Practice Management

With the appropriate software, electronic medical record (EMR) systems will enable physicians to e-prescribe medications and send them directly to the pharmacy before patients leave the exam room.

If staff overtime is common in your dermatology practice, it?s time to take note. Overtime is costly, and can be abused.

As attorneys and consultants to thousands of physicians across the country, we are constantly astounded by the attitudes of physicians regarding the sale of their medical practices. Most often, today, we hear the complaint that doctors do not feel they can sell a practice for any significant value. They generally do not feel the practice is "worth anything," especially if they do not have younger partners to buy them out.

Practice management consultants Elizabeth W. Woodcock, M.B.A., the founder of Woodcock & Associates, Atlanta, and Pamela L. Moore, Ph.D., director of content and strategy for Physicians Practice, Inc., offer these tips for protecting your practice during tough times

Revenue is flat, even dropping, at many dermatology practices. The recession that began last year is leading more Americans to cut back on preventive care, as well as elective procedures and treatments.

Dermatology is not recession-proof. However, protecting revenue and containing costs can help your practice survive and even thrive, even in challenging economic times.

Among the most hard-hit victims of today's troubled economy are the nation's banks. New service charges, confusing account options and wildly varying interest rates are just some of the techniques some banks are using to help pump up their slumping profits - at your expense.

With the economy in the gutter, businesses closing left and right, and hundreds of thousands of Americans being laid off or losing their jobs, owners of medical practices are starting to worry how the slumping economy will affect their practices short- and long-term.

Patient relations experts and practice management consultants often talk about "moments of truth" - those small encounters that can set the tone for the patient's entire experience at a practice.

Do you want to share a video of yourself discussing a medical topic, or demonstrating a new procedure? Visit www.thedoctorschannel.com, where you can view videos uploaded by other physicians, and upload your own material.

While reading a manual on EMR navigation code lingo for knowing which button to push on a computer to properly use an electronic medical record (EMR), I was watching the recently popular animated movie featuring Wall-E and EVA.

If your practice hasn't jumped on the eco-friendly bus already, maybe it's time to catch a ride. 'Going green' can make good business sense. Savvy dermatology practices recognize that consumers gravitate to businesses they perceive as socially conscious. In addition to attracting patients and helping the environment, being environmentally friendly may also help you reduce costs.

With increasing frequency, I have noticed that many audience members at medical meetings are dividing their attention between the speakers and their Blackberries and laptops. Some audience members keep both their Blackberries and laptops running throughout the meeting, and are not engaged at all in the meeting - but I am sure they will claim CME credit for "being there."

The full-body skin exam is the perfect opportunity to talk with patients about all their skin concerns, including cosmetic. One expert explains how dermatologists can turn medical and Medicare patients into cosmetic patients.

Miami - Being proactive is the best way to minimize the impact of the turbulent economy on a dermatology practice, experts say.

National report - In a troubled economy, the following prescriptions can help practices attract and retain patients, dermatologists say.

National report - When patients request discounts, dermatologists generally acquiesce - though they might later regret it, sources say.

National report - The precarious U.S. economy has slashed patient spending on Aesthetic treatments, and some dermatologists say medical bookings also have declined since the stock market plummeted in the closing months of 2008.

We recently hired a dermatopathologist to join our group. There are six dermatologists in our practice, and the dermatopathologist will be reading the slides for all the specimens generated from our group.

Is the constant din of ringing telephones frustrating and annoying everyone in your practice? Maybe it's time to turn your telephones into tools that work for your dermatology practice instead of against it.

Medical technology changes so often that sometimes it seems as if one hardly gets something new in the office before it's outdated and another bit of technology is on the horizon.

Photography plays a valuable role in dermatology for improving patient care, but the usefulness of archived images depends on how they are stored.

First impressions have a strong influence on our perceptions and, ultimately, our loyalty to a service, a company or a physician.

The Internet provides a forum for disgruntled patients, employees or competitors to defame a doctor's reputation. One company helps doctors protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits.

Treating lesions of the vulva, anus and penis is common practice in dermatology, yet many dermatologists misrepresent the CPT code(s), as they are not aware that there are specific codes for some of these areas that have significantly higher allowables.

Industry experts estimate that as many as 20 percent of all claims for services are returned to physicians without payment.

While the full promise of EHR systems has yet to become reality, an expert offers shopping tips for finding the best available system for your practice.

In the absence of industrywide standards for electronic medical records, an expert advises carefully matching system costs, benefits and capabilities with the distinctive needs of one's practice.

National standards for ranking physicians may be on the horizon, but many dermatologists doubt that they can be implemented fairly and accurately. Insurance companies have proposed ranking physicians in tiers that could be used to determine levels of reimbursement or the amount of co-pays for patients to see the physician of their choosing.

Incorporating cosmetic dermatology into a medical dermatology practice is made easier if clinicians offer the cosmetic procedures to their existing patients. Internal marketing and a pleasant support staff ensure the success of expansion to cosmetic dermatology.