Google Helpouts: New Tool for Medical Practices?
Google has launched a new service dubbed Helpouts that has the potential to become a useful tool for doctors, dental practices, clinics, hospital departments and other healthcare providers. In what might be called an expert version of Hangouts, Google’s popular video chat phenomenon; Helpouts offers secure, pay-per-use video consultations with vetted experts in fields ranging […]
Medical Home Model Driven by Physician Shortages, Economic Pressures
A shortage of primary care physicians, growing competition from retail clinics and increased economic pressures have many family practices exploring the potential of the medical home model to make more efficient use of medical practice resources. Adding to their burden is increased government regulation, particularly new HIPAA compliance regulations and documentation and reporting requirements associated […]
Finding Secure Solutions for Medical Text Messaging
Smartphone technology has revolutionized the way physicians, dentists, hospitals and clinics communicate with each other, their office staffs and their patients. Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging has made medical communication more efficient and more personal, adding value to patient care and strengthening the link between patients and their healthcare providers. But text messaging also […]
What Changes Has HIPAA Made for Call Centers?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 contains several mandates, but for medical answering service companies and clients, the one that resonates most specifies that provides for the correct and confidential handling of what the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) terms individually identifiable health information. As HHS notes, identifiable information can […]
Medical Reception SOS: How to Cope with Rude Patient Calls
One rude phone call from an angry or dissatisfied patient can instantly destroy medical office staff morale. Training your staff to diffuse patient anger and handle rude phone calls tactfully can help keep your medical office functioning smoothly and improve patient relations. Even if certain people are tasked with answering the phone, you should consider […]
Rude Patient Calls Can Hurt Staff Morale
Working as a medical receptionist is a tough job. Receptionists can feel squeezed between physician needs and patient demands. When patients call their doctor’s office, it is often difficult for them to understand why the receptionist cannot immediately get them in for an appointment or connect them to their doctor or his nurse or reveal […]
Tips for Improving Patient Engagement
In the push toward patient-centered care, “patient engagement has emerged as a key strategy for not just treating chronic conditions but also providing better, more collaborative and more efficient healthcare,” Brian Eastwood, senior editor of CIO.com, notes in a recent article on new methods medical practitioners are using to improve patient engagement. As we tweeted […]
More Steps to HIPAA Omnibus Compliance
With the government promising vigorous auditing to ensure compliance with new revisions to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), physician practices and medical clinics are reviewing their information security policies and procedures to ensure that they meet the new requirements. As we noted in our previous post, at the annual Medical Group Management […]
12 Steps to HIPAA Omnibus Compliance
At last week’s annual conference of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) in San Diego, strategies for achieving and maintaining compliance with the Omnibus Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) were a hot topic. With implementation of new federal privacy and security requirements on September 23, HIPAA compliance issues dominated many discussions. […]
Why the Message Sounds Muddled
When a patient leaves a message whether via a live medical answering service team member or through a voicemail system the caller’s circumstances or emotional state may lead to confusion. A patient may be frightened by some sudden ailment; distracted by other conversations going on; frustrated by a perceived lack of progress in treatment; confused about a […]
