Ditch the In-Box and Get Control of Paper!

Technology and email promise less paper, but if your practice is like most, you're still drowning in it. Reports, mail, charts...there's always some piece of paper that requires attention. Use these tips to de-clutter and get organized. Practice

1. Purchase a desktop hanging file bin.

2. Purchase a box of hanging file folders, with tabs.

3. Create hanging files for specific paper piles. Label the tab of each hanging file folder using the following terms, and ask staff to file appropriately:

4. • HOT! - includes stuff that needs your signature or attention within 24 hours, such as chart notes, prescription refills, important messages.

   • Impending Deadlines - meeting agendas, managed care contracts that need review before renegotiating, conference brochures. Essentially, items that need your review within 30 days.

   • Reports - A/R and financial reports, QA reports from the hospital. Things that need review but typically not an immediate decision.

   • Internal Communication - memos, meeting minutes. Things that need review, then may be tossed.

   • Correspondence - Letters from referring physicians, thank you cards from patients, notification of external meetings or conferences.

   • Publications/Journals - Medical Economics, other specialty journals. Publications you can review at your leisure. When the hanging file gets thick, take the journals home for weekend reading. If you want to pare down your journal pile, split subscriptions among partners and ask each physician to read 1 journal per month and circulate relevant articles to the partners.

5. Instruct staff to toss junk mail so it doesn't make it into your hanging file system.