Telecommuting, also known as working from home or from a virtual office, is an attractive prospect to many practice managers. Avoiding a lengthy and irritating commute is a top motivator for practice managers who work in large, crowded cities with heavy rush-hour traffic. And working from home often raises productivity by offering blocks of uninterrupted time for completing projects. This series of articles will explore the concept of telecommuting for practice managers.

If you’ve received permission to telecommute in your position as practice manager, either part-time or full-time, on a trial basis or permanently, you’ll want to make the right impression so the owner/physician who gave consent will feel good about the decision.  Whether you continue telecommuting long-term or not, it’s important for your supervisors to have confidence in your ideas and faith that you can carry them to fruition, as well as solve problems that crop up along the way.  To do this, you must arm yourself with the right tools:

Practice managers who take advantage of the option to work virtually, whether part-time or full-time, often wonder how they will stay in the loop at work when they are physically out of the office. Managing employees, participating in meetings, and staying informed about issues and changes is a greater challenge when you spend some or all of your workdays in your home office.