Medical Office Manager

Managing the office

Why the new Massachusetts law matters, regardless of where your practice is located

Massachusetts recently signed into law An Act to Establish Pay Equity, S.2119, which takes effect on July 1, 2018. The new law prevents wage discrimination based on gender. The law includes several noteworthy changes related to the employment process, but perhaps the most significant is that it prohibits employers from requiring applicants to provide their salary history … [Read more...] about Why the new Massachusetts law matters, regardless of where your practice is located

Want to keep valued employees? Conduct a stay interview

By Lynne Curry  bio If you've ever been blindsided by a valuable employee's resignation and conducted an exit interview, you may have asked the right questions six months too late. Exit interviews detail why employees leave your organization. In contrast, stay interviews—rarely done—provide a valuable tool for retaining valued employees. What's a stay … [Read more...] about Want to keep valued employees? Conduct a stay interview

Model Policy: Moonlighting

Why you need this policy: Employees may hold other jobs that have the potential to interfere with their work at the practice. How this policy helps you: This policy reminds employees about their responsibility to the practice. How to use this policy: Modify this policy for your medical practice, as needed. Note: In some states it is illegal to prohibit moonlighting—and in … [Read more...] about Model Policy: Moonlighting

Is your practice aware of significant changes to Medicare’s MACRA program?

A transformative law is on track to fundamentally change how physicians and other clinicians are reimbursed under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), but half of recently surveyed physicians have never heard of it, according to the "Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2016 Survey of U.S. Physicians." The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) … [Read more...] about Is your practice aware of significant changes to Medicare’s MACRA program?

Avoid these 3 deadly age discrimination traps

Age discrimination has become today's big employment law issue. And it's because people live longer than in the recent past and also work longer. Some work longer by choice; others have seen their retirement funds obliterated and are forced to continue working. It's yet another danger spot managers need to watch. Older job applicants and employees have strong protection under … [Read more...] about Avoid these 3 deadly age discrimination traps

How to help a grieving employee

By Lynne Curry  bio How do you, as a manager, best help an employee who loses a loved one? This is one hot potato that few medical office managers feel equipped to handle. When tragedy befalls an employee, most of us don't know what to say. As a result, we often say nothing. This creates a complete disconnect between the individual for whom everything has changed … [Read more...] about How to help a grieving employee

Study finds overwhelming support for employment background checks

A recent survey on employment background checks finds the vast majority of Americans supports and expects employers to conduct regular background checks on prospective employees.  Of additional importance to medical office managers is that the number one place Americans expect to feel safe is their doctor's office. Some key takeaways from the survey include: 95 percent … [Read more...] about Study finds overwhelming support for employment background checks

Do you have a practice bully?

By Lynne Curry  bio At first you hear rumblings, and then they turn into a rockslide. If you have a practice bully, a domineering charge nurse, an it's-all-about-me IT manager or a physician so aware of the dollars he brings to your clinic that he could not care less about those he rides roughshod over, you've got a problem. What happens if you don't address a … [Read more...] about Do you have a practice bully?

$900 million in false billing results in charges against medical practices throughout the U.S.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell have announced an unprecedented nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in 36 federal districts, resulting in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals, including 61 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, for their … [Read more...] about $900 million in false billing results in charges against medical practices throughout the U.S.