Charlie Chaplin, Mack Sennett, and Your Life
Mack Sennett was one of the first producers of commercial motion pictures. He was the creator of the “Keystone Kops” shorts, among many others. 100 years ago, he heard of an English vaudevillian touring the country that was packing houses. So he hired him to make comedies. Chaplin quickly learned the craft […]
One Health System Did This and the Results Were Amazing
They put “clinician well-being” in their mission statement. They backed it up with a “skin-in-the-game” opportunity share of their Medicare Advantage contract—not just for primes, but for all their clinicians. They empowered their clinicians to innovate workflows. Their clinician retention rates are high, their turnover expenses are […]
Sunday Links
Keeping you ahead of the curve, one post at a time. URAC’s Medicare Advantage deeming authority extended for six more years. They’re the private organization that accredits Medicare Advantage plans, an essential step before such plans are allowed to be offered to beneficiaries. There’s been some dissatisfaction with them from the insurers regarding […]
Saturday Q and A
Dr. Doris writes: How do I decrease my patient’s hospitalization costs under my Medicare Advantage plan? Engage. The best way is to care for your patients while they’re in the hospital. If that’s not possible, “virtually round” on them with the hospitalists caring for them. They will love you for bringing […]
Negotiating Skills for Physicians
This is a four DVD set that dives deeply into everything you need to know about negotiating as a clinician. I’m not an affiliate or derive benefit in any way from your purchase. My compensation is your success. It’s a bit pricey (and no, the price is not negotiable), but once you […]
From The Annals of A Telemedicine Expert Witness: Managing Cutaneous Drug Eruptions Via Telemedicine
This is a common chief complaint. Usually a pretty benign problem, but in rare cases, it can evolve into Transient Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). TEN is catastrophic. When it occurs, the pain and concomitant morbidity make for a perfect malpractice action. From a pathophysiologic standpoint, […]
Pre-Employment Evaluation
Sometimes, when credentialling with your telemedicine partner, you will be asked to perform one or more sample scenarios to assess your ability to perform telemedicine safely and effectively. This is not a red flag. And though you’d think this would be a marker of a telemedicine partner that’s going […]
Nurse Practitioners as you PCP
A common question: I have a nurse practitioner that I go as my “doctor.” Can I select her as my PCP? Usually, no. But you can select her supervising doctor as your PCP and still go to your NP. Just ask them first. The best way to do this is through […]
Dealing With Failure
I had several partners who had to pay money out of his own pocket each of the first few years they worked under his Medicare Advantage contract. Some quit, other persevered. The ones who persevered learned why they lost money, made adjustments and subsequently […]
Make a List
Medicare Advantage is a complex payment system. I involves many actors in the system duplicating services—or even working at cross purposes. This inefficiency wastes mountains of money—and could be the key to your success. Have someone in your organization sit down, list your goals for your […]