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You are here: Home / Archives for Managing the office
COMPLIANCE

How to create a COVID-19 exposure control plan

June 16, 2020 by

For as long as COVID-19 remains a threat, businesses—both essential and nonessential—won’t be allowed to re-open and remain open unless they implement a plan to control workplace infection risks. While infection control is nothing new for medical offices, the challenges posed by COVID-19 are unprecedented and unique and you probably won’t find any great templates in your current policy folders and binders. As a result, you’ll need to build your plan from the ground up. Here’s a step-by-step strategy and Model COVID-19 Exposure Control Plan containing the necessary elements that you can use to accomplish that objective. The Exposure Control Plan & Why You Need It An exposure control plan is a set of measures to protect workers, patients, contractors, visitors and other people at your workplace against exposure to… . . . read more.

Filed Under: articles, Compliance, Managing the office, must read, social media Tagged With: , , , , ,
MANAGING THE OFFICE

Life science companies and healthcare providers partnering for value-based patient care

June 10, 2020 by

By Mal Milburn bio In the era of value-based reimbursement, healthcare professionals are constantly evaluating strategies to improve patient care while simultaneously decreasing overhead costs.   Increasingly, medical practices turning to life science reps as a critical part of the answer. According to recent research from DRG Digital Manhattan Research, 74% of physicians are looking to spend more time with life science reps, as rep partnerships have been shown to improve outcomes and reduce costs.   Outcome improvement: Life science companies are developing cutting-edge drugs and technologies at increasing rates, and their reps are equipped with the latest, most comprehensive information about these advancements. Reps are able to bring this education directly to providers in their practice, as the innovations are released. Reps also provide important updates about new drug… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Increasing profits, Managing the office Tagged With: , , , ,
PRODUCTIVITY

Five ways to boost practice efficiency on a shoestring budget

June 10, 2020 by

By Karen Mattocks bio It is every manager’s mantra: ‘Do more with the same number of staff.’ Translation? See more patients. Submit more claims. Generate more revenue—all while providing high-quality, low-cost care. How do successful managers accomplish this? They remove the organizational-level barriers that drain productivity, says Michael Mankins, co-author of Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’s Productivity Power. ‘Organizational drag’ refers to the cumulative effect of institutional factors that drain energy and decrease output. Through his research, Mankins found that companies lose more than 20% of their capacity for productivity—more than a day each week—to organizational drag. The good news is that boosting productivity doesn’t require a huge budget or even major changes. The reality is that small steps can make a big difference in… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Increasing profits, Managing patients, Managing the office, Productivity Tagged With: , , , ,
MANAGING THE OFFICE

7 free or low-cost ways to increase practice efficiency

June 9, 2020 by

By Jeremy Gilman bio It is a question practice managers ask themselves daily: ‘How can I accomplish more tasks using the same—or even fewer—resources?’ Times are tough. For many providers, increased access to healthcare care under the Affordable Care Act has translated to increased patient volume, and not every practice is equipped to handle the demands. Couple this with ever-changing regulations, stringent documentation requirements, burdensome prior authorization requests, and increased payer scrutiny, and practice managers have a potential recipe for disaster on their hands. Unless, of course, they do something about it. The good news is that “doing something about it” doesn’t necessarily mean putting in dozens of extra hours every week or doling out thousands of dollars to hire workflow consultants or purchase expensive technology. Ultimately, it is about… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Increasing profits, Managing the office Tagged With: ,
COVID-19 & MEDICAL PRACTICES

Updating protocols for rep engagement and communication

June 4, 2020 by

By Jeremy Gilman bio We have heard from many practices how difficult it is to stay on top of the ever-evolving guidelines and best practices for how to provide excellent patient care in a pandemic. Here are some patterns we’ve seen emerge within our community of thousands of medical practices: 1. Vendor/rep-specific protocols: As your practice continues to monitor the risk of COVID-19 exposure, you will need to create protocols and policies specific to your life science experts. These protocols may differ from how you are managing patients and should be flexible to change as you adapt to the ever-evolving situation. Linked to this article is a sample vendor/rep protocol implemented by a large healthcare system. Some questions to consider as you build a policy specific to your practice include:… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Managing the office, Purchasing and leasing Tagged With: , , , ,
REOPENING THE OFFICE

Doctors & nurses eager to get back to work despite COVID-19 anxieties

May 27, 2020 by

Layoffs and furloughs are a new thing for many medical professionals who’ve come to expect stability in their employment. So, it’s not surprising that a new survey suggests that medical professionals are eager to end lockdowns and get back to work; but like workers in so many other industries, the prospect of going back to work while COVID-19 remains at large is tinged with concern. The CHG Healthcare Survey The survey of 1,285 physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, by healthcare staffing agency CHG Healthcare, found that anxieties are up, even while workloads are down. Among respondents, 59% reported that they’ve treated patients who were either symptomatic but not tested or formally diagnosed as having COVID-19 or exhibiting symptoms who was not tested. When asked how their current anxiety levels… . . . read more.

Filed Under: articles, must read, social media Tagged With: , , , ,

Tool: COVID-19 Vendor/Rep Visitation Protocol Update

May 27, 2020 by

Sample Vendor/Rep Policy Update.

Filed Under: Managing the office, tools, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , , ,
Focus On

Nearly 3 in 4 Physicians Say They Can’t Provide Easy & Rapid COVID-19 Testing

April 27, 2020 by

Development of new lab tests to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 coronavirus has been faster and more prolific than anybody could dare expect for a pathogen that was unknown just a few months ago. But it still may not be enough to satisfy the urgent demand for COVID-19 testing—at least not yet. That’s the depressing conclusion of a new survey from Harvard Medical School, the Rand Corporation and Doximity, a professional medical network of which 70% of US physicians are members Quick and Easy Testing Remains Elusive Conducted between March 21-24, the survey “Physicians Views on the Coronavirus Pandemic Response,” included 2,600 physicians. Half of the respondents said they’ve treated at least one patient with potential COVID-19 symptoms. When asked whether they were “currently able to test their… . . . read more.

Filed Under: articles, Managing patients, must read Tagged With: , , , ,
CORONAVIRUS

Before you let your employees work remote

April 9, 2020 by

By Paul Edwards bio In light of growing concerns surrounding coronavirus, many businesses are wondering if they will be faced with a decision to send employees home and/or close their doors for a period of time. One popular idea to address these concerns is to offer remote work (or ‘telework’) options. If you don’t regularly have remote workers, this may not be something you’re prepared to do. That said, we recommend making a plan now so you’re ready when you need it. The guidance we offer below is “perfect world” guidance. We realize that you may not be able to get all of these items in place on short-notice. In such cases, you will just have to do your best to meet your business’ needs during temporary remote-work scenarios. In… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Managing staff, Workplace safety Tagged With: , , , , , ,
CORONAVIRUS

Practical guidance for medical office employers handling coronavirus

March 8, 2020 by

By Paul Edwards bio We know there is a lot of information (and misinformation) out there about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how to handle it in the workplace. Our goal is to provide you with guidance on how to handle this as an employer—practical solutions for the impact the coronavirus may have on your business. If an employee is sick, can I send him/her home? If an employee is objectively showing signs of being sick—flu symptoms, bad cold symptoms, coronavirus symptoms, or other—you are able to send them home so that they don’t pose a health risk to the rest of your team or other visitors to the office. Most employers encourage their teams to stay home if they are unwell, but don’t necessarily require it unless it appears to… . . . read more.

Filed Under: blog, Managing staff, Managing the office, Risk management Tagged With: , , , ,

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