Medical Office

The federal budget sequestration cuts impacting Medicare claims went into effect on April 1, 2013 - April Fools Day - but it was no laughing matter. According to CMS, any Medicare service or procedure performed on or after this date is subject to a two percent (2%) reduction in payment. This also includes Medicare Fee For Service (FFS) program, also known as Medicare HMO (Part C) claims. Read more

Providing exceptional patient service sometimes means answering some difficult questions that your patients may be asking. Be prepared to answer these questions or create a document that provides answers to the most frequently asked questions. Here are eight questions your patients may be asking and what the medical office staff needs to know in order to answer them. Read the full article here

Whether intentional or accidental, unauthorized disclosure of PHI is considered a violation of HIPAA. Any organization that accesses patient health information is considered a covered entity and is required by law to comply with HIPAA provisions or face civil and/or criminal penalties. It is imperative that medical records remain confidential and cannot be accessed by people that do not have proper authorization. Disclosures made regarding a patient's protected health information (PHI) without their authorization is considered a violation of the Privacy Rule.

HIPAA security refers to establishing safeguards for PHI in any electronic format. This includes any information used, stored or transmitted electronically. Any facility defined by HIPAA as a covered-entity has the responsibility to ensure the privacy and security of its patient's information as well as maintaining the confidentiality of their PHI. With the increased use of information technology in health care, your medical office must continue to find ways to maintain the security of the protected health information (PHI) of the patients they serve. Read more

One of the fastest growing trends in health care is the use of a quality analysis to improve finances. Medical office managers are facing many difficulties due to the constant changes in billing and coding standards and IT requirements. It can be quite a challenge for the manager to keep up with so many changes especially in a small office with limited staff. Billers and coders may also find it challenging to find time to read up on all the new updates. It seems as though Medicare changes something every other day.  Read More

In today's society, a medical office must incorporate diversity into it's mission, vision and values in order to provide the best patient care and effectively manage staff. Understand diversity means being aware of differences other than the obvious reasons like race, language and gender. Diversity refers to everything about people that makes us different including workstyles, ethics and values, education, and communication. Diversity is all around us yet many organizations find it challenging to incorporate diversity in every day settings. This can be accomplished over time but the first step is by promoting it. Here are four ways to promote diversity in your medical office.

If your are a physician or new medical graduate student, you may be interested in the growing trend in health care known as concierge medicine. Concierge medicine, also known as boutique medicine, VIP care, or direct care, provides a unique approach to offering medical services to patients. Read More

Managing the medical office in the 21st century presents many challenges to both experienced and non-experienced medical office managers. To successfully tackle the key issues, medical office managers must be aware of these challenges, identify emerging trends and be able to meet the demands of the ever-changing health care industry. One change in particular that has been documented in recent years is the dynamics of the current workforce.  Read More

You've heard it before - "REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING". Reputation is viewed as the public's opinion of an organization. In a medical practice, this is no different except that the reputation of the medical office staff can impact the reputation of the physician and the services provided by the medical practice. Even though the medical office staff performs the administrative tasks of the medical practice, their actions can reflect on how patients perceive the medical care and treatment received by the medical staff ... Read more on the Importance of Medical Office Staff Development

Creating an excellent patient experience takes dedication that requires the staff of the medical office to focus on the patient. The question is how do we focus on the patient in ways that makes their experience unique and satisfying? First, we must understand that our patient's are the most valuable person to the medical office. Next, we must define our purpose and finally, we need to use our H.E.A.R.T. communication to effectively create a positive patient experience. Read the full article here.

Credentialing can pose some serious complications especially for new physician graduates either starting a new practice or joining an existing one. Credentialing is the process by which insurance networks, healthcare organizations and hospitals obtain and evaluate documentation regarding a medical provider's education, training, work history, licensure, regulatory compliance record and malpractice history before allowing that provider to participate in a network or treat patients at a hospital or medical facility.

Guest author Olga Khabinskay discusses some important information that can help new medical grads speed up the process in order to avoid delayed payments from private and government insurances plans.  Read the full article here