a job well done. The changes have been staggering. You have kept up with them … [Read more...] about Editor watches staggering changes in medical office management
Subluxation of radial head – “nursemaid’s elbow”
By Aimee Wilcox, MA, CST, CCS-P Subluxation is an injury caused when the normal position of a joint (or other part of the body) is partially or incompletely dislocated. Subluxation can be caused by injuries and impact to the joint or from instability of the joint due to laxed muscles, tendons, or ligaments that usually support or hold the joint in place. Subluxation is an … [Read more...] about Subluxation of radial head – “nursemaid’s elbow”
Keep safe from the Recovery Audit Contractors and the courts by making the corrections correctly
What flaws are the Recovery Audit Contractors searching for in records? Illegible documentation, incomplete documentation, unidentified providers, wrong dates of service – and evidence of improper corrections. To help offices stay safe, the government has set out guides for making corrections so the records pass muster with the RACs. Those same guides will also ensure the … [Read more...] about Keep safe from the Recovery Audit Contractors and the courts by making the corrections correctly