Practice Operations

Have you heard the adage that healing is an art, medicine a profession, and health care a business? Now, you and I have no doubt that you've mastered the healing and the medicine, but how are your business skills?

Because state laws and insurer billing requirements governing physician delegation and supervision can be tricky to navigate, practices must stay up to date to avoid potential penalties.

In case you didn’t know, several changes to the state’s prescription process for certain controlled substances are taking place.

Since September, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) has been issuing new official prescription forms that include advanced security features designed to help deter fraud.

Whether you own your medical practice or are a partner in a group, your business absolutely must have clear financial policies and procedures in place.

Financial policies aren’t the most fun to read or write, but they can make or break your practice. Without them, you’re essentially enabling patients to set policies for you, and that de facto policy might involve chasing down patient balances and tolerating high accounts receivable. 

Is your practice struggling to collect payments? Are your accounts receivable growing rapidly? Is there a drain on your bottom line? The culprit could lie in your revenue cycle management. The Texas Medical Association’s practice management consultants can perform an in-depth review of your billing processes through a Revenue Cycle Assessment.

Most of you will encounter a “difficult” patient at some point in your career.

Difficult patients come in many forms, from those who are noncompliant or have complex health issues, to patients who are angry or manipulative.

Whatever the case may be, these three tips can make caring for and working with these patients a little less difficult.