Sitting down with pen and paper and freely jotting down ideas may not sound like the best path toward creating a well-crafted employee handbook, but it's a great place to start. That free-flowing process, called mind-mapping, unleashes the creative part of your brain and is far more effective than writing a content outline for your handbook, according to writing coach and … [Read more...] about Mind-map your way toward creating a great employee handbook
Managing the office
Staff name badges help patients feel comfortable
A seemingly simple, easy-to-implement change can have a positive impact on your practice. Staff name badges make patients feel at ease and help facilitate friendly relationships between medical workers and patients. A recent nationwide survey finds four out of five patients say it is important to identify the name and specialty of medical personnel when being treated. … [Read more...] about Staff name badges help patients feel comfortable
Avoid These 5 Common PowerPoint Mistakes
By Cheryl Toth, MBA bio Who among us has not suffered (or slept) through a deadly PowerPoint presentation in a meeting or at a conference? We all know a bad set of slides when we see them. Yet many of us make the same mistakes in our own presentations that we hate to sit through in someone else's. PowerPoint will continue to be a ubiquitous tool for business presentations. … [Read more...] about Avoid These 5 Common PowerPoint Mistakes
5 purchasing tips that can save money for your medical practice
Cutting purchasing costs doesn't have to be difficult. Here are five approaches to purchasing your medical practice should consider. 1 Join other offices and take advantage of group discounts. Because the group represents a lot of business, it can tell a vendor it will use it exclusively in exchange for an overall, sizeable discount. The group can also get individual … [Read more...] about 5 purchasing tips that can save money for your medical practice
Creating a peaceful office environment
It goes without saying that office conflict, poor attitudes, and negative staffers undermine peace and tranquility. But any bad behavior you bring to the workplace also impacts harmony. Who, you? Yes, it's all about the people and you're one of them. To the mirror Your negativity or bad mood greatly affects others. "We engage in emotional contagion," says Sigal Barsade, a … [Read more...] about Creating a peaceful office environment
Should you ‘friend’ your coworkers on social media?
Do you "like" the idea of office friendships crossing over into social media? More than seven in 10 professionals (71 percent) polled by staffing firm OfficeTeam said it's appropriate to connect with colleagues on Facebook. Slightly fewer feel it's okay to follow coworkers on Twitter (61 percent), Instagram (56 percent) and Snapchat (44 percent). In contrast, less than half of … [Read more...] about Should you ‘friend’ your coworkers on social media?
Top 4 trends shaping the healthcare industry
By Leora Borgenicht bio Before the healthcare industry can ambitiously transform to offer more accurate and personalized patient care, certain stepping stones must be reached. These four trends are inevitable if the healthcare industry is to reach its goals. Trend #1: Interoperability The transformation towards value-based healthcare care and a more personalized … [Read more...] about Top 4 trends shaping the healthcare industry
Weekly applause sheet creates positive attitude among staff
Any office experiences negative feelings among staff. But Sharon Hunter, manager of Granbury Internal Medical Associates in Granbury, TX, found a positive and lasting solution to the problem. It's what she terms an "applause sheet." At the top of the page is the name of one staffer, and the directions are to write down "the most valuable qualities that person has." The answers … [Read more...] about Weekly applause sheet creates positive attitude among staff
What you need to consider before getting started in telemedicine
By Nick Hernandez bio Many practices are hearing about telemedicine and becoming increasingly interested in how such a program could be implemented in their operations. Physicians want to start a telemedicine program quickly. Practice managers don't want to learn by trial and error. The biggest issue I see by far is that practices immediately focus on the technology. … [Read more...] about What you need to consider before getting started in telemedicine
What to do when a staffer lodges a valid complaint against a doctor
Any complaint from a staffer about a boss is unpleasant to address. But when the alleged culprit is a physician, the situation can get grim. Confronting the doctor could put the manager in a job-threatening position. It's a touchy situation, says Linnda Durre, PhD, a business consultant, corporate trainer and author of "Surviving the Toxic Workplace: Protect Yourself Against … [Read more...] about What to do when a staffer lodges a valid complaint against a doctor