Physicians Practice - February 2008 - (Page 54)

ASK THE EXPERTS sample one in the Tools area of www.PhysiciansPractice.com). Additionally, consider including written guidelines regarding who in your ofﬁce should have access to what kinds of information — what staff member should be allowed to handle clinical records, whether pharmaceutical reps are allowed in the back ofﬁce, how to handle leaving lab results on answering machines. Finally, you want to include basic but speciﬁc guidelines on patient privacy, such as turning charts backwards when hung on exam room doors so that details and names are not visible to passers-by — that sort of thing. ALTERNATIVES TO CLOSING TO NEW PATIENTS Q I'm in the process of hiring a clinical nurse specialist. I need to increase her patient load while decreasing my own. I've considered sending a letter to my referral sources touting her skills. I've also seriously thought about not taking new patients for a time. Your thoughts are always appreciated. A I would think twice before closing your ofﬁce to new patients. You don’t want all the referrals to stop; it's hard to get them started again when you do need more patients. You might do better to cancel contracts with your worst payers. That will reduce your load of patients while making sure the patients you do have are the “right” ones. Also, take a look at your scheduling habits. Are you possibly seeing patients that don’t really need seeing or that you could responsibly see at longer intervals? I like the idea of letting your referring sources know about your new hire and how great she is. Do the same with your patients. Your scheduler can tell new patients all about her when they call, as well. If the CNS has a particular area of interest that you think would beneﬁt some existing patients, don’t hesitate to recommend they see her because you think she might help them even better than you can. FINDING A DIFFERENT KIND OF JOB Q I recently changed jobs, becoming a hospitalist. I now realize I can’t handle the 12- to 15-hour days, nights, and weekend work, even though my previous job as a traditional internal medicine doc was busier. But I am just not sure how to go ahead and start a practice on my own. I feel as though internal medicine can’t support me anymore. What do I do? A Here are some thoughts: 1. First, your current employer surely doesn't want to lose you, so if you like the work itself, but not the hours, you could try to negotiate a change in hours. I’m sure it seems there is a standard everyone needs to stick with, but you never know unless you ask. Figure out exactly what you want and start bargaining from there. 2. If you do want to start your own practice, take some time to plan an alternative you can live with and still make money. For example, some physicians are opening low-overhead practices: You open an ofﬁce with relatively low rent and no staff or just one employee. You ﬁle claims electronically yourself, or ﬁle no claims at all (have patients submit for reimbursment), greet your own patients, etc. You can work fewer hours, see fewer patients (and have fewer claims to worry about) but because you keep nearly all the revenue, you still make money. Or, take a look at MDVIP (www.mdvip.com). They love the boomer niche and can help you set up a different style of practice. Whatever model you like, take a week off to imagine the ideal and build some simple spreadsheets to see if you think it can work ﬁnancially. 3. Finally, you could look at positions as an employee in a group practice in your area. With a salaried job, you can worry less about the bottom line. RESEARCHING BILLING COMPANIES Q We are thinking about changing billing companies. The switch would require us to use different technology, too. How can I compare the two, other than talking to actual customers of 54 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | FEBRUARY 2008 WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://www.PhysiciansPractice.com http://www.amazingcharts.com http://www.amazingcharts.com http://www.mdvip.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - February 2008

Physicians Practice - February 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Your Future is in Your Hands Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Creating an A+ Practice Noteworthy Cover Story: Conquering Time: 5 Keys to a More Efficient Practice In Balance: A Family Affair Technology: Making EMRs Work in the Exam Room In Practice: "I've Got Some Bad News" The Tech Doctor - The EMR: Savior or Poseur? Ask the Experts NEW! Healthonomics: How to Handle Health Savings Accounts The Administrator's Desk: Finishing School for New Managers Human Resources: Is Your Partner Impaired The Great Practice Makeover: Too Well-Liked for His Own Good? Coding Idealab: 'Why I Blog' Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - February 2008

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