Opinion
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Keep your staff current – and happy
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
Like you, staff members provide better care to patients when they know the latest findings and techniques.
Opinion
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Hiring the right employees
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
Many of the personnel questions I receive concern the dreaded “marginal employee” – a person who has never done anything truly heinous to merit...
Opinion
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Sexual harassment: Prevention and defense
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
Medical offices are far from immune from harassment, of course, and the problem is not limited to staff interactions.
Opinion
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Handling defamatory online reviews
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
The first thing to do before taking any action is determine whether that defamatory review is, in fact, defamatory.
Opinion
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How to handle negative online reviews
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
It happens to all of us: You log onto the Internet one day and discover a scathing review from a disgruntled patient or family member.
Opinion
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Firing patients
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
As with pretty much everything in a private practice, accurate and written documentation of dismissible behavior is essential.
Opinion
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Terminating an employee
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
Make it clear, when necessary, that the decision has already been made, so arguing or pleading will change nothing.
Opinion
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Phone etiquette, part 2
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
A peer should never answer and then be expected to wait while your employee tracks you down.
Opinion
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Addressing patients’ complaints
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
In the years since I last wrote about addressing patients’ complaints, the issues that prompt them have only...
Opinion
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How well are your phones being answered?
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
Even now, in the era of texting and e-mail, the telephone remains our primary point of contact with new and long-time patients.
Opinion
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The Sunshine Act, 5 years hence
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
The law’s questionable impact and apparent lack of enforcement do not mean you can ignore it. The data are still being collected and displayed.
Opinion
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Credit cards FAQ
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
How do you safeguard the credit information you keep on file? The same way we do medical information; it's all covered by the same HIPAA rules.
Opinion
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Stop extending credit
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
No business owner in his or her right mind allows customers to take away goods or services without paying for them; but doctors do it every day....
News
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New Medicare cards
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
The switch began on April 1, and is expected to take about a year as the CMS processes about half a dozen states at a time.
Opinion
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Website improvements
- Author:
- Joseph S. Eastern, MD
With a few relatively simple but important modifications, you can convert casual website viewers to patients.