AAOS Now – July 2016 by Cheryl Toth, MBA New announcements and guidance push providers toward an active program If your practice is targeted for a Medicare audit, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will no longer give you points for having a compliance plan on the shelf. Unless you’ve operationalized that plan into an...
Author: Cheryl Toth (Cheryl Toth)
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New Physician Onboarding Checklist
New Physician Onboarding Checklist by Cheryl Toth, MBA Use this checklist to manage the orientation and onboarding activities for each new physician you hire. Ask for regular status updates – especially about the credentialing process. Items listed in each section are not necessarily in chronological order. Download Checklist
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The Only Safe SMS Texting Is No SMS Texting
Greenbranch – Nov/Dec 2015 by Cheryl Toth, MBA, and Michael J. Sacopulos, JD Many physicians and practice staff use short messaging service (SMS) text messaging to communicate with patients. But SMS text messaging is unencrypted, insecure, and does not meet HIPAA requirements. In addition, the short and abbreviated nature of text messages creates opportunities for misinterpretation,...
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The Cure for Soaring Patient Receivables: 8 Best Practices for Point of Service Collections and Payment Plans
KarenZupko & Associates Inc. – September 2015 by Cheryl Toth, MBA Patient deductibles and financial responsibilities are skyrocketing. According to a 2014 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 80% of all workers now have annual deductibles, and the average deductible amount has doubled over the last eight years. The study showed that today’s annual deductibles...
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Reduce Medical Practice Embezzlement Risk by Implementing Cash Controls
Physicians Practice – September 2013 by Karen Zupko and Cheryl Toth, MBA Several years ago, we visited a practice in which the receptionist drove a Jaguar. We were particularly intrigued about this after we learned that her husband had been in and out of work for several years. As part of our engagement, we observed...
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Financial Reports and Data Aesthetic Surgeons Need to See
Aesthetic Society News – Winter 2015 by Cheryl Toth, MBA We frequently find that aesthetic surgeons make expensive business decisions based on hunches or staff suggestions instead of data. And when we ask which reports the surgeon reviews each month, we are often told, “the P&L,” if anything. This is often followed by: “I keep...
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Seven Surefire Ways to Start a Nonphysician Practitioner Off Right
The Journal of Medical Practice Management – January/February 2015 by Cheryl Toth, MBA With the proper planning and preparation, nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) can improve physician productivity and increase patient access to the practice. A thorough training and orientation program is vital to optimizing the effectiveness and retention of an NPP. An organized approach to understanding...
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Avoid Billing Service Nightmares: Use Business Rigor to Reduce Your Risk: Part I
AAOS Now – February 2014 by Cheryl L. Toth, MBA Recently, an orthopaedic surgeon remarked that he was thinking about outsourcing his billing so he could avoid learning ICD-10 and make ICD-10 “the billing service’s problem.” But hastily outsourcing billing and collections without carefully evaluating the company can lead to problems. Choosing the wrong billing...
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Don’t Get Burned by the Billing Company: Avoid These Revenue, Reputation, & Regulatory Risks
Plastic Surgery News Connection – October 2013 by Cheryl Toth, MBA “It’s a total nightmare!” The physician’s voice was a mixture of fear and anger. He had hired his cousin’s next-door neighbor’s billing company, which had reportedly worked miracles for other practices. But with this physician’s claim volume, the one-woman company quickly fell behind. In...