How to ensure a smooth transition when you upgrade your EMR software or install a new system Just when everyone is trained and comfortable with your EMR system, along comes an upgrade. Keeping up with the demands of meaningful use and changing regulations has software vendors sending out upgrades with alarming frequency. This means that you may be spending far more time and … [Read more...] about What? Not another upgrade!
Managing staff
The best ways to find and hire qualified office staff
Recruiting staff Do you struggle to find qualified office staff who are also a good fit for your practice? It can be very difficult to figure out which methods are best for attracting the qualified job candidates you seek. Trial and error can be time consuming, and all too often results in a costly hiring mistake. Here are a few suggestions. Look within There are several … [Read more...] about The best ways to find and hire qualified office staff
Asking for a raise
One of the most frequently asked career questions is, "What is the best way to ask for a raise?" Not surprising, a frequently asked management question is, "What are best practices when it comes to employees asking for a raise?" Answers to these two questions actually have a lot of overlap. Think about the times staff members approached you for a raise. When did they make a … [Read more...] about Asking for a raise
Use weekly meetings with doctors to keep office running smoothly
Meeting every week with the doctors makes a tremendous difference in how smoothly – and also how successfully – an office operates, says the manager of a pediatrics practice in Colorado. For her office, it's an 8 a.m. meeting every Monday, a good time, because it sets the tone for the week. It also keeps everybody on the same page. And it ensures that the doctors know all the … [Read more...] about Use weekly meetings with doctors to keep office running smoothly
In California office, the training starts on day 1 and never ends
No manager can set expectations without giving staff the tools to achieve them, says a California administrator. And the main tool for it all is never ending training. At Santa Barbara Cardiovascular Medical Group, Patricia Board starts the training on the first day a staffer comes in. She gives the newcomer a check-off list of both job and office basics and spends several … [Read more...] about In California office, the training starts on day 1 and never ends
Keep your job by learning ways to stay neutral
The job of managing a medical office can be unpredictable, because there's not the luxury of answering to just one boss. Instead, there are as many bosses as there are doctors, and the doctors don't always get along with one another. For that reason, survival rests on neutrality, says management consultant Donna R. Gary of Legal Administrative Services in Sacramento. The … [Read more...] about Keep your job by learning ways to stay neutral
3 bonus formulas that boost staff productivity
What bonuses should the office give, and how can it design the bonuses to increase productivity? As to the amount to give, a few consultants recommend setting aside as much as 17 percent to 21 percent of the monthly profits for staff bonuses. Most, however, recommend less. Whatever amount the office opts to allow, here are some ways to mete it out. Formula 1 The traditional … [Read more...] about 3 bonus formulas that boost staff productivity
Short newsletter keeps multiple sites and doctors up to date
Because health care is synonymous with change, and because notice of every change doesn't always get through to every person who needs to know about it, a Minnesota practice has set up a brief in-house newsletter. The pediatrics practice has six sites, and the newsletter is written for the site managers as well as for the providers. The little publication is a good way to get … [Read more...] about Short newsletter keeps multiple sites and doctors up to date
Should your medical office have a moonlighting policy?
Ideally, you want medical office staff members to work only for the practice. This ensures that the job—the job they are doing for you—is their primary focus. Unfortunately, this expectation might not be realistic. Following the moon There are a number of reasons employees moonlight. The most common reason is money. Working a second job may be a necessity, especially for … [Read more...] about Should your medical office have a moonlighting policy?
Do you make this costly interviewing mistake?
Don't focus a job interview on whether the candidate can do the job. The purpose of an interview is not to evaluate hard skills or job experience or training. Anybody who makes it to the interview already meets the requirements. Look instead for the behaviors of the person. The interview is the time to find out the motivators, the personality, and the soft skills of self … [Read more...] about Do you make this costly interviewing mistake?