Operations

Opening Day for your new practice is drawing nearer, and all the little details are starting to bear down on you. Relax: The key to a successful opening - and ongoing profitability - is to know which little details are most important.

Practice partnerships can be like families - and sometimes, family members fight. But when partners know how to fight fair, disagreements between them shouldn’t spell doom for your practice.

As a practice expands, so do its management needs. Here’s how to delegate authority while retaining overall control.

These are the patients that try physicians’ souls. They never pay on time. They don’t respect personal boundaries. They’re demanding and, sometimes, even abusive. What to do with these dark clouds?

Internist Rob Lamberts on his walk-in clinic experiment.

Here’s how to give your staff some scheduling flexibility, while keeping the office sufficiently staffed.

Is your practice operating like Camp Run-a-Muck, where everyone is busy but little gets done? Maybe it’s time for some time management skills.

Incidents of data theft grab media headlines almost daily. How can you ensure that your data remains secure? We give you the best bets for implementing that “ounce of protection” that can protect your patients and your practice.

The latest installment of our series on starting a practice from scratch offers key pointers on hiring the staff you’ll need.

Dispensing corporate cell phones may be a given in your practice, but don’t fall into a money trap.

How often and which practice reports should you deliver to your group’s physicians? The wrong answer could cost you big.

Our series on everything you need to know to open a practice continues with expert advice on equipment and office space. You’ll get one chance only to design the right space for your needs, and you’ll be stuck for years with the equipment you select. Better know what you’re doing.

Overtime pay is expensive. Here’s how to keep it under control.

More physicians are demanding part-time and flex-time arrangements, but these can wreak havoc on your call and patient schedules, and your compensation system. Here’s how to keep everyone happy.

You’ve been handwriting prescriptions for years and are reluctant to change. We understand. But e-prescribing technology is inexpensive, easy to use, and can make your life easier and keep your patients safer. Is it time to dump your Paper Mate?

Change is hard. People don’t like it. If you’ve ever tried to convince a reluctant staff too content with “the old way” to try something new, you understand the size of the challenge. Allow our primer to help you clear the path to transformation.

If staff is overloaded, it may be time to consider outsourcing some of their tasks. Here’s a look at the options.

After their entire staff left town in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana endocrinologist and his office manager/wife want to make sure the new employees stay happy. We can’t keep hurricanes away. But staff retention? We can handle that.

Why noncompliant patients come to see you in the first place is a mystery, but we have some pointers on getting through to even the most recalcitrant - and how to protect yourself when nothing works.

“Doctor’s office - please hold,” is not what anyone wants to hear when calling your practice, especially for the first time. Teach staff how to handle your calls properly.

Providing excellent care isn’t enough to keep your patients happy - and smiling patients are the key to a successful practice. Here’s a simple five-step guide to providing a total patient service experience, from the appointment call to follow-up.

We’ll let the pundits haggle over whether Medicare D is helping seniors. We’re concerned with how it’s affecting you. If changing formularies and requests for new scripts are wearing you out, try these recommendations for making things easier.

Administrators have a crucial role in the EMR-shopping process. You’re the adviser, manager, and head cheerleader. But you’re not the decision-maker. Here’s how to walk the line with grace.

Delivering unpleasant clinical news is one of the toughest jobs in medicine. Here’s how to handle it with clarity and sensitivity.

Solo endocrinologist Richard Plotzker isn’t worried about how to grow his business. He’s trying to figure out how to keep from drowning in his own popularity. Expert Laurie Hyland Robertson throws him a life preserver.

When good employees are promoted to managerial roles, the transition can sometimes be rocky. Here’s how to help new supervisors make the leap successfully.

Do you feel overwhelmed every day? From the nation’s leading time-management experts, here’s the best advice on how to make the most of your day.

What advice do the best veteran practice administrators around have to share? We thought someone should ask them. So we did.

Cleaning out your supply closet may not be high on your list of favorite activities, but there’s money on those shelves - your money. Stop wasting it and get organized. We’ll help you get started.

Don’t let employees’ poor computer skills (or your own) stop you from adopting needed technology.