Everyone knows that taking steps to retain existing patients is more cost-effective than engaging in marketing activities to attract new ones. Once you have loyal patients in your practice, to keep them, you typically need only to meet their expectation of delivering quality care and providing efficient, friendly service. Sounds simple, right? It is. But […]
Make a new year’s resolution to improve patient retention Read More »
Exam rooms probably account for less than half of your total office space, but it’s primarily in those little rooms that income is produced. When improved exam room efficiency allows doctors to see just one or two additional patients each day, that extra revenue falls right to the bottom line because most office overhead is
Exam room efficiency Read More »
Given that there are only so many patients you can squeeze into the appointment schedule each day, the amount of revenue that your practice can generate is limited. Unless, that is, you find sources of income that are not dependent on doctor/patient face-to-face time. The decision to sell retail products in your practice is one
Are retail products right for your practice? Read More »
Does anything else produce optimism like the sense of having a clean slate that accompanies a new year? Sure, it’s just a flip of the calendar, and you could choose to set annual goals every May 19th if you’d like, but most of us think of the beginning of the new year as a time
Setting practice goals for 2010 Read More »
Each new year offers the opportunity to reflect on what you hope to achieve and to set goals that are aligned with your practice values. If you’ve not yet mapped out your 2013 goals, here are some possibilities to consider (or that might trigger you to think of other specific goals for your practice), each
Aligning 2013 goals with practice values Read More »
The beginning of a new year naturally feels like a fresh start, when all things seem possible. It’s tempting to get caught up in the excitement and make long lists of tasks and goals to accomplish, only to find enthusiasm waning (or completely gone) by the end of January. One technique to avoid this rollercoaster
Success strategies: set one big goal for 2012 Read More »
Medicare will no longer recognize consultation codes starting January 1, 2010. To avoid denials, it is imperative that your providers and coding/billing staff are aware of the changes and what your process will be to submit claims correctly. What is the change to consultation codes? The consultation codes (99241-99245 for office/outpatient and 99251-99255 for inpatient)
2010 major coding change Read More »
No matter how carefully you schedule and how consistent your appointment reminder system is, you will have no-shows in your practice. Patients are human and sometimes they forget appointments, write them down on the wrong day, or have emergencies that prevent them from getting to the office when they’re scheduled to be there. An occasional
How to deal with repeat offender no shows Read More »
In the midst of holiday shopping, parties, and visiting family and friends (or having houseguests descend upon you) it might seem out of the question to even think about planning for the new year. But plan you must if you have big practice goals for 2010. Here are a few things you can do now
Five steps to take now for a successful 2010 Read More »
One essential element to managing a successful business (and, yes, a practice is a business) is regularly evaluating staff. Usually conducted on an annual basis, the employee evaluation (aka, performance appraisal) lets each member of the team know how they’re doing – where they excel and in what areas they need to improve – and
Effective employee evaluations Read More »