Not Brain Surgery: Basic Strategies for Practice Management
Joseph Giorgione has accomplished more in his first 90 days as a practice manager for Dr. Seth Zeidman’s Rochester Brain & Spine than many practice managers accomplish in their first five years. Surprisingly, the list of past positions on his resumé includes flight paramedic, firefighter, and head of a medical billing business—but not practice manager. Instead, Joe brings considerable energy, people skills, and common sense—as well as health care and business experience—to his role.
In addition to facilitating a major office expansion and bringing two more MDs on board, Joe found ways to make the practice run more smoothly. His approach was to “fix little things right off the bat and do larger things as they come up.” Three “little things” caught Joe’s attention:
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Staff were confused about their roles. Joe implemented a policy and procedure system and updated the employee manual, including full position descriptions, in order to reduce confusion and increase efficiency.
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Patients were frustrated by long waits to see the doctor. Approaching this problem on three fronts, Joe improved patient flow by spacing appointments and giving the physician enough time to handle the patient volume. Secondly, Joe is adding a plasma screen TV and wireless Internet access to reduce frustration in the waiting room. Finally, Joe is using the practice’s on-site partnership with a blood lab and an imaging center for same-day lab work and imaging studies.
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Copays and other little charges were going uncollected. Joe created a script for successfully collecting copays on the day of service— even if the patient is not initially cooperative —and rehearsed it with the front-office staff. They more than tripled their copay collections within three months.
To help ensure success, Joe smartly sought out expert help. Early in his new career, Joe attended the April 2007 NERVES Annual Meeting in Washington DC. He found the NERVES event a great place to network. Despite being “new to the practice management scene, there were people willing to share ideas and to offer advice without making me feel uncomfortable.”
Joe also had the good fortune to hear our own Karen Zupko speak at the NERVES meeting as well as a few months later at the July 1 AANS presentation in Chicago. He was able to take some of Karen’s valuable tips back to Rochester: “We now have a safe and in addition to keeping the cash locked, our backup tapes are in there as well.”
Karen’s talks, Joe says, were “extremely helpful. The binder she gave had just about everything I was looking for in a text. Her lectures were concise and offered practical solutions to common management issues. I liked the fact that you could openly discuss topics and learn from others within the room.”
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Practice Management:
Simple Strategies for the First 90 Days
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Observe and talk with staff and understand how the practice works.
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Wait to make changes. Immediate changes can breed resistance in existing staff.
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Focus on the small things first.
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Need help collecting fees directly from your patients?
Collecting fees and reimbursement without alienating patients is one of the most difficult balancing acts for both new and established staff. KZA’s Successfully Talking with Patients about Money—a combination of audio CD and Internet learning tool—has been designed to help ensure that your staff are articulate and confident in all aspects of dealing with patients about money.
This 59-minute audio CD provides staff with valuable training and examples:
Setting the Stage: Creating the Environment for Success ● Scheduling Patient Visits ● Working with Patients’ Insurance Plans ● Encouraging Patients to Pay ● Handling Difficult Patients
For more information, click here.
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