News

Like many practices, yours may be facing lost productivity as a result of the learning curve or lack of preparedness for the conversion to ICD-10. Claim rejections or delays in payment in some cases may jeopardize healthy cash flow during these...

Just as every patient has numbers, whether blood pressure, cholesterol, pulse or white blood cell count, your practice does, too. And similar to your patients’ numbers, your numbers need to be in a healthy range. Any negative trends need to be...

Revenues are up, expenses are under control and you have a healthy bottom line. You’re all set, right? Cash management is the key. A cash crunch is caused by timing issues, especially in medical practices where you might have to wait months...

In the operating room, every member of the team brings a particular knowledge and skill needed to ensure that surgery is performed well and the patient is safe. Nevertheless, the practice manager’s work often is viewed in a silo separate from...

Senior citizens are often targeted by con artists, and a high percentage of the crime is either healthcare or health insurance fraud. Seniors are particularly targeted because many have accumulated a nest egg, typically have excellent credit and...

With the hectic pace of the last 45 to 60 days of the year, don’t wait until then to start thinking about steps to take before Dec. 31 to lessen your 2015 tax burden. She noted, for example, that some provisions that have expired or are set...

Finding it more and more difficult to drag yourself out of bed to face a full schedule of patients? Has managing your practice become increasingly stressful? Are you feeling overworked and under-appreciated? You could be suffering from burnout....

Almost all of the major health insurers suffered a decline in trust levels by healthcare providers since last year, according to two 2015 surveys. The providers’ perception is that insurers, or payers, take advantage of them and do not honor...

Many physicians have been struggling to meet the Stage 2 Meaningful Use patient engagement threshold, requiring that more than 5 percent of patients view, download or transmit their health information electronically. A study published last...

In a little more than three years, medical practices will have to make a major decision, spurred by recent legislation repealing the sustainable growth rate formula. Practices will have to decide whether to participate in either a new...

Medical identity theft is on the rise, with incidents of thieves using the insurance of others to pay for medical visits or drugs surpassing 2.3 million cases last year. That’s an increase of nearly 22 percent over 2013, according to a...

Time-management procedures often don’t allow for busy lives that are too demanding. Busy people usually don’t allow enough time to accomplish tasks. So how do successful people win at the time-management game? The fact is, every day...

If you are an employer with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees for whom you reimburse an employee for some or all of the premium expenses incurred for an individual health insurance policy or you directly pay a premium for an individual...

Misplaced trust is one of the most common ways small businesses – including medical practices – find themselves the victims of employee fraud. The other is a lack of accounting controls, which often is exacerbated by the presence of...

A majority of patients would like to be able to substitute “telehealth” communication for in-office visits – at least some of the time, according to a new Harris Poll study. If available, nearly two-thirds of consumers say they...

The modern medical practice’s website is its face to the world. It gives current and prospective patients a picture of the who, what, where and when of your practice. A good website should be attractive and easy to navigate. But a...

Woody Allen once said, “There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?” As boring as that prospect might be, we all need to protect ourselves from risk and the financial damage...

Next year more employers, including medical practices, will be subject to the requirement to offer their employees health benefits compliant with the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, the percentage of total employees who must be covered will...

When it’s time to sell your practice, you want to be sure that you receive the maximum value. Just as when you sell a home, there are ways you can spruce up your practice to become more appealing and get the best price. But medical...