Practice Management

A practice website is an absolute necessity for any thriving dermatology practice, and a well performing, mobile-ready website filters significant internet traffic through your office doors.

To prevent employee theft, an expert recommends closely monitoring cash for and financial records, beefing up internal controls and keeping an eye on employees facing unusual pressures.

Practice stability enhanced by reforms

Insurance companies are paring down plans for patients, impacting patient ability to choose physicians. Dermatologists are being terminated from some plans based on practice profiling software that has insufficient risk analysis.

Potential errors related to EHRs include out-of-date medication lists, cut-and-paste incongruities and failure to heed electronically generated warnings, experts say.

Social media, an up-to-date web site, and a regular email newsletter highlighting what is new in your practice are ways to market yourself and your practice. Experts at the 2015 AAD also advise developing relationships with plastic surgery peers and carrying products for purchase at the office.

Though patient feedback is an excellent feedback resource, it has limitations. There are two additional ways to view your practice more objectively.

After the tax increases of recent years - between income, capital gains, Medicare, self-employment and other taxes - you likely spend between 45% to 55% of your working hours laboring for the IRS and your state. Here are five creative ways to legally reduce your tax liabilities.

In starting a practice, experts say, everything from marketing matters to real-estate strategies should stem from the reason or reasons that one chose dermatology in the first place.

One hospital leverages technology to reduce the stress of extensive, ongoing care on patients and families

While reimbursement questions linger, teledermatology can help dermatologists triage effectively in deciding whether a patient needs to go to the hospital. It is also a way to reduce the disparity in access to dermatological care, experts say.

EHRs…resist temptation to cut corners.

Reducing medical errors requires taking a structured approach that includes teamwork, communication and tools to help eliminate bias and oversights, experts say.

Performing clinical trials and dispensing in-office products can help dermatologists diversify their practices and revenues without necessarily adding patients, says an expert.

Reducing medical errors requires taking a structured approach that includes teamwork, communication and tools to help eliminate bias and oversights, experts say.

With the approach of a new year, it is an ideal time to review the old handbook or finally create one if it does not yet exist. The employee handbook should be reviewed annually and updated for changes in employment law and growth of the practice. Extra credit goes to practices that review the employee handbook with staff annually and emphasize regularly at staff meetings the best practices put forth in the handbook.

If you want to increase practice profitability and haven’t mastered patient collections, consider how you might employ technology to help you succeed in the new high deductible landscape.

What, if anything, can dermatologists and other aesthetic practitioners do to use home aesthetic devices to their advantage? Physician experts offer their perspective.

All medical practices need to realize they are vulnerable to information security breaches. Mobile devices that house sensitive patient information can easily be lost or stolen, and practices should take steps to reduce risks by performing a risk assessment and identifying potential “leaks.”

So you have surrounded yourself with a solid team. How do you continue to coax the best of your employees’ attributes and enrich their growth as staff members? Some fellow dermatologists weigh in.

There is no cut-and-dried correct response to firing an employee charged with domestic abuse, but, there are a number of factors dermatologists should first take into consideration before taking any adverse employment actions against workers embroiled in domestic violence disputes.

With high deductible health plans on the rise, patients are expected to shoulder more of the cost of healthcare; yet practices are finding it difficult to collect. In part because patients don't understand their plans; but also because staff may be unprepared to collect patient obligations.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pulls no punches when it warns healthcare providers that meaningful use audits are happening, at random, and consequences for failing the audit are costly. If a provider cannot produce documentation that fully supports its electronic health record (EHR) attestation, the CMS could recoup incentive payments.

There has been a major shift in the financial aspect of patient care and it’s affecting patients and those who provide their care in major ways. Perhaps you’ve noticed certain patients not coming in as often or a rising accounts receivable (A/R) that’s increasing in age and amount. The shift by third-party payers and government entities to have patients shoulder more of the cost of healthcare is creating a huge need for hospitals, clinics and private practices to change how they communicate about and collect patient payments.

One of the biggest challenges facing a medical practice is procuring and developing exceptional staff members. A low turnover rate is usually a good sign and indicative of a happy, healthy, dynamic workplace. Excellent staff anticipates your needs, improves your clinic efficiency, supports your efforts, and makes the workday enjoyable. So how do you attract great employees, and more importantly, what keeps staff eager and motivated to stay?