Most Practice Managers do not consider themselves  to be in the power seat of our healthcare system. Most claim to be overworked and underpaid. If you look at job satisfaction indexes,  Practice Managers are not considered a happy lot. There is plenty to make the job difficult; misbehaving employees, excessive red tape, difficult patients, and demanding doctors. However, ask any medical sales rep and they will tell you that the Practice Managers is the one who wields all the power in our healthcare system.  It is the manager who determines who talks to the doctor and what gets purchased, the technology that gets implemented into the office, and the upgrades to administrative processes. Sure, the doctor rants and raves around the office and thinks he or she is in control, but when push comes to shove, most office managers determine what gets done.

LinkedIn, a professional social networking site, is somewhat similar to Facebook, except that profiles and interactions are oriented towards business.  This makes it an ideal place to market your medical practice, as well as connect with other physicians and medical professionals, learn about conferences and symposiums, and share experience and information with colleagues.

“It has put life back into our practice. I used to dread coming into the office. Now, I feel totally re-energized.”  Such were the words of  a Scottsdale, Arizona physician when talking about integrating cash and ancillary income strategies into his practice.

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Auditing your medical practice will help you determine whether or not your practice’s resources are being allocated to the programs and services that will result in the best return on investment, as well as measure the outcomes of both existing and new initiatives.  However, while you engage in those efforts, your practice still needs to comply with the numerous and ever-changing regulatory and legal requirements that govern healthcare.  This is the subject matter for this article in the Auditing Your Practice series on compliance solutions.