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Are you a good boss?

Your answer was ‘yes’ wasn’t it?!

No one wants to be labeled as a “bad” boss; the one who everyone talks about behind their backs.

If you’re like me, you’d say, “I could care less what people think. After all, I’m the one signing their paychecks!”

Although this is very true, there can exist a good relationship with those you employ without being taken advantage of…because ultimately, that is what we try to avoid.

In order to have that healthy balance between employer and employee, one must evaluate themselves to know HOW to create and maintain that balance. Consider these questions in your evaluation. Make sure to answer truthfully! Tally your points at the end:

1. How long have your staff been with you? (1 point per year 0 points for months)

2. When a problem with administration arises, do you trust that management will handle it, or do you get involved? (1 point for trust management 0 points for get involved)

3. When your staff introduces new ideas to you, you: a) Take ideas into consideration (3 pts.)
b) Nod and pretend to listen (1 pt) c) Act like you just received a phone call (0 points)

4. Do you acknowledge your hard workers? a) yes (5 pts.) b) no (0 pts)

5. When it comes to your staff, do you believe in quality or quantity? (3 pts quality, 1 pt. quantity)

6. You are in the service industry. One day, you overhear one of your customers disrespecting your staff. What do you do?

          a) Pretend you didn’t hear it, you can’t afford to get involved and risk a bad review on Yelp (-2 points)

         b) Interrupt and tell your staff member she/he has a call (2 points)

         c) Tell the customer to get the heck out (high five!)

Just kidding (0 points)

7. One of your best workers expresses to you that she/he is going through a divorce and needs a raise. You:

              a) ask for proof (-5 points, you should be ashamed of yourself!)

             b) tell them they are up for review and you will discuss with the partners (3 points)

             c) Say yes. You could use an errand person after all (0 points)

If you scored between:

0-7: You could use some help in your social skills!

8-15: With some guidance and resources from HR, you could be the pillar to the organization!

16 or higher: Everyone loves working with and for you! You are fair,levelheaded and a natural leader! Your staff will follow you no matter what!

Being a good boss doesn’t mean you have to be loved by everyone. But being a good boss means they WILL respect you and performs their best for your approval! This keeps employees engaged, gives purpose and makes them care. Once you have that, you have a loyal employee! #positive reinforcement

Copyright © 2021 all rights reserved.        

Dee Whitelocke

Continue reading “Are you a good boss?”

5 Must know facts about the Coronavirus.

1) As of February 11th, The Coronavirus is now officially known as : COVID-19—>’Corona’ ‘Virus’ ‘Disease’ ‘2019’

2) As of February 24th, there are 53 cases within the U.S. Visit the CDC for up-to-date data.

3) Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. The symptoms: Fever, cough, shortness of breath.

4) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is one of the many viruses which exists in the Coronavirus family (it originated from animals).

5) Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19. However, since we know it is a respiratory disease maybe the cure could be derived from a vaccine which currently exists (Diptheria and tetanus, MMR etc.)

Prevention is key! Always wash your hands and avoid contact with people who are sick!

To see states in the US currently with cases of infection please follow link below:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

To COB or not to COB…

What is COB?

Patients often ask this question after opening the mail and seeing a bill from their last office visit. There are a couple of ways to explain this to your patients but you should simplify the term as much as possible:

COB stands for Coordination of Benefits. Your insurance company probably sent you a form that they required you to fill out and return. What this form asks is if you have other insurances and if so which is primary. If this is not satisfied, your insurance company will not pay any of your claims.

There are some patients that are truly oblivious until ownership is left up to them. It is your billing manager’s responsibility to educate your patients and guide them on how to get their COB issues properly taken care of. Otherwise, your AR suffers and the patients get annoyed that the bill won’t pay itself!

Here are some misconceptions some patients may have when it comes to COB:

1) The insurance company will never know that I have another policy.

Guess what? There are databases that your insurance company has access to…that’s how they know you are insured by other policies!

2) I can pick which plan I want to be my primary plan.

Nope! You don’t determine which plan is primary, the birth month does. For example, if you have coverage by your spouse as well as your own policy, and your spouse’s birth month is January and yours is March, the primary plan will be your spouse’s. Your claim will not get paid if this is not communicated with both insurances.

3) My child has student insurance but that’s only if she’s in school, they won’t pay for anything. She’s covered under my plan, that’s the primary plan.

That is incorrect. The student insurance will always be primary. They must first deny the claim in order for the secondary to pay. If this is the case you must supply your office with the student insurance so that they can submit to them first.

It’s not what you say, but how you say it. In this case, it’s a little bit of both. If your staff is properly educated on the language that is used when talking to your patients, their trips to your office will be much less combative and more pleasurable. Let’s be ahead of the game!

Transparency in Medicine

As defined by The Institute of Medicine (IOM), “healthcare transparency means making available to the public, in a reliable, and understandable manner, information on the health care system’s quality, efficiency and consumer experience with care, which includes price and quality data, so as to influence the behavior of patients, providers, payers, and others to achieve better outcomes (quality and cost of care)”.

The issue of transparency (price) in the healthcare system has become apparent to the public mainly because of impossible to meet deductibles and out of pocket expenses by insurance companies. The misconception of many consumers, is that high deductible plans began with the Obama Administration when the Affordable Care Act got signed into law. The Affordable Care Act (2010) mandated that all were insured or face a tax income penalty. In conjunction, back in 2003, a series of tax incentive provisions were passed into law to promote high deductible insurance plans paired with health savings accounts.

Price transparency in medicine can be both advantageous as well as inauspicious for practices. Patients knowing the cost of procedures before having them performed lessens the likeliness of an awkward conversation between physician and patient or biller and patient. However, posting prices can sometimes confuse patients and bring forth more questions and keep us on the phone for extended periods of time. It would have to be made clear that prices will vary depending on the specific insurance provider and the specific contract negotiated between the facility/physician and insurance provider.

The bottom line: people are asking more questions, they want to know that services being provided are necessary and reasonable in price. Although being transparent with patients often put physicians’ practices under a microscope, it creates trust between physician and patient and empowers them to make informed decisions on medical treatment.

#transparency #medicalpractices #bestpractices