I’ve been asked to respond to the question: what would you do if a staff member came to work with a tattoo or tongue ring? Well, this happened to us a while back, so we developed a policy statement which is now incorporated into our employee handbook.

Basically, it covers jewelry and personal appearance. It states that staff may only wear a certain number
of earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets. It also says that there shall be no jewelry that is visible to a patient which involves a piercing of any kind, which would include a tongue ring. For someone with a visible tattoo, they are told that (more…)

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Every so often there is an article in a newspaper written by someone complaining about “rich doctors” giving professional courtesy (not charging each other or their families for medical care), and blaming that in part for the escalating costs of medicine in this country. Don’t you just hate when the misinformed have a platform from which to blather incessantly?

And then recently I had a discussion with a non-physician “professional” who complained about this practice. So I felt compelled to explain to him

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So, you’ve now made the decision to get your office running on an electronic medical records (EMR) system and you’ve chosen the specific software you want. Before you start making any major software or hardware purchases, however, you should have someone help you implement EMR into your practice – an IT (information technology) consultant or firm.

While a larger practice may have the resources for full-time IT personnel, what is a smaller group or solo practice to do?

IT is not just one narrow field, but many categories rolled into one, just as medicine comprises many distinct specialties. So, you may require different IT services depending on your practice’s needs.

But first, there are some things you need to consider before hiring your potential IT consultant or firm: (more…)

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Winding down a medical practice need not be an anxiety-provoking process for a retiring physician. If he or she practices within a group, this process has probably already been addressed on some level. But what about doctors who are in a solo practice? How should they best accomplish a graceful exit? In an article in American Medical News, Karen Schecter addresses some key points to keep in mind.

Step 1: Present a Timeline to the Staff

First notify the staff by presenting a timeline. It is recommended that you give employees at least 90 days notice. Understand that at the first mention of a physician’s retirement, some employees may become skittish and tender their resignations. You may want to preempt this by offering some bonuses or severance packages to those employees who stay.

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