Month: December 2013

The Affordable Care Act is having an unexpected impact on consumer attitudes about healthcare. In turning the health insurance industry into a retail marketplace, Obamacare is causing consumers to take a closer look at what they’re getting for their medical dollar. Not only are consumers starting to demand greater transparency about medical costs, they’re also […]

In our previous two posts we’ve been talking about the technology trends that are expected to have the greatest impact on medical offices in the coming year. From cloud storage to biometric authentication, technology is making the practice of medicine better, faster and cheaper overall once the initial investment is paid off. However, of all […]

Working in the cloud offers medical practices many advantages but also increases the risk of data theft, as noted in our previous post. In 2014, the growing use of personal cloud accounts, which cannot be expected to have the same level of security as corporate accounts, is expected to present new challenges for medical office […]

With the growing use of medical electronic records, telemedicine, mobile communication and cloud computing, modern medicine is becoming increasingly dependent on technology. But while technical advancements, particularly greater smartphone and tablet use, are increasing the speed, reach, flexibility and convenience of today’s medical practice; they also carry certain risks. Not only must medical practice managers […]

Every office manager realizes the necessity of delegating work tasks. In today’s modern medical office, there are too many tasks, too much paperwork and never enough time for one person, or even several people, to do it all. Effective office management requires that medical office managers delegate work tasks and rely on their staffs to […]

As noted in our previous post, outsourcing medical call answering to a competent and reliable professional medical answering service can be a smart way to increase staff efficiency and improve customer service. But outsourcing to the right service provider can also offer other important benefits. When shopping for a medical call center for your medical […]

In a medical office, the path from calm to chaotic can be fast and furious. An ice storm could shut down highways and prevent key personnel from arriving at the office. A wind storm could knock out electrical power, cutting off communications and access to computer records. A flu epidemic could force you to operate […]

Even if your medical office seems to run smoothly most of the time, it may not take much to tip the balance from smooth sailing to chaos. In creating disaster recovery plans, medical office managers should plan for small disasters as well as big ones. Your office may never have to suffer through the devastating […]

Dr. Marcus Welby would be hard-pressed to recognize today’s modern medical practice. Forty years ago, the good doctor’s most useful medical tools seemed to be an agile mind, a warm smile and an uncanny amount of common sense. Of course, personal computers were still in their infancy when Robert Young portrayed America’s favorite family doctor […]

When HIPAA compliance audits start next year, healthcare legal experts expect the biggest penalties to be assessed for willful neglect and the greatest compliance problems to come from downstream vendors of regulated medical entities. Under the new HIPAA Omnibus Rule, medical practice business associates and service providers are, for the first time, being held to […]