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Content about Business Partners

April 17, 2013

Since most medical practices depend on insurance reimbursements for a majority of their income, it’s important to view payors as key partners to help you grow your business. In fact, a solid relationship with your payors is essential to the smooth operation and profitability of your practice. While most practices are content with the relationships they have, there are times when it makes sense to add new payor partners to your practice. Below are three common times during the operation of your practice when you should consider adding new payors.

March 6, 2013

What Can Healthcare Learn from the Hospitality Industry?

In the hotel industry, hospitality in its purest form is the friendly treatment of guests. Practicing hospitality helps hotel owners and operators gain loyal, repeat customers – something that all industries desire. The hotel industry excels at providing hospitality, and there are a number of things that healthcare can learn from this industry. In particular, the hotel industry often uses alliteration to communicate important concepts to its employees. Read on to see how the letter E explains how the hotel industry provides hospitality and how healthcare providers can use these tips to improve patient experience.

By Bryan Hayes

February 27, 2013

Scoping Out the Competition - What Are You Up Against?

Consumers have many choices when it comes to healthcare providers. They can, of course, visit your practice or they can go somewhere else – to your competition. They might also choose to look for answers to their healthcare questions online through one of an increasingly growing number of sites designed for “do-it-yourself” care. That represents indirect competition. Or, they may decide to forgo care altogether, a growing choice especially for those without adequate health insurance coverage. In order to compete effectively, you need to know what your competition is doing. Here, MOT discusses the best ways to scope out the competition so you know what you’re up against.

February 20, 2013

Signs It's Time to Eliminate a Provider from Your Referral Network

Developing and maintaining a strong physician referral network can lead to more patients and more revenue for your medical practice. Your practice could spend months, maybe even years, getting a solid referral structure in place. But what happens when some of those relationships start to sour? When should you eliminate a weak referral from your network, and is there anything your practice can do to salvage that relationship? Below are the four factors that could signify that it’s time to start thinking about eliminating a provider.

February 6, 2013

Tip to Succeed after a Merger or Acquisition

Due diligence has been done, the documents have been signed and the money has changed hands. Now what? With an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions occurring in the healthcare industry, and more anticipated, many are finding that the legal and financial issues are just the beginning of the potential angst and challenges involved. It’s what happens after the formalities have been taken care of that can make or break a successful union.

January 16, 2013

The Changing Relationship Between Medical Practices & Pharmaceutical Companies

Tighter restrictions on interactions between medical practices and pharmaceutical companies have altered the dynamics of this once mutually beneficial relationship. Today, freebies are forbidden – no pens, notepads, and other marketing specialty items. An all-expense paid trip for a physician and his or her spouse to a medical conference is now a thing of the past. And, beginning this month, pharmaceutical companies have to report the value of each benefit provided to physicians during the course of a sales call.

November 28, 2012

Managing Your On-Call/After-Hours Answering Service

If you’re paying attention to customer service, you’ve already hired a good receptionist and have an efficient, patient-friendly system in place for managing phone calls during office hours. But what about when you’re not in the office? Does your after-hours/on-call answering service run as seamlessly as you want it to?

If you’re paying attention to customer service, you’ve already hired a good receptionist and have an efficient, patient-friendly system in place for managing phone calls during office hours. (If not, read MOT’s article “Your Phone System & the Image it Projects”)

But what about when you’re not in the office? Does your after-hours/on-call answering service run as seamlessly as you want it to?

November 21, 2012

Do's & Don'ts of Holiday Parties for Medical Practices

When you read the title of this article, did you have frightening visions of employees wearing lampshades on their heads or yawning with boredom? These are the two extremes of bad office parties. The good news is, you don’t have to get stuck in either extreme. Your medical office can have wonderful holiday office parties where everyone enjoys themselves – but not too much.

October 10, 2012

How to Build Better Relationships with Payors

Since healthcare providers rely considerably on insurance reimbursements for their income, it makes sense to develop good relationships with payors. Admittedly, dealing with insurance-company policies can be tricky and even cumbersome for busy medical providers, but there are some surefire methods to create stronger, better payor/payee relationships and make the reimbursement process a smoother, faster one. Read on for expert tips on how to do so.

September 19, 2012

10 People Your Practice Should Have on Speed Dial

When it comes to personal and home-related emergencies, you know exactly, without a doubt, the people you can call on to help and the right companies to contact to take care of your problems. Their numbers might even be posted on your refrigerator and saved in your phone’s memory. Unfortunately, most medical practices haven’t taken the time to think about who they can rely on if something goes wrong. In honor of National Preparedness Month (who knew, right?), MOT identifies 10 people and/or companies your practice should have on speed dial.

September 5, 2012

5 Reasons to Use Social Media in Your Practice

Business professionals all over the world, from lawyers to small business owners, are now beginning to take a closer look at sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and they are discovering all of the benefits that these social sites can have for the growth and productivity of their business. One group that can truly reap the benefits of social media more than others is healthcare providers.

By Shama Kabani

It is no secret that social media is becoming a large part of our everyday lives. Whether you are swapping photos and stories with your friends on Facebook, sharing funny anecdotes about your day through Twitter, or re-connecting with old colleagues via LinkedIn, one thing is for sure―social media has completely changed the way that we interact with people on a day-to-day basis.

June 6, 2012

Creating a Multilingual Practice

There are numerous research studies addressing the impact of providing (or not) interpreter services to patients who speak limited English. Communication breakdowns are responsible for nearly 3,000 deaths and other sentinel events per year. When patients cannot communicate in English and providers bypass proper language access services, the patients’ health can be compromised. In addition to federal laws, state and regulatory agencies have added standards specific to the provision of language access services.

By Oscar Arocha

Taking care of patients from different parts of the world is not new to healthcare in the United States. Gateway cities such as New York, Boston, Miami and San Francisco have seen their patient demographics diversify each decade. For example, a Boston provider used to call the cook from the neighborhood Greek restaurant every time a Limited English Proficient (LEP) patient from Greece would show up at his clinic.

May 30, 2012

Does Your Practice Suffer When the Affiliated Hospital is Struggling?

As the economy continues to flounder and the U.S. unemployment rate remains too high for comfort, many hospitals are seeing fewer patients come through their doors. As a result, they may be struggling to stay afloat financially. If your medical practice is affiliated with one of these struggling hospitals, there could be a trickledown effect that negatively impacts your operations as well.

May 23, 2012

Five Ways to Differentiate Your Practice

Defining what makes you different can be difficult since many patients tend to see practices as interchangeable and indistinguishable, at least when it comes to the types of services offered and the providers’ competence. Read on for five innovative ways to differentiate your practice and make you the “go-to” healthcare provider for your specialty and patient demographics.

With so many alternative practice models popping up and such a huge demand for healthcare practitioners due to an aging Baby-Boomer population, it really takes a unique perspective to emerge from the crowd. (Read MOT’s article “Is Your Practice Outstanding?”) You need to be not only the best at what you do, but also different from the rest, offering something that they don’t.

May 9, 2012

Smart Strategies for Providing Rural Healthcare

Rural communities face a number of healthcare challenges – residents are often older, poorer and more reliant on Medicare and Medicaid than other parts of the country. Although the population in these rural areas is sparse, the land area is much larger and the roads are more difficult to travel upon, making access to healthcare facilities a little more difficult. Despite these challenges, there are several smart strategies you can implement to ensure that your medical clinic or practice can thrive in a rural environment.

Roughly 16 percent of the U.S. Population, or 50 million Americans, live in rural communities today, according to a study conducted last year by the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization. Many of these communities face similar healthcare challenges – residents are often older, poorer and more reliant on Medicare and Medicaid than other parts of the country.

April 11, 2012

Encouraging Your Staff to Volunteer in Your Community

Social responsibility has become an increasingly important aspect of conducting business for medical practices today. The idea of giving back – can be accomplished in many different ways, from volunteerism to donations. Many organizations including medical practices choose volunteerism, dedicating entire days or even weeks to special community projects. Volunteerism allows you and your employees to give back to the community you’re serving, while helping to improve team morale.

Social responsibility has become an increasingly important aspect of conducting business for medical practices today. The root of social responsibility – the idea of giving back – can be accomplished in many different ways, from volunteerism to donations.

Many organizations including medical practices choose volunteerism, dedicating entire days or even weeks to special community projects. Volunteerism allows you and your employees to give back to the community you’re serving, while helping to improve team morale.

April 11, 2012

Partnering with On-Site Employer Clinics

There are many mutual advantages for both a medical practice and the employer to join forces and create an on-site medical clinic. Healthcare providers can benefit from a built-in patient base, while employers can reduce health insurance costs and improve employee health. The challenge is establishing a partnership between the provider and employer.

In 2008, Ryobi Die Casting developed and launched an on-site medical clinic for its 600 employees. Since then, healthcare costs for both employees and Ryobi, which produces high-pressure aluminum die castings in Shelbyville, Ind., have been drastically reduced.

March 27, 2012

6 Reasons to Partner with Local Colleges & Universities

In addition to supplying a positive community service by helping to train future healthcare professionals, getting to know your local colleges and universities can introduce you to new potential referral sources and enhance your practice in many other ways. Here, MOT explores several reasons why it makes sense to partner with local institutions.

Whether you’re located near a large university or a small community college, there’s a lot you can gain by fostering relationships with nearby schools. In addition to supplying a positive community service by helping to train future healthcare professionals, getting to know your local colleges and universities can introduce you to new potential referral sources and enhance your practice in many other ways. Here, MOT explores several reasons why it makes sense to partner with local institutions.

1. A fresh set of eyes and ears

January 25, 2012

7 Reasons to Build Relationships with Local Pharmacists

You may not know your patients' pharmacists, but there’s a lot of evidence supporting the idea that you should. MOT spoke with a number of experts in physician/pharmacist relationships to find out why it’s important for physicians to seek out local pharmacists and form strong business relationships with them. Here’s what they had to say.

Once you write a prescription and hand it to your patient, do you ever think about where it goes next? You may not know your patient’s pharmacist, but there’s a lot of evidence supporting the idea that you should. In addition, if that pharmacist is based close to your office, all the better for your patients and your practice.

December 14, 2011

Planning for a Fresh Start in 2012

If finances, design, staff, facilities or operations didn’t meet your expectations last year, a brand-new calendar year can help you start with a clean slate and set goals for greater success. Here, MOT offers you a systematic way to approach the New Year, figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and set a course for future prosperity.

If finances, design, staff, facilities or operations didn’t meet your expectations last year, a brand-new calendar year can help you start with a clean slate and set goals for greater success. Remember that you’re not necessarily out to change everything, just the aspects that could use some help.

Here, MOT offers you a systematic way to approach the New Year, figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and set a course for future prosperity.

Look at the big picture

December 7, 2011

MOT's Guide to Business Gift-Giving

Holiday gift-giving can be a daunting experience and no less so when it’s for colleagues, staff and others in a business setting. You want your gift to convey your year-long appreciation to the recipient in just the right manner, but what is an appropriate gift? Whom should you give gifts to, and how much should you spend?

November 16, 2011

Building Your Referral Network

Just like education and marketing, your referral network needs ongoing attention from you in order to flourish and to keep bringing you a steady stream of new patients.

Just like education and marketing, your referral network needs ongoing attention from you in order to flourish and to keep bringing you a steady stream of new patients. While it may not always be top of mind, periodically checking in with your referral network’s progress and implementing referral-building techniques will keep the system running smoothly so that your business can continue to thrive.

September 26, 2011

What to Do When You Get a New Landlord

MOT spoke with Judith T. Feldman, managing director and director of the healthcare division of Newmark Associates Inc. Commercial Real Estate Brokerage in Cedar Knolls, N.J., to find out what medical practices should know about getting a new landlord.

During the course of renting medical office space, you may find that your building has changed hands and you suddenly have a new landlord with which to deal. Whether you’ve recently signed a long-term lease or your lease term is soon ending, there are some points you should be aware of when a new building owner comes on the scene.

August 23, 2011

Resolving Landlord Disputes

Since practices usually lease space for many years, it’s important to maintain a good relationship with their landlords, and resolving disputes is not just a helpful skill, but a necessary one. Here, MOT offers some tips on how practices can move past those challenging landlord disputes.

Over time, even the best relationships experience difficulties, and a medical practice’s relationship with its landlord is not an exception. Since practices usually lease space for many years, it’s important to maintain a good relationship with their landlords, and resolving disputes is not just a helpful skill, but a necessary one. Here, MOT offers some tips on how practices can move past those challenging landlord disputes.

Understand your lease terms

August 16, 2011

Picking the Right Sub-Tenant

For the practice that finds itself with too much office space, whether the practice decided to lease more space than it needed to prepare for future growth or needs to downsize because its patient base has decreased, a sublease tenant, subleasing is a viable option.

When it comes to office space, medical practices are just like Goldilocks – they either have too much or too little, never the right amount. For the practice that finds itself with too much office space, whether the practice decided to lease more space than it needed to prepare for future growth or needs to downsize because its patient base has decreased, a sublease tenant, subleasing is a viable option.