Don’t Risk HIPAA’s Wrath with Your Medical Answering Service
Do you consider your medical answering service a business associate? The Office of Health and Human Services (HHS) does, which is why answering services (along with billing services, vendors of medical records and even physicians’ attorneys) are classified as business associates as of the January 2013 HIPAA omnibus rule, which has been described by Director […]
Tips for Handling Irate or Aggressive Patient Phone Calls
Answering phone calls from angry or aggressive patients is part of the job at most doctors’ offices. Some people simply have forceful or demanding personalities, but the reason for a patient’s seemingly rude or combative behavior may be rooted in pain, fear or panic. Of course, there are also patients who are calling to complain […]
Our New Secure Message App Is 100% HIPAA Compliant
Bringing your physician practice, hospital department or medical office into compliance with HIPAA’s new regulations just got a whole lot easier. MedConnectUSA now offers HIPAA Hitech Secure Messaging that is 100% compliant with HIPAA regulations. Our new secure messaging app is formulated to run on smart phones that use iPhone, android or Blackberry software. Designed to […]
Katrina Offers Poignant Lessons for Medical Professionals Coping with Natural Disasters
The launch in flood-ravaged Colorado of what emergency responders are calling the biggest mass evacuation since hurricane Katrina is a reminder of just how massive and devastating the forces of nature can be. Whole towns and regions of Colorado have been suddenly and unexpectedly isolated from the rest of the world. Given the number of […]
Bridging the Gap Between Financial and Medical Productivity
Medical office managers fight a constant battle between what can feel like two opposing forces: Medical productivity: the need to successfully address the needs of each patient. Financial productivity: the need to process the maximum number of patients per hour. As the government tightens down on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and insurance companies follow suit […]
Why You Need a Medical Call Center with National Resources
We found a case study published on StreetFight magazine quite interesting. The pitch was for using “hyperlocal” resources to manage the internet reputation and social media presence of medical offices. “Hyperlocal” represents a new trend to keep business within a particular neighborhood. Basically, it takes the “buy American” idea down to its lowest common denominator. […]
If Disaster Strikes, How Prepared Is Your Medical Office?
You have only to watch the news to be disturbed by the number of weather-related disasters that seem to be plaguing not only the United States but the world. The massive out-of-control wildfires in the West, devastating flooding in the South and Northeast, killer tornadoes in the Midwest and hurricanes in the Gulf and Atlantic […]
Live Messaging Service Key to Patient-Centered Health Care
Patient-centered health care is gaining traction as an attractive solution to both better patient care and greater physician and patient satisfaction. A new patient-centered program being tested jointly by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) that is getting rave reviews from patients, physicians and nurses could serve […]
Why Providing Quality Customer Service Should Be a Critical Consideration for Medical Offices
If you are a doctor, dentist, hospital department or medical clinic, providing quality customer service to your patients is a quality of care as well as a financial issue. Medical providers must consider customer service in a somewhat different light than most business offices. For both medical and non-medical offices, customer service quality impacts business […]
