I have a new article on Kareo's "Getting Paid" blog about how fine-tuning your hiring and on-boarding processes can reduce turnover. This article I found on Rypple shares the same idea about the importance of hiring for fit -- plus, adds a few more ideas for retaining employees. Can any of these enhance your practice?
Great post on KevinMD today about hospitals, practices and other healthcare provider organizations giving discounts for cash payments. Patients who have insurance need to conceal that fact to take advantage of these discounts, though. Should they have to? Seems to me that, with the payments not applying towards deductible amounts, everyone wins (doctor, patient, even the insurer). http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/06/hide-health-insurance-status-pay-cash.html
Just heard about Hangover Heaven, a mobile medical business in Las Vegas started by anesthesiologist Jason Burke, MD. Dr. Burke brings over-imbibers relief -- direct to their hotel rooms or any location on the Vegas strip! We're always interested in novel new medical practice models -- and this is one we definitely didn't see coming. Hangover Heaven
We've been working on several projects with OB/GYNs of late, so stories related to obstetrics are catching my attention more than usual. This one is really inspiring: a 101-year-old OB who has personally delivered more than 15,000 babies! I heard about him on NPR -- read or listen to the story here: At 101, and 15,000 babies, an OB/GYN works on
What if hotel billing were like medical billing? A funny-but-sad video by Costs of Care in partnership with Harvard Medical School and the University of Chicago explores the possibility in a tongue-in-cheek way (click "continue reading" to view the video). "Surprise" medical costs do more than just frustrate patients -- they hurt practices, too. By helping patients understand the costs of their care, practices can help patients make more informed decisions, plan better, and maintain a positive relationship with the practice. And, patients who are better informed and understand what they'll be charged are more likely to pay their bills.
This article about ChenMed on Forbes really caught my eye, because for a while now I've been wondering why no one has created a practice focusing on Medicare patients. All the big attention is generated for practices quitting the program, but while Medicare's hassles and limitations get plenty of coverage, the spotlight is rarely trained on its advantages: speedy and predictable reimbursement. ChenMed has identified a few key success factors, including location (they started in Virginia, which they identified as an area poorly served for Medicare patients), an emphasis on preventive care, and a custom, home-grown technology system. They're raising capital and looking to expand into other markets. We'll be watching. Read the story on Forbes.
MarketingProfs has a nice summary of how important it is for any small/local business to monitor, own and, if necessary, "clean up" its listings in online directories. For medical practices, this is doubly important, because of the increasing number of medicine-related directories and ratings sites that are pulling from licensing and other databases -- databases that are often outdated. Moreover, patients often look for listings online while on-the-go -- for example, using mobile phones. Keeping tabs on this information helps insure all the places you're listed relate to the "real" you -- i.e., the real identity of your practice. It doesn't have to be time-consuming. Work on it over a few weeks, one site at a time, until you get all your medical site listings and main yellow pages directories claimed and cleaned up. Then be sure you have Google Alerts set up so you'll receive notices when pages are launched or updated containing your practice information -- so you can fix any erroneous data. (Find Google Alerts here.)
Today's Washington Post has a story about a lawsuit by a dentist against one of its patients. The dentist had the patient to sign a "do-not-talk" contract prior to treating the patient's aching tooth, but the patient nonetheless posted a negative review on two sites when faced with an unexpected $4,000 bill. Attempting to control online reviews by contracts that squelch patient speech is an approach that is bound to backfire; patients will wonder why you feel the need to restrict their honest views and what kind of negative reactions other patients have had. Moreover, as the article pointed out: online reviews are only one tool patients can use to choose a doctor -- and only a small percentage use them doctors have many other lines of defense when bad reviews are posted -- including the courts if a review is defamatory the vast majority of reviews are positive! One website, RateMDs.com, has even started a "wall of shame" where patients can report doctors who attempt to prevent reviews by pre-emptive contract. Not the kind of publicity any practice wants! Don't let paranoia about negative reviews lead you to make this kind of mistake. Reputable physicians can use reviews to their advantage -- not just through the benefit of positive reviews, but through the opportunity to learn about (and address) customer service problems in the office that may be invisible to providers.
My partner Joe Capko and I just had a new article published in Practice Link, a magazine for job-hunting physicians. Our assignment was to explore the idea of a "15 minute MBA for doctors." In other words, are there guideposts that we can draw from business school training that might help physicians know what they need to learn, and how to develop the business skills they'll need to thrive in the future -- whether they run their own practices or work for a larger system? We're delighted with the input we had from the physicians we interviewed -- wonderful advice for newly minted doctors. We spoke with a wide range of physicians -- including anesthesia, OB/GYN, pediatrics, family practice and academia -- as well as a number of practice management experts to get a diversity of viewpoints. Check it out here - we'd welcome any feedback.
I recently completed a series of articles for Kareo's Getting Paid blog about how small business management issues relate to practice management. While medical practices have an important mission that reaches beyond business, they can't achieve that mission without succeeding on business terms. And, in many fundamental ways, medical practices are not so different from other kinds of small businesses. There's a lot to be learned from examining the success factors that apply to seemingly-unrelated businesses. Plus, it's kind of interesting and fun to think about other businesses in the 'real world' and how they deal with their challenges -- almost like looking at your own organization through a different lens. If you're interested in checking out the Small Business Lessons for Physician Practices series, here are the links: Small Business Lessons for Practices: Human Resources Getting Started with Marketing Financial Basics Operations Management for Physician Practices
It's that time of year again ... when every goal you've imagined for your practice seems possible, and every problem seems fixable. So you make that long list of resolutions, but, by week two, you're already overwhelmed and discouraged. After all, there was a reason you didn't fix all those problems or implement all those big ideas last year: it was too much to do all at once. Before you get discouraged, start again. And this time, pick just ONE thing. Focus on that, and you can tackle it. And once that one item is conquered, you can then move onto the next. For more on this approach, visit this article from Harvard Business Review. Need help setting your priorities for success in 2012? We can help. Contact us for more information about our practice assessment services and practice management consulting. Let's make 2012 your best year ever!
Joe and Judy's recent webinar (sponsored by Kareo) was a big hit! If you didn't have a chance to attend 'live,' you can register and view it here: Embezzlment-proof your practice Most medical practices are victims of embezzlement at some point -- yes, you read that right! -- so if you haven't already learned how employees can become thieves and employers become marks, this is a must-watch webinar.
Joe Capko did a webinar with Medical Practice Management Web Advisor earlier this week on how effective leadership translates to more productivity from your staff -- and vice versa. One of his themes was establishing trust by listening and treating people fairly, and letting them know they are valued. People give more to their jobs when they know you care! Aptly, today's email tip from Harvard Business Review was called "Engage Your People," and featured some of the same ideas Joe offered. Basically, less top down, more listening, more working together. To read the HBR tip, click here.
The old Silicon Valley adage "hire slow, fire fast" is actually apt for any type of small business, including medical practices. The smaller the team, the more powerful this idea is, because as team size shrinks, each member's contribution becomes more critical to success. Moreover, a single poor performer or "bad apple" can disrupt a smaller team much more effectively than a larger one. Medical offices are generally small operations where everyone knows a lot about each other, and sometimes it can feel like a family. And firing a member of your family ... now that's hard! You want to be that nice person who supports someone who's having a tough time. That crabbypuss who comes in late every day, "forgets" to do the insurance checks that are her primary responsibility and never seems to notice when charts are lying around waiting to be re-filed has a family to support after all. Oh, gosh, do we really have the heart to fire her? Well, the problem with that "nice" thinking is that while you're being very, very "nice" to the poor performer, you're being decidedly NOT nice to everyone else on the team. They're all picking up after her, correcting her mistakes, putting up with her lousy attitude and starting their full work-day on time -- without Ms. Crabby, who's late again. Left unaddressed, this situation kills the morale of the good performers -- who may start performing poorly themselves or just leave for a job where they feel good work is recognized. Here's a nice essay on the subject from the CEO of Gilt in Inc magazine -- Gilt is an internet shopping site, seemingly with little in common with medical practices, but Kevin Ryan's observations are instructive for any sort of business. Firing the Wrong People Is Just as Important as Hiring the Right Ones
Media exposure can be a helpful tool for building and expanding your reputation -- by sharing your expertise, you can market yourself and your practice without "selling" and without outlaying cash. However, it can be challenging to make reporters aware of your expertise and willingness to contribute to their stories. HARO -- Help A Reporter Out (www.helpareporter.com) -- solves this problem for both reporters and sources. HARO connects reporters with qualified interview subjects through its website and thrice-daily newsletter service. Reporters submit questions and general information about the pieces they're working on, and the newsletter circulates all the opportunities to subscribers. There are multiple medical questions every day -- with outlets running the spectrum from small local newspapers and targeted magazines (e.g., by medical specialty) to national websites and print publications. Best of all, the newsletter comes to you, and a quick scan (just a few seconds) is all that's needed to see if there's an appropriate opportunity for you.
Is this a good thing? The Wall Street Journal and Slate report that Wellpoint will capitalize on the famed Watson computer's ability to analyze as much as 200 million pages of content in as little as three seconds to aid their own nurses as well as physicians in researching diagnoses. Oncologists are the first target group of physicians. Some concerns are being raised, though. Will the system be programmed to find the best -- not just the most cost-effective -- treatment options? And, of course, the data used to generate physician recommendations will be of critical importance. What are your thoughts on this news? An important advance for medicine? Or a potentially problematic development that could unintentionally create more bureaucracy, and put more control in the hands of non-doctors? Read more about this story: On The Wall Street Journal
Michael Zhuang, an investment advisor with a focus on physicians, offered an interesting point of view in a recent post on Physicians Practice. He observed that doctors often fail to accumulate significant wealth in large part because they place too much emphasis on living a "doctor-appropriate" (i.e., fancy) lifestyle, they're so busy they don't have much time to focus on finances, and they tend to believe they can "do it all themselves." His recommendations include living within (or below) your means, dedicating time to financial planning, hiring a qualified financial advisor (he promises to provide some tips for doing so in his follow-up post) and focusing on what you do best (i.e., delegating non-revenue activities). We have a few things to add to his list, based on our work with small- and medium-sized practices: Fund your retirement first. Employee physicians usually have 401(k) plans so they can start the habit of "paying yourself first" for retirement. Practice owners are often challenged to develop these habits, first because their early years of investing in their practices may not permit much savings, and then because any retirement plan would require a bit of effort on their part to research and establish. Once you're earning income from your practice, don't let inertia prevent you from setting up an SEP (or other qualified plan), and funding it on a regular basis -- think of it as a regular bill that must be paid. Save your savings. Implemented a process improvement that increased profitability? (Say, for example, something you learned by engaging consultants for a practice review, or CPAs for a financial audit.) Much like salaried employees are advised to put their raises into savings automatically (so they don't adjust to the higher take-home pay by spending more), doctors can turn gains from improving their practices into investments for the future. (If your practice needs the funds reinvested for growth -- say, into marketing or an EHR -- then those needs might come first. The point is just to avoid the pitfall of spending at a higher level if your income moves up a stable
Harvard Business Review posted a great tip today about "real teams." The pointed out that "real" teams -- i.e., groups that really work together as one -- all share three important characteristics: Shared sense of purpose Flexible skills Mutual accountability There's a great lesson here for medical practices. Physicians set the tone of purpose and accountability. Good training policies and skilled practice management ensure cross-training keeps everyone fresh and the practice able to withstand absences and staffing changes. Hiring people who can fit with the ethos of the team keeps everything humming along. Read more at Harvard Business Review.
Marketing via social media has many advantages for small businesses of all types. It's a non-salesy way to connect with customers at lower out-of-pocket cost to start up than traditional advertising. No wonder so many medical practices are exploring how they can get started with social media -- and no wonder that so many 'experts' are at the ready to tell physicians how they should get started. Usually, the advice begins by offering an entry point to begin using the social web. "Start by creating a blog," the advice might read. Or, "Facebook reaches more people and it's easy to create your presence." However, what this advice sometimes fails to consider is the personal connection that is the key to social media success. Users of these networks already know what engages them and what doesn't. Non-users who jump into social media as a marketers first, though, tend to stick out like sore thumbs. It's not that there's anything that mysterious about using social media -- after all, Facebook has 700 million users precisely because it's easy to use! -- but there is a certain flow to how people use it that's important to understand. So, before you try social media as a marketing tool, try it first as a user. For example, before starting a Facebook page, set yourself up with a Facebook account, and subscribe -- i.e., 'like' -- different organizations to see how they interact with their followers. (A few examples we like in medicine: Children's Hospital Boston, MacArthur OB/GYN, Kaiser Permanente, One Medical Group.) Another way to put your toe in the water with blogging: start out as a commenter. This is a great first step for would-be bloggers -- and, in addition to building your online reputation, comments on other physicians' blogs can give you links back to your website. The range of blogs published regularly and inspiring comments is as diverse as the population of physicians: something for everyone. Some lively medical blogs you might want to check out include Dr. Wes, KevinMD, Movin' Meat, Pharmalot, Diabetes Mine, Buckeye Surgeon -- plus, we'd naturally love to have you comment
If there's one thing you can do to make a huge difference in the credibility of your website, it's using real photos of yourself and your staff instead of stock photography. Stock photos never look natural -- and can even be misleading, especially when stock photos of people with different gender/age are used on pages showing your "doctors" at work. People don't expect you or your staff to look like models. They do want to make a connection to fellow human beings -- remember that they may be working with your practice at moments when they feel weak, nervous or vulnerable. Making your image warmer and more real will go a long way to connecting better with patients and prospective patients. For a humorous look at the pitfalls of stock photography, check out this slide show from Marketing Profs. You'll see immediately why stock photography can be so cringe-worthy!
So many physicians and practice managers we talk with feel stumped by web marketing. With so many elements to consider -- your website, SEO, advertising, social media, and more -- it's no wonder it can seem overwhelming to tackle it all at once. But, the good news is, there are little things you can do to market yourself better online -- even if you don't yet have a website. One of the best, easiest, fastest ways to immediately kick your marketing up a notch: take 20 minutes to check and update your company information on four places -- Yelp, Healthgrades, Vitals and Avvo. Listings on these increasingly popular rating sites are absolutely free. In fact, in the case of Healthgrades, Vitals and Avvo, you're likely already listed, based on publicly available licensing information. By claiming your profile on these sites, you can make sure your profile is listed correctly, add phone number, and even upload a picture. If you have a website, you can add that, too. People visit these sites every day, so be sure you're showing up properly. What's more, by fleshing out your profile with your link and photo, you'll stand out versus the majority of physicians in your area, who most likely won't have taken the time to polish up their profiles. These sites also feed into Google, so confirming and updating your information will also improve the likelihood that people can find you when they search your specialty. By keeping an eye on these sites, you'll also be able to respond to any criticism from patients that deserves attention. For example, one practice we worked with recently was receiving high ratings for its doctors, but office staff were consistently rated lower for friendliness and helpfulness. The practice was able to learn from this feedback and adjust staff roles to address the issues. Yelp even allows you to respond to negative reviews on its site with a posting of your own -- which can be an opportunity to repair a relationship (or, at the very least, show other visitors that you do care about patient feedback).
We just published a new article on Kareo's blog about ACOs. Everyone's talking about them, but we wonder if all the anxiety's warranted. We anticipate there will be a lot of waiting-and-seeing, since the scale requirements (5,000 Medicare patients for main program, 15,000 for the Pioneer program), technology standards (well beyond meaningful use -- intense reporting and analysis of outcomes and savings), and uncertain upside potential should signal caution to all but the most prepared, well-funded and established groups. But, what do you think? Read the full post at Kareo.com.
Our website is now updated with Judy Capko's most recent article links -- click here to read her 2011 and 2010 contributions to Physicians Practice, Urology Times, Repertoire and more.
Many healthcare professionals -- hospitals and doctors in private practices alike -- are fearful about using social media to connect with their communities. Among other things, they're worried about privacy issues and regulations (e.g., HIPPA rules). Yet, with more and more patients coming onto social networks -- and, especially, using them to connect with other people who share their health concerns -- some medical professionals are beginning to realize the social media sphere deserves their attention. And, they're learning how to do it without compromising their commitment to patient privacy. A great example, courtesy of social media agency Ignite, is Children's Hospital of Boston. Not only have they created a highly customized page on Facebook, they're cross-promoting via Twitter and have a YouTube channel as well. Read the full story on Ignite's site. And they did it all while being clear and straightforward about their privacy policy and cautioning visitors that information presented on social networks in no way substitutes for medical advice. Powerful communication -- definitely worth your time to check out the article.
Over the past year or two, Google has increasingly emphasized local web pages in its search results -- potentially a real boon for medical practices who have amassed detailed information in Google. One of Google's primary tools in delivering local results is Google Places, a profiling system that pulls information about an organization from all over the web. Google collects information about the organization algorithmically (searching individual firm websites, plus directories for categories like doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc), but also relies on business owners themselves to verify and flesh out their Google Places profiles. What's more, besides providing the opportunity to verify your data, Google Places allows you to add custom details like a description of your organization (you can even upload video!). Best of all, Google Places profiles are not only free, they help you obtain better results from Google searches for people searching for your type of practice in your local area. Here's an example of how the Places records boost results -- note the two doctors with pink flags at the top of the search for "gastroenterologist san francisco," and how much more visible they are compared to the other listings: Clicking on the "place page" link takes you to the doctor's Places page -- which draws the practice's contact information (even providing a map), reviews and other information (including a link the the physician's profile on Vitals.com -- all the more reason to make sure that data is accurate, too!). Having this profile online can be a great boost and timesaver for your practice -- helping patients find answers to questions about your location, hours, etc., without needing to contact you. (This is particularly useful if you don't have a website.) And, if you have a website, having links back to your site from multiple places on Google can only make it easier for more people to find your site. Best of all, this opportunity is absolutely free, and really easy to take advantage of. If you haven't claimed your Google Places record, set aside some time -- just 15 or 20 minutes will be plenty to get started -- to
Do you know what's being said online about your practice, or your specialty? With millions of blogs, forums and websites hosting articles and discussions on every topic under the sun, it can seem impossible to keep up with (or even to find) the conversations that matter to you. Fortunately, there is a free tool that offers a simple way to stay on top of web news and discussions related to your practice: Google Alerts. Just visit google.com/alerts, enter as many search terms as you like (create a separate alert for each subject you'd like to track), select the frequency of alerts and provide your email address. Google will then email you links and article abstracts for everything published related to your keywords -- like magic! Not only will this allow you to stay on top of web topics related to your practice, it will also provide you the information you need to join the conversation. For example, if a medical blog talks about a topic related to your practice, you can visit the blog and comment -- which is also a great way to introduce you and your practice to people who may be readers of the blog, and also gives you a link back to your website.