Fraud and abuse update
On May , , President Barack Obama signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act into law, introducing sweeping changes to the False Claims Act and providing hundreds of millions of... Read More >
Survey staff to evaluate practice performance
Survey staff to find out, confidentially, how your employees think the practice is performing in several service-related areas. Ask them to view the practice s service as if they were... Read More >
Give patients the opportunity to express their feelings
You must give patients the opportunity to express their feelings and ask questions, whether during regular office visits or during discussions following disappointing outcomes. Doing so can help the healing... Read More >
Podiatrist Gets Sentenced in Medicare Fraud Case
Major Medicare fraud and false claims settlements against large providers and pharmaceutical and device companies are reported in the news on a regular basis these days. Unfortunately this trend may... Read More >
Dealing with Insurance Reps
nbsp A recently posed question by a client In my medical office, I am sometimes asked to call insurance company representatives to inquire about payments or for updates to patient... Read More >
Call Back Success Tactics
nbsp One of the most common reasons I see patients get upset with medical offices is that they don t get a call back when promised this is especially true... Read More >
Restrictive covenants protect against competitive practice
A restrictive covenant on your existing partners is important to governing the practice for its own success. For starters, if you don t impose such restrictions on yourselves, you will... Read More >
10 steps to safeguard your data
Every practice needs to develop safeguards to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information from a physician practice by a health plan or other source. In an age of data transparency,... Read More >
Government can and will place a levy on your Medicare pay if you owe taxes
IRS to Garnish Medicare Reimbursements for Unpaid Taxes If you owe back taxes, expect the IRS to come calling in non-traditional ways in fact, they might just garnish some of... Read More >
Is There a Fraudster in Your Organization? 16 Red Flags to Watch
nbsp An embezzler or other workplace fraud perpetrator will often display certain telltale red flags. One of the many charts included in the Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud... Read More >
Professionalism lessons from a former medical administrator
In the recent issue of MGMA e-source, there was a reprint of an article by Mark G. Sanders, CPA, a former MGMA member and now owner of MGS Consulting, Louisville,... Read More >
Design a fair retirement exit
Physicians generally enjoy more flexibility regarding retirement than do members of many other professions. But sometimes a declining doctor refuses to acknowledge his or her diminished capacity, causing a confrontation... Read More >
Does Overhead paging = HIPAA violation?
Reproduced from name of publication HCPro, Inc., Hoods Lane, Marblehead, MA . - . www.hcpro.com. Used with permission. So is overhead paging a patient by name back to a clinic... Read More >
Practice interaction with insurers costs $21B-$31B per year
nbsp This certainly doesn t surprise me A recent study has found that medical practices spend between billion and billion annually dealing with insurers or more than , per physician... Read More >
First impressions are lasting impressions at the front desk
Your front desk personnel are the first contact a patient has with your office. How they are dealing with people every day gives off a lasting impression about your office.... Read More >
What if employee wants more FIT withheld
nbsp Occasionally, an employee will submit a W- with a certain number of exemptions and ask you to have additional FIT withheld. You may withhold an additional fixed dollar amount,... Read More >
Heart of Business Strategy: 48 Things That Matter
Keys to Strategic Success Insights for Physicians and Medical Practices Here is something a little different that I thought any reader of this blog might be interested in. It s... Read More >
10 Steps to a Better Practice
nbsp Deceptively simple think about these Get control of your space. Get control of your schedule. Get control of the phones. Get control of the paperwork. Streamline relentlessly. Make it... Read More >
Social Security benefits
nbsp Ever wonder about when social security benefits start? Here is your list Age . Benefits start for a disabled surviving spouse. Age . Benefits start for a nondisabled surviving... Read More >
Remember OSHA?
nbsp Everybody talks about HIPAA lately but it seems OSHA has been forgotten topic of interest. So do you know that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration OSHA imposes guidelines... Read More >
Mandatory Disclosure of Physician Ownership in ASCs Required by the Medicare Conditions for Coverage Effective May 18, 2009
The final Medicare Conditions for Coverage were published October , and will become effective May , . One of the most significant changes in the Conditions for Coverage is the... Read More >
FTC Suspends Enforcement of Red Flags Rule Until August 1
On April , , the Federal Trade Commission FTC announced that it will delay enforcement of the Red Flags Rule Rule until August , , to give affected institutions, including... Read More >
Strategies to improve your patients’ wait time experience
The golden rule of customer service is to be on time. However, sometimes your doctor may get backed up, leaving you with some restless and annoyed patients. Here are five... Read More >
Juggling Multiple Phone Lines
Effective Phone Management Keeping Patients Happy Believe it or not, patients will happily wait if handled properly. It would be nice if telephone callers lined up in a row like... Read More >
Take the initiative to prevent no-shows
Preventing patient no-shows has challenged medical offices since the invention of the appointment book. Some practices have gone so far as to charge patients a cancellation fee. Though that clearly... Read More >
Checklist to file clean claims the first time
Have you made sure the policy number and ID number are accurate? obtained insurance eligibility verification? verified other patient information proper name, birth date, address, etc. ? confirmed the information... Read More >
Keeping in mind disaster planning
nbsp This weekend I received the following email from a fellow consultant and friend, Owen Dahl odahl comcast.net who reminds all of us about the importance of disaster planning With... Read More >
A positive attitude improves productivity
You don t have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to practice development. Rather, make it a goal to imitate identified management patterns in top-producing practices, like those tracked... Read More >
Measure charges and take action
nbsp I was recently quoted in the Part B Insider newsletter and here is the article for a free sample of this and other publications, go to http codinginstitute.com request... Read More >
Watch out for HIPAA’s ‘Incidental Uses and Disclosures’
You ve heard all about HIPAA by now, but did you know that you at the front desk could easily be the first line of defense in your office against... Read More >
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Accounting and Tax Services Litigation Support Managed Care Consulting Managed Care Contract Negotiations Medical Practice and Healthcare Entity Valuation Medical Practice Assessment Medical Practice Brokerage Medical Practice Embezzlement Consulting Medical Practice Management Medical Practice Merger Advice Medical Strategic Planning Newsletter Personal Financial Planning Oversight Physician Compensation Models Physician Compliance Physician Financial Management Services Retirement UncategorizedAbout Reed Tinsley, CPA
As a top advisor to physicians, I help increase practice profits by delivering hands-on, expert medical accounting/tax support, practice counsel, and revenue-building strategies. Read More >
