The Journal of medical practice management : MPM
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Employing someone you're close to in your medical practice can have many advantages. Yet, as many doctors find, employing relatives can also have its pitfalls. This article describes the financial benefits of employing a loved one in your medical practice. ⋯ The author also explores the personal benefits and drawbacks of employing your spouse or significant other. She includes advice from other doctors and spouses who work together and establishes 15 ground rules for working with your spouse. Finally, the article includes a 10-question self-quiz for you and your spouse or significant other to help you decide if working together in your medical practice will strengthen or strain your relationship.
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Medical practice office managers come in many varieties. They can be hired from the outside or promoted from within. They can have a great deal of experience working in medical practices or practically none. ⋯ It explores the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of lay administrators hired from the outside, office managers promoted from the ranks, and "super-aides" who are asked to manage while doing their old jobs. This article also offers a list of 10 characteristics to look for in office manager candidates, as well as six areas of overall responsibility for your office manager. Finally, it includes a quick checklist of 20 required duties of typical medical practice office managers that can help you shape your office manager's job description.
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The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted in 1986. Its purpose was to ensure that all individuals receive necessary emergency services from hospitals and not be denied care (i.e., "patient dumping") because of their economic status or lack of insurance. In its application, EMTALA has reduced "patient dumping," but at great cost to hospitals and physicians as an unfunded mandate. ⋯ The new regulations attempt to restate the parameters of the law as it applies to the emergency department and the hospital, as well as to inpatients and outpatients. The new rules clarify on-call obligations for physicians, confirming guidance issued by CMS in June 2002. This article summarizes the salient features of these new regulations.
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Can you tell your medical practice staff how you want them to look? Where in your office they can eat? Can they chew gum at work? Can they wear red nail polish or a charm bracelet? In the pages that follow, the author suggests not only that you can establish rules for employee dress and hygiene, but why you should. This article suggests several good ways to structure staff rules for wearing uniforms and street clothing. It also covers possible rules for wearing practice nametags, cosmetics, jewelry, hair styles, neatness, stowing of personal possessions, personal hygiene, drinking, eating, smoking, and gum chewing. Finally, this article offers practical suggestions for establishing your practice's dress and hygiene "first aid" kit as well as guidance for making your practice's dress and hygiene codes non-discriminatory.