THE CEO CHECKLIST

EMBRACE MEDICAL

SCOT MORRIS, O.D.

WELCOME TO the second month of “The CEO Checklist,” designed it to be a monthly reminder of things your management staff may need to do, as well as a place for ideas you might want to incorporate into your business. Each month will focus on a few general themes, including strategy, finance, human resources, operational workflow, retail items and marketing ■

CHECKLIST: MEDICAL SERVICES ¹

STRATEGY SESSION: REVIEW YOUR SERVICE FEES ²



WORK FLOW: CHECK-IN PRE-TEST ³



FINANCE: REVIEW YOUR MONTHLY PATIENT VOLUME GOALS ⁴



FINANCE: MEET WITH ACCOUNTANT FOR PRE-TAX DISCUSSION



FINANCE: PREPARE BUSINESS TAXES



THE SERVICE SIDE: REVIEW YOUR AMD PROTOCOLS ⁵



THE RETAIL SIDE: FRAME REP ⁶



HUMAN RESOURCES: REVIEW JOB DESCRIPTIONS ⁷



THE FACILITY/FORMS: REVIEW PRACTICE LIABILITY INSURANCE



MARKETING: SOCIAL MEDIA ⁸

1 Are you embracing the medical services side of your practice? It is our responsibility, as O.D.s, to take care of the entire patient, including his or her medical eye services.

2 Remember, your fees are not regulated by managed care companies, only your reimbursement for patients with those plans are. Your fees should increase every year, just as your expenses do. Look at your EOBs, and adjust your fees upward if necessary. If you are not charging above the maximum reimbursement, your fees need to be adjusted.

3 Map out the workflow of your pre-test area. It starts when a staff member greets the patient and ends when he or she turns the chart to the provider. Who does what and when? Write it step by step. What happens at each step? When do they do it? What do they say? What steps could be streamlined, delegated or eliminated?

4 What is your monthly mechanism for tracking your volume? Break it into your goal numbers for vision services and medical services. How does your monthly number break down into the number of patient encounters per day that you need to see to hit your monthly number? (See “The Number You Need to Know” below.) Repeat for every month.

5 For AMD protocols:

• What diagnostic tests are performed?

• Document how much time you think each will take.

• Apply the dollar per minute rules, and reset your fees appropriately.

• Review the correct codes.

6 Do you have a contract with your frame reps? How often do you want to meet with them? Control their schedule, not vice versa. Schedule them for a designated time slot. Document what you want them to tell you and what you want from them. Share this with them to ensure clear communication about their visit to your business.

7 Pass descriptions out to each staff member and have them make additions to what they actually do and delete what they do not. Once the edits are made, share them with everyone on staff to check for duplication of efforts or opportunities for cross training.

8 Write your plan, or research to find a firm to contract out your social media campaign. OM

THE NUMBER YOU NEED TO KNOW

FEBRUARY: MEDICAL SERVICES