The Journal of medical practice management : MPM
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This two-part article deals with the role of the physician when disaster strikes. The first part concentrates on disaster planning and emergency preparedness as it pertains to the staff and the practice. It suggests points to consider in preparing a disaster plan for the practice or institution so that everyone knows what to do in the event of a crisis. This disaster plan is also a blueprint for recovery once the disaster has passed that will assure the financial health of the practice.
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Most medical practice employees want their patients' experiences to be very positive. This article suggests 25 specific, easy, and no- or low-cost strategies every staff member can use to roll out the red carpet for patients. It provides several easy-to-implement techniques for remembering and using personal information about patients to demonstrate that you and your staff care about them. ⋯ It offers specific do's and don'ts about being courteous to patients. It also offers several tips your staff can use to become goodwill ambassadors for your practice in your community and for going the extra mile for your patients. Finally, this article offers a step-by-step procedure your staff can use to shake hands professionally with every one of your patients.
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With rising costs and tight controls on reimbursement, physicians need to dig deeper into expenses and find ways to reduce costs while tapping into an equal or higher level of expertise. Outsourcing offers an attractive solution. This article identifies the areas where outsourcing is most valuable and effective, and provides some methodologies for achieving a successful result.
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Do you feel like you're on shaky ground when it comes time to evaluate your staffs performance or to give them raises? If so, you're not alone. Staff performance and salary reviews are among the most dreaded tasks among medical practice managers. Yet, they are among the most effective techniques you can use to motivate, manage, correct, and reward your staff. ⋯ This article also provides how-to guidance about conducting regular interim progress reviews with your staff to keep abreast of progress, changes, and problems and to issue ongoing assistance and feedback. It explains how to conduct tension-free semi-annual staff performance reviews and semi-annual or annual salary reviews, including a formula for calculating potential raises for each employee in nine increments. Finally, this article offers additional tips for evaluating your staffs performance, including job description updates and staff surveys.
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Increased patient loads, time pressures, and heightened public awareness of medical errors are forcing many physicians and clinical administrators to consider acquiring computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems and clinical information systems. The recent revelation that CPOE systems can facilitate medical errors, however, is a call to physicians to remain vigilant despite the new technologies. By attending to specific data-capture and data-access errors associated with clinical information systems, physicians can minimize errors associated with clinical information systems and maximize the potential benefits to their patients.