Sales Manager

About The Executive Post Weblog

Since inception, The Executive Post at HealthcareFinancials.com [The Executive Post] weblog, and our more established sponsoring parent and professional consulting firm www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com, has acquired the reputation as one of the most personal, independent and respected voices in the healthcare industrial complex and medical business industry.
And, while we have been praised [...]

Chief Marketing Officer

About the Exectuive Post Weblog

 
Since inception, The Executive Post at HealthcareFinancials.com [The Executive Post] and our sponsoring parent and professional consulting firm www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com, has acquired the reputation as one of the most independent and respected voices in the healthcare industrial complex and medical business industry.
 
And, while we have been praised as well as lambasted; we [...]

Medical Errors and Hospital Safety

A “Speak-Up” Prevention Program
Staff Writers
 
According to research by Harvard School of Public Health, about 34 percent of patients say they or their families have been affected by medical errors.  
For people with chronic illnesses, the percentage rises to a frightening 50 percent. This may be, in part, because doctors aren’t spending time listening to patients; interrupting [...]

An Emerging Never-Events Policy

Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey
Staff Writers 

According to a September 2007 report, just over half of responding hospitals have adopted the new Leapfrog Group Never-Events Policy, which is a list of actions to take whenever a “never-event” - a rare medical error - occurs. By agreeing to this policy, hospitals pledge to:

Apologize to the patient [...]

Offshore Employee Medical Benefits

A Global Healthcare Model
Staff Writers
 
American businesses are now extending their cost-cutting initiatives to include offshore employee medical benefits and facilities like the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand (cosmetic surgery), the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, India (cardiac and orthopedic surgery) are premier examples for surgical care. 
Both are internationally recognized institutions that resemble five-star hotels equipped [...]

Glossary Health Administration Terms

Whither the Health Dictionary Series?

A simple query that demands a cogent answer for this blog forum! 
There is a myth that all stakeholders in the healthcare space understand the meaning of basic health administration terms. In truth, the vernacular of contemporary healthcare management is unique, and often misused in cyberspace or misunderstood onground. It is [...]

Values-Based Health Insurance

Another New Idea?
Staff Writers 

According to Mark Fendrick MD and Michael E. Chernew PhD, instead of the one size fits all approach of traditional health insurance, a “clinically-sensitive” cost-sharing system that supports co-payments related to evidence-based value for targeted patients seems plausible.  
In this model, out-of-pocket costs are based on price and a cost/quality tradeoff in clinical [...]

Tax and Estate Planning Attorneys

Legal Re-Tooling in the Era of Healthcare Reform
Staff Writers 

As a tax, estate planning or bankruptcy lawyer, you already know that almost every legal magazine around has articles or advertisements proposing that you become a financial planning professional or business consultant to your physician clients. 
Moreover, lawyers of all stripes are being pushed toward interdisciplinary alliances by [...]

EMRs and Patient Safety

Exploring the Shibboleths
Staff Writers 

A new study by University of Alberta and the Canadian Health System suggests that while Electronic Medical Records [EMRs] might provide a patient safety boost, not much is known about the full benefits of this technology.  
Despite assumptions that EMRs improve clinical workflow and medical care quality, there’s little evidence-based research to document [...]

Supply and Demand in Medical Care

 
The Imperfect Competitive Medical Marketplace
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ 
 
The issue is not how to fill or reuse empty beds. In this changing environment, hospitals and health systems must focus on streamlining and simplifying operational processes, facilitating case management, promoting the least costly setting for care delivery, and [...]

A Decade of Desperate Patients

Patients Disenfranchised from the System
Staff Writers 

“When was the last time you had freedom of choice in, of all places, a hospital? One choice is no choice at all, and it only makes people feel frustrated and powerless. People have a fundamental need to choose for themselves-give your customers the power of choice.”
-Roger Dow and Susan [...]

Kindred Hospital Liability Policy

The Medical Waiver Issue
Staff Writers 
Recently, Kindred Hospital of Wyoming Valley, PA has come under fire from two attorneys who fear patients may be signing away their rights to seek a jury trial if they are injured through malpractice.  
Introduction 
Kindred Hospital, a long term acute care facility, is asking patients to sign a waiver that would mandate [...]

Insurance Agents - Raising the Bar

[Few] Insurance Agents Learn About Modern Health Economics  
Staff Writers 
 
As a registered health underwriter [RHU], insurance counselor, long-term care or life insurance agent, it seems that almost everyone today is also acquiring a general securities license, or becoming a “financial advisor.”
Introduction 
Currently, about 240,000 of the nation’s life insurance agents - down from more than one million [...]

Professional Relations 101

Establishing Rapport within Your Medical Community
Staff Writers 

The following are useful “tips and pearls” to enhance your awareness among known and unknown physician colleagues in your area: 

Send office announcements to all health professionals in the community. Include pharmacies, pediatricians, family practitioners, nursing and convalescent facilities. All are potential sources of patient referrals.
Meet other health professionals [...]

Medical Practice Business Insurance

More Needed than Just Medical Malpractice Insurance
Staff Writers 

There are several insurance, risk management and related liability mattes that physicians face today. These include, but are not limited to the following issues:  
1. New Thoughts on Malpractice Liability Insurance: 
The Capitation Liability Theory of malpractice views liability management and premium costs in light of the managed care revolution. [...]

The Health Insurance Paradigm Shift

Medical Industry Changes to Wholesale Mentality
Staff Writers 
 
Until a decade ago, most doctors were probably more concerned with acquiring, maintaining or improving their medical acumen than worrying about practice management or personal financial planning.
And this was a good strategy, until recently. 
Introduction 
Variably, since 1990-2000 or so, medical professionals have not only worked harder to earn a living, but [...]

The “Managed Care Effect”

The Desperate Doctors
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ 
 
There are many reasons why today’s doctors are professionally and financially unhappy, some might even say desperate because of managed care.  
What is Managed Care? 
Simply, managed care is a prospective payment method where medical care is delivered regardless of the quantity or [...]

Medical Accounts Receivable and Collections

Working Hard for the A.R. Money
Staff Writers  
 
Just as location is a critical element in locating a medical practice, collecting your ARs is an important critical element in maintaining the financial health of your medical practice. Your practice is not a bank and an effective billing system should be complemented by an efficient collection system.  
Policy Setting 
A [...]

Cultivating Complimentary Medical Practitioners

Increasing Referrals from the Alternative Medical Community
Staff Writers 

Introduction 
Recent medical marketing surveys indicate that almost one-third of most managed care plan patients already use some form of complementary medicine and one-third more are considering exploring these new, and often ancient, techniques. Nationally, it is estimated that American are spending over $ 20 billion per year, including [...]

The Medical Practice Advertising Plan

New Advertising Methodologies Needed Today
Staff Writers 
 
A well-defined advertising plan - not needed only a decade ago - is an essential part of medical practice business success today. Your medical practice advertising should be visually stimulating and include several more rational considerations, as listed below. 
Plan Components 

Goals:  The objectives of any advertising plan should be reasonable and quantifiable.  [...]

Crafting a Medical Practice Business Plan

An Essential Document for Start-Up Practices
Staff Writers  
The analog to a personal financial plan is the medical practice business plan. While mature practitioners may casually be familiar with some elements of the former by default, most new physicians are totally unfamiliar with requirements of the later.  
The Need 
Unfortunately, without an initial business plan, the need for a [...]

Restrictive Medical Practice Covenants

About Agreements Not to Compete
Staff Writers
 
A covenant not to compete [restrictive covenant], is an agreement whereby one party commits himself to not practicing medicine for a period of time, within a geographical area, or with members of a defined population.  
Covenant Types 
According to healthcare law expert Frederick Wm. LaCava; Ph.D, JD, arguments can arise because [...]

Constructing Your Personalized Portfolio

Self Portfolio Management
By Clifton McIntire; CIMA, CFP®
By Lisa McIntire; CIMA, CFP® 
 
Most individual investment portfolios are simply a list of stocks.  Doctors with such lists usually know the cost of each position and when they acquired it. It is not unusual to find inherited low cost stocks in the account that have been held for many [...]

ADV: Essential Form for Physician-Investors

ADV: Parts I and II Defined
Staff Writers 

An ADV is a form that is kept on file with the Securities & Exchange Commission [SEC]. It contains critical financial information about a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), and/or an RIA representative.  
A Two-Part Form:  
Part 1: Discloses specific information about an RIA that is important to regulators (name, number of [...]

The Medical Office Appraisal Process

Understanding Different Methodologies
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ 
 
Much needs to be done before a medical practice can be sold for a premium. In fact, the following should be done before the actual practice appraisal process even begins:
· Choose an appraiser who understands the managed health care industry.
· Acquire historic financial information [...]

The Equity Advantaged Medical Practice

Building Medical Practice Value
Staff Writers

In the competitive environment an equity-advantaged medical practice is not likely going to come from adding more HMO patients as a business strategy, or shifting your target market. You do it by making your practice worth buying to someone else.
In other words, a brand identity is the hallmark of increased [...]

Selecting Money Managers

Trust but Verify - Caveat Emptor
By Clifton McIntire; CIMA, CFP®
By Lisa McIntire; CIMA, CFP® 
 
Most physicians and healthcare executives do not manage their own portfolios, or those of their office or medical foundations. Most are more comfortable using outside money managers to make their investment decisions. Just as the general public does not have the facilities, [...]

Activity-Based-Cost Accounting Management

A Non-Traditional Accounting System
Staff Writers 
Sooner or later you will want to ascertain and then demonstrate the cost effectiveness of your medical care. By using the process of Activity Based Cost (ABC) management, you will be able to do so.  But, if you’re using a traditional accounting system, you won’t know a thing about your activity [...]

Managed Care Cost Reduction Strategies

A Methodology Review
Staff Writers
 
There are many methods that payers use to control healthcare costs - from the perspective of the practicing physician - as some are reviewed below:
 
Cost Control Types:
Utilization Review [UR] refers to all the ways a managed care organization or HMO attempts to assure contracted physicians use available resources in the most cost-effective [...]

Enticing HMOs for Practice Acceptance

Take Care … Your Wishes
Staff Writers   
 
When, and if, you decide to be included in an HMO network, keep in mind the following considerations just as the HMO itself considers whether or not to include your practice in their network: 
 
· Is there a local need for your practice?
· Is your practice respected in the medical [...]