Health Pixie

Archive for the ‘Medical Group’ Category

If you want to protect yourself and your family without going broke, you will need to be pro-active when it comes to health care. Despite the extremely high cost of most medical care, access to free or discounted care is there for those willing to make a small effort to find it. Here are 6 tips to get you started.

1) Rx Discount Program – Prescription costs can be reduced substantially without buying insurance. There are discount purchasing groups that allow you to join them and receive their negotiated pricing on most prescription medications. One such group is UNA. There is no obligation or fee to register and it takes less than a minute to receive a personalized printable discount card which you simply bring to your druggist. He will save your discount group # in your file and you will then receive a reduced group price on all covered prescriptions. Discounts can be as much as 75% on some prescriptions but average 30%. Go to superrxcard.com and print your free card in less than 10 seconds .There are no gimmicks attached to this one and over 57,000 pharmacies participate in this group. According to Wellness.com – April 2006: “Hands down, the finest prescription assistance program in the United States…”

2) Free Medical Q&A – Informational resources are abundant and free. If you have symptoms you want to confidentially discuss with a real doctor or if you want to research any disease or medication, here are a few good resources: webmd.com, afraidtoask.com and yournetdoctor.com .

3) Doctor and Hospital Ratings – before you select a doctor or hospital for surgery, you might want to know if you are making the right choice. There are research groups that independently research doctors and hospitals and rate them based on criteria which are designed to determine whether they have met the nationally recognized standards for excellence. One such group has made their data base of research on over 600,000 doctors and hospitals available to the public. Got to: healthgrades.com to see how your doctor and hospital rate.

4) Health Insurance – Given up on buying health insurance? Do a little more research. There might possibly be some good coverage available that is within your budget. Try insureme.com or healthinsuranceinfo.net before throwing in the towel.

5) Free Eyeglasses – If you are a student or have children and cannot afford eyeglasses for them, there is a program available that may qualify you for a free eye examination and free glasses. To see if you qualify, go to: sightforstudents.org and apply.

6) Free Medical and Dental Clinics – Nearly every zip code has a medical facility nearby that will give anyone, without insurance or money, medical care. Most of these receive $ aid from governmental agencies or charitable organizations. How do I locate one? Just call any doctor or medical facility and ask them or visit ask.hrsa.gov/pc/ . This web page will allow you to search for a clinic by zip code that will give you medical care, even if you do not have insurance or money. Another site that will help you locate free medical care is freemedicalcamp.com

Most health care managers spend a good portion of their day dealing with patients both directly and indirectly. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed it’s the comfort that consistency brings to their medical experience. By that I don’t just mean having a doctor they can trust, but also nurses and office staff they know and can depend upon.

I was reminded of this as I read a recent Medical Group Management Association article about rewarding a good staff as a means of keeping them in your employment:

”One way leaders minimize turnover is by rewarding employees for helping the practice succeed. The clinic also gives staff members a voice in the practice’s operations…Employees can have a direct effect on practice operations in several ways. Because they serve as liaisons between patients and clinic leaders, employees use a feedback box to capture comments they hear from patients. Those submissions are reviewed monthly at staff meetings so all employees and providers are aware of issues and can help provide solutions.”

Of course, this requires that everyone put their egos aside for the benefit of the overall practice, and in places where there is an established hierarchy it can be difficult to share information so freely. However, giving every employee a voice and rewarding their effort increases their commitment to the work they do, and patients intuitively know when the people who care for them are truly involved.

At our office, we offer year-end bonuses and increased vacation time for ideas that save money and time. In a small work environment where advancement opportunities are limited, it is our way of keeping people in the fold. It helps make it a place that I look forward to going into every morning, and props up morale.

I’m lucky. The office I manage is able to pay a competitive wage, which is invaluable in both attracting and keeping a high quality staff. However, it’s been my experience that while a satisfactory paycheck is vital, it’s not the only way to keep office morale high.

One of the main things I do is recognize achievement. When someone does something noteworthy or makes a valuable suggestion, I make note of it and during the next office meeting, I take the time to mention publicly just how grateful I am to that particular person. Praise, when legitimately given, is a terrific way to make an employee strive for excellence.

I also will send out the occasional complimentary email for the whole office to read, or even something as personal as a post-it on someone’s computer. I’m careful not to go overboard or say too much, but I’ve found that people really appreciate the fact that their deed was remembered. Granted, we’re all professionals, and should routinely be doing outstanding work, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like getting complimented for it on occasion.

Another thing I do with everyone in the office is plan small events like a dinner out together or even something informal like a bowling party. Nothing reinforces the sense of working in unison like bonding outside of the workplace. It also helps break down the barrier between doctors and office staff, keeping everyone approachable and on good working terms.

Sometimes I jokingly refer to our office as a lifeboat. We sink or swim together. It isn’t necessary that we like or care about everybody on board, but it sure does help.

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