Martin Heel Pain Treatment CenterYork, PennsylvaniaWeb site address: http://www.heelpaincure.comor http://www.martinfoodandankle.comAn inviting layout and lots of comprehensive information are the hallmarks of this Web site from the Martin Heel Pain Treatment Center. The home page welcomes browsers with a smiling receptionist seated at her computer, and a motto that brings the practicemessage straight to the reader: “A lifetime of optimal foot and ankle health for each patient is our goal.” Right away, the practice has made two essential statements:1. You are welcome here.

Sometimes you have to say no to a job candidate—a really good job candidate. In addition to the legal considerations, you also want to remember your practice’s public relations status in how you manage these situations. If you live in a small community, the people you interview may be your patients, neighbors of patients, or family of patients. How you handle a rejected candidate can be a boon to your practice’s goodwill, or it may result in a public relations nightmare.Categorize your rejectionsBegin to organize how you will tell candidates no by categorizing your re

Any married woman will tell you that men do not make good patients. The single biggest factor in this may be their refusal to understand the necessity of medical care. Before we’re accused of a chauvinistic attitude, let us cite some statistics concerning men and health care. • More than 30% of men will not seek medical services even if they are experiencing chest pain.• Many men profess to have more fear of public speaking or of bankruptcy than they do of death.• Getting men to annual checkups can be extremely difficult, yet surveys show that nearly 50% of men

Are they worth the trouble?The answer to this question can only be decided on a practice-by-practice basis. Before you make a "yea" or "nay" decision for your office, consider these facts: You may bill patients for missed appointments unless you have a contract that states otherwise. You may not bill insurers for missed appointments (with a few exceptions). To bill for no-shows, you must have a clear and written policy on the matter. Patients must be notified of that policy by letter. The policy should be stated to new patients in a

Audit and analyze your coding to pinpoint where you can earn moreYou know that coding is important. But do you realize how many areas of your facility can be adversely affected by inaccurate coding? "Coders are at the forefront; they are central to so many functions in the health-care industry," says Dean Farley, PhD, MPA, vice president of health policy and analysis for HSS, Inc., in Hamden, CT. Speaking at the American Health Information Management Association's annual convention in Miami, Farley discussed how analyzing coding data can help you to learn how to appro

You can’t say never. Sometimes it’s acceptable...even necessary. Set aside patientemergencies and days where you have tons of work-ins and run late. Of course you can justify overtime on those days, but when else?• when you relocated to a new office• when you put in a new computer system• when a key employee is ill for more than a day• when a key employee is on vacation.Sure, you’re thinking, those are special circumstances, but what if our employees are logging overtime on a regular basis?When your staff members are routinely pulling overtime