Physicians Practice - April 2008 - (Page 17)

P eARLS OUTSOURCE YOUR PAIN B Y J U D Y C A P KO PHYSICIANS ADVISORY BOARD David Albenberg, MD Access Healthcare, Charleston, SC Michael F. Bonazzola, MD Oregon Health & Science University Medical Group, Portland, OR Juliet Breeze, MD Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic P .A., Richmond, TX Robert C. Goldszer, MD, MBA Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA Scott Meyer, MD Prairie Glen Family Medicine, Glenview, IL Lucien W. Roberts III, MHA, FACMPE Cognos LLC Glen Allen, VA William Smits, MD The Allergy & Asthma Center, Fort Wayne, IN Even the best staff has its limits if a practice is growing. Sometimes you need help getting the job done. Outsourcing might be the solution. Consider using these experts: • Consultant — Often physicians and managers put off important projects (such as formulating an overall strategic plan) because they must contend with so many opposing priorities. Certainly, management staff should be heavily involved in such critical planning, but do they have time to do the upfront research and analysis, prepare reports, and facilitate a strategic planning retreat? Hire an expert whose advice and recommendations will provide the critical direction you need. • Event planner — Speaking of planning a retreat (or seminars and other events), why not hire an event planner to handle the arrangements and all those pesky little details? • Payroll service with direct deposit — Some will even track accumulated paid time off. If you already use a service but you still must manually type employee hours into a spreadsheet for the service’s use, consider switching to a time clock that automatically uploads employee time records. • Temp service — If you have a short-term administrative need that would unduly tax your already-busy staff, such as a computer conversion, consider using a temp service for data entry and other “grunt work.” This will ensure a timely conversion without compromising your work ﬂow or patient care. • Billing service — Feel like you’re continuously chasing rainbows? Maybe you should just let someone else do it. A billing service will take a cut off the top of what it collects for you (6 percent, give or take). WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM But if they don’t produce, they don’t get paid. This keeps them highly motivated to collect your revenue. If they can raise your collections beyond your current rate (and their fee), why not? • PR ﬁrm — A public relations specialist can get you valuable exposure for increased visibility and connection to your community, while also projecting a consistent image and message. If building such relations is a priority for your practice, then tapping into a PR ﬁrm’s expertise might be the best way to go. Whether you have a one-time job (renovating the ofﬁce) or a vital daily task (working delinquent accounts) that is falling behind, you can ﬁnd a good outsourced match for your needs. Poll your colleagues, research services on the Internet, and explore annual conference exhibit halls. If you recently heard a speaker you really liked, or if you read an article by someone whose services align with your needs and your philosophies, visit her Web site and ask for references. Of course, you should carefully monitor the vendors taking on your outsourced tasks, especially for longterm projects. For the first 90 days, closely inspect results, and hold the vendor accountable for any variations from the promised outcome. Still satisfied? Then just periodically spot-check so you stay in control, and never sacrifice quality for convenience. BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARD Diane Haines Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR Rebecca A.H. Anwar, PhD The Sage Group, Philadelphia, PA John Barrasso, MD Wyoming Medical Center, Casper, WY V. Alin Botoman, MD Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, FL Barry Brennan Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL Greg Bruce UMC Health System, Lubbock, TX Patrick Cawley, MD Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Wanda English Shands at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Richard Gangemi, MD Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY Hewitt Goodpasture, MD Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita, KS Darren R. Haskell, MD St. Luke’s Hospital, Chesterﬁeld, MO Larry Hopperstead, MD Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, ME Allen B. Hornell, MD ETMC Regional Healthcare System,Tyler, TX Timothy Huffcutt Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Marshﬁeld, WI Peter J. Jacoby, MD, FACEP St. Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury, CT Jean Kostelansky Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Michael Kryda, MD Ministry Healthcare, Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Milwaukee, WI Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA Jim Lindsey, MD SETON Healthcare Network, Austin, TX John Mackel, MD Saint Francis Medical Center, Cape Girardeau, MO Lorraine L. Manzella SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY Hagop Mekhjian, MD OSU Medical Center, Columbus, OH Daniel M. Navin, MD Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, MI Harold Pillsbury, III, MD UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC J. Robert Polk, MD Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, ID Thomas Pow, MD Lakeland Regional Health System, St. Josephs, MI Kevin Ruggles, MD Rockford Health System Rockford, IL Ronald W. Swinfard, MD Lehigh Valley Hospital, Bethlehem, PA R. Stephen Taylor, MD Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, GA Donald Thomas, MD Kingman Regional Medical Center Kingman, AZ Jerome Thompson, MD UT Medical Group, Memphis, TN J. Stephen Wikle, MD, MPH Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, CA Michael Wong, MD Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY Sally Wright, MD Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA John M. Zerwas, MD Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX Nathan J. Zuckerman, MD Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Willingboro, NJ • Judy Capko is a healthcare consultant with more than 20 years of experience. Her emphasis is on improving practice performance by valuing staff, building patient-centered strategies, and making the most of resources. She can be reached at judy@capko.com. APRIL 2008 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | 17 http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

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

Physicians Practice - April 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Medicare Decision Time Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Outsource Your Pain Noteworthy Cover Story: Trial Lawyers Tell All Management: When It’s Time to Change Ask the Experts Technology: Do You Know Where Your Data Is? The Tech Doctor: Are Your Discarded PCs Really Clean? Billing & Collections: Playing Hardball The Administrator's Desk: Recruiting for Patient Satisfaction Start It Up: Finance - Mastering the Numbers Game Coding The Great Practice Makeover: Taking Care of Business Associates Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - April 2008

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