Your Medical Practice Manager
This month’s blog is dedicated to the practice/office manager. The person who keeps the practice running on a day to day basis. Hail to the Medical Practice Manager!
Written by Sheryl J. Cherico, CEO, Tier3MD
Have you ever really stopped to think about the practice manager? What do they do on a daily basis? To the employee, they may be someone of great respect, or just a bossy person who tells them what to do. It can go either way. To the Physicians, they can be the total “glue” to the practice, or a punching bag for everything that goes wrong. Quite extremes don’t you think? That’s why I wanted to take this month’s article and focus on the practice managers. They deserve it!
Let me give you a little insight into what the practice manager does. They are the person who is responsible for the overall operations of the entire practice. Everything. All of it. They must ensure that the office is running smoothly and proficiently on a say to day basis. Not an easy task. They are constantly expected to find ways to save the practice money by reducing operational costs. They develop and implement processes and procedures for the operation of the practice. They manage the staff to make sure the biller is billing, the collector is collecting, and the supervisors are supervising. They must be knowledgeable on all aspects of the practice, including billing, coding, appointment scheduling, human resource issues, and HIPAA. They have strong decision making skills and constantly deal with issues on the fly. They pay attention to detail and are responsible for the success and failure of the practice. Let’s not forget about customer service. They deal with patients day in and day out. The are the ‘face” of the practice in the eyes of the patients. They must be understanding and compassionate. After all, they are dealing with sick people. They have the joy of watching patients get better, and experience the sorrow of the patients they have cared for and built relationships with for many years, lose various battles. It’s just part of the job.
They hire, fire, reprimand, and reward. They do it all. They are underrated, and sometimes unappreciated. Respect your practice manager!
Sheryl is the CEO of Tier3MD, and has written many articles regarding the medical office.
