The clock is ticking, the calendar pages turning ..... only seven weeks left in the HIPAA countdown!   See the "Feeture Article" below for the latest on that front.

Do you have a recommendation for equipment?   Know an assistant who needs part-time work in the Santa Rosa, CA, area?   How about you Texans in multi-doctor offices .... are you available to compare notes on how it all works for you?   Are you interested in attending a good seminar .... at a resort/casino .... on a Pacific Ocean beach .... and sharing the costs with a peer?     Read on .....

~  Gayle

From:  Laura Roehrick, RN
re:      Equipment and Employment

I am going to be setting up a new office and am wondering if anyone can recommend good podiatry chairs for one who sits while working on the feet.  I also need to buy a new autoclave to process individual packs of toenail nipper sets.  I do no surgeries so I do not need anything too big.  I would like to process 10 packs (5x7 inch packs) at a time.  Thanks for the help!

Also, if there are any podiatric medical assistants in the Santa Rosa, CA area, and they would like some extra part time work, contact me!

Laura Roehrick RN
THE FOOT CARE NURSE
3000 Cleveland Ave. #106
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707-525-1509
podrn@aol.com

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From:  Mindy Leigh Baker, RMA, NCT, PMAC
re:      Need Direction / Networking

Hello Gayle!

I was wondering if you might know of a good place for me to network with
another office manager of a Podiatric clinic with a similar office
situation.  I have 2 DPMs in my office and 6 office support staff (not
including the docs).  I am trying to convince our physicians that we need
another billing/insurance person that can help with collections and dealing
with problem EOB's and insurance rejects.  Do you know where I can post a
request for other managers with 2 physician offices that can help me break
down how their office works/how many employees they have and what jobs they perform?  I am in a semi-small town and there are not really any other
offices here in town that are like us, and certainly not podiatric.  We do
have 5 other DPMs here and 32 from out of town (Houston) that visit,
however I'd like to talk to someone else (preferable in Texas) that I can
talk to.  Any help or direction would very much be appreciated.  THANKS!!!

Mindy Leigh Baker,RMA,NCT,PMAC
Office Manager
Podiatry Assoc. of Victoria
116 Imperial Drive, Ste A
Victoria, TX 77901
(361)578-2777 Office
(361)576-9791 Home
(361)676-9791 Mobile

The WSPMA/WSPMAA (Washington State) Annual meeting is going to be April 25-27 at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Ocean Shores, WA.   One attendee from Alaska would like to share room expenses there.   Assistants interested in sharing should contact Janna Krauss at (907) 451-9202, or by email at  jannakrauss@alaska.net

Rooms there are filling up very fast, so if others would like to share, let me know and I'll post the information for you.

Notices of positions wanted or positions available, as well as other "classified" information, are welcome. They are posted at the FootZine web site's Networking page. Have a look at http://www.footzine.com/FZ_6.htm

Have you heard about the HIPAA Catch-22?  By this time we should all be aware and prepared for the HIPAA Privacy rules that go into effect April 14, 2003.  You need to have your HIPAA Policy and Procedures policy manual written and your staff educated regarding your policies.  You also have to have your Notice of Privacy statements posted and sign-off sheets ready for your patients as of April 14.

What you may not be aware of is the next step in HIPAA compliance, and that is the Security Rules.  They just became finalized and don’t go into effect until April 2005, or do they?  Here is the catch-22.  Even though full compliance is not mandatory until April 2005, the privacy rule “164.530  Safeguards”, requires you to have physical, technical and administrative security in place.

The catch-22 is that in order to be fully compliant with the privacy rules you need to have most of the security rules addressed also.

The best way to address HIPAA compliance is to treat the regulation as a single integrated entity.  By keeping your eye on the total picture, you won’t have to waste time, effort and money by having to readdress items at a later date.  You should have a total integrated HIPAA plan and work it into your daily routine.  Make it second nature and compliance will be much less burdensome.

By: Raymond F. Posa, MBA
Technology Advisor to the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management
President, R. Francis Associates

Any questions or comments can be addressed to Mr. Posa by E-mail: Rposa@Rfrancis.com
You can review previous installments from Mr. Posa at http://www.footzine.com/FZ_5.htm

Reading a bank deposit receipt recently, I noticed a simple message printed on it: “We’re here for you.”   What a powerful message in just four short words!  The two key words here are “we” and “you.”   When you look at the basic glue which bonds the relationship with our patients, it revolves around two equal sides of a simple equation which has “us” on one side and the “patient” on the other.   Have you recently asked yourself to what degree we are “here for our patients?”   How truly important do you make them feel?  What do your staff and doctors deliver to cause them to shout in your community about your office and quality of services provided? 

Those who are most successful will tell you that it is the 10% that makes 90% of the difference.  As our buddy, Dr. Bill McCann from New Hampshire, always tells us, “the devil is in the details.”  Patients rarely care about where the doctor went to school or their grades.  Patients present to a medical office with an assumption that we are able to provide quality medical care.  We begin on this common ground, so what then makes us exceptional in our patients’ minds?   This can be expressed through what we call the Ten Commandments of Patient, Staff and Physician Satisfaction:

1.       Thou shalt use your patient’s name when speaking with them
2.       Thou shalt use eye contact to show you care
3.       Thou shalt listen more you speak, and this is why God gave us two ears and one mouth
4.       Thou shalt not forget that your most valuable asset is your staff
5.       Thou shalt say thank you to every patient before they leave your office
6.       Thou shalt understand that respect and appreciation is more important to staff than the almighty dollar.
7.       Thou shalt understand the power of asking every patient “what other questions do you have?”
8.       Thou shalt never let a patient mistreat your staff
9.       Thou shalt do unto patients as the patients would like done unto them
10.      Thou shalt understand the value that the best long-term investment for your practice may produce a short-term loss

Next time a patient is upset with anything relating to your office, remember those four simple words, “we’re here for you.”  When you sit and think, it is simple economics: without “them” thou shalt not get a paycheck!

Hoping you all stay warm, stay safe, and stay out of snowbanks! 

There will not be a FootZine next week, but the email is working, so please feel free to write!

~ Gayle

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