Security may not be the top priority on your practice's implementation list, but it certainly is essential. It reduces liability, protects a practice's reputation, and guards other areas that could put your small, large, or private practice out of production. The first step is to identify where staff members in your practice are needed to effectively monitor policy and procedure compliance requirements. The second is to enforce privacy and security regulations, conduct yearly audits and risk assessments, and develop a staff plan that will be enforced consistently.

Communication is defined as the exchange of information between individuals (i.e., by means of speaking, writing, or using a common system of signs and behavior). It sounds perfectly reasonable and logical, and the definition seems to apply to most other industries, except healthcare. The healthcare industry is like no other. It is made up of a myriad of people with thousands of different specialties and specific business knowledge. In the simplest terms, the objectives may be the same as those in any service industry (i.e., provide a good service, entice as many customers as you can, and make a profit); however, healthcare businesses have to go about it being heavily regulated and financially scrutinized, and dealing with the most important element of all, the human aspect.

Besides the daily job of practicing medicine, physicians are constantly adapting to changes and gravitating toward innovative ways to make their business more productive, profitable, and advanced. In this article, experts discuss mind-sets that physicians say are important or effective in their field. Some ideas have been slow to catch on, and others have already been implemented within the healthcare industry.

Physicians must take all appropriate steps to remain compliant with the federal anti-kickback statute, says Joseph J. Russo, Esq., founder and senior partner of Russo & Russo, LLP, in Bethlehem, PA. The price you may pay for being in violation of the anti-kickback statute is nothing to take lightly. There are fines of up to $25,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both. Russo says that a violation of the anti-kickback statute could also result in exclusion from the Medicare program.

Americans eat more food on the go than ever before. We spend more than $400 billion at restaurants. Nearly half the money we spend on food is spent on foods prepared outside the home. We eat 30 meals a year in our cars, and we buy more prepared, processed, and fast foods than ever before. Living a hectic lifestyle, as most physicians do, can limit your diet. Often, doctors don't take steps to eat healthy; instead, they take advantage of what foods are simply available during their strenuous schedule.