Answer Upon - Business

Create Your Dynamic Elevator Speech
So, what’s an elevator speech, and how do you get one?What Is It?An elevator speech is a short (15-30 second, 150 word) sound bite that succinctly and memorably introduces you. It spotlights your uniqueness. It focuses on the benefits you provide. And it is delivered effortlessly.Elevator speeches are intended to prepare you for very brief, chance encounters in an elevator. But elevator speeches are not just for elevators! You should use it whenever you want to introduce yourself to a new contact. That could be in the supermarket, waiting in line at an ATM or when you get your morning latte.So, who better than you to describe with passion, precision and persuasiveness what you do? A great elevator speech makes a lasting first impression, showcases your professionalism and allows you to position yourself.And if you want to network successfully, you need an elevator speech!How to Prepare an Elevator Speech, or What’s My Line?Now for a short course in preparing your elevator speech, or unique selling proposition.First, and most important, think in terms of the benefits your clients or customers derive from your services. Trust me, no one is going to be riveted if you say:“Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I’m a public relations executive with twenty years of experience.”Or:“Hi, I’m Sally Hopeful, and I’m an executive recruiter.Two big yawns.What’s In It for Me?Do you recall that old radio station, WII-FM: What’s In It For Me?!If you remember that people are always more interested in how you can help them, you’re on the right track. Keep that top of mind when composing your speech.Here’s how to improve the two examples mentioned above:“Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I help inventors tell the world about their inventions.”“Hi, I’m Sally Hopeful. I partner with companies that need to find talented people to help their business growth and become more profitable.”Now, you’ve got my attention!Let’s use my elevator speech before and after as an example:Here’s my before version (and I wondered why people looked at me with a frozen smile!):“Hi, I’m Dale Kurow, and I’m a career and execu

ncially seeing patients for three hours on Saturday morning. I believe the following information will dramatically help with your decision to outsource your billing or continue to do it yourself and with future decisions in the ever-changing business aspect of medicine.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the co

Outsourced Medical Billing Software and Service Selection in 14 Steps
Over four thousand vendors of medical billing services offer solutions to medical practices nationwide in response to poor in-house billing performance and increasing regulatory scrutiny of billing processes. On one hand, such a large number of outsourced billing solutions ensure continued competitiveness in terms of both service quality and pricing. On the other hand, the lack of uniform service standards and metrics among the vendors, combined with their large numbers, makes the process of vendor selection difficult and error-prone. While the availability of a large vendor selection allows finding an alternative to unsatisfactory service, billing vendor-switching costs remain high, motivating extra effort and focus during the stage of vendor selection. This article outlines basic thirteen-step guidelines for an effective and efficient medical billing vendor selection process. 1. Scope of Services Decide if you are looking for billing technology, billing service, or practice workflow solution. If you plan to manage billing in-house, you may only need a billing technology solution. In that case your next decision is whether you wish to own the technology or to rent access to it.Complete practice workflow solution belongs to the other end of the spectrum of services and starts with appointment scheduling and includes electronic medical records, SOAP notes, and billing. Few vendors today offer such integrated packages as they require powerful vericle-like technologies used by trained and skilled personnel implementing rigorous and disciplined service processes.A billing-only service belongs to the middle ground between the choices described above and may include coding, electronic claim submission, "scrubbing" (validation), payment posting, claim and payment reconciliation, followup, secondary submission, and patient billing. 2. Billing Model Billing model selection is the second most important decision in your definition of desired vendor. What is the policy of followup process prioritization? Who decides on which claims to followup? Which of the following functions are automated: upfront claim validation, submission, reconciliation, and follow-up workload allocation? 3. Reporting and Transparency Tran

This is a very difficult decision for any physician and partially boils down to this or her own personal ideology and comfort level.

Hospital-based physicians will almost always be better off outsourcing because of the office related expenses that they would not otherwise incur. As the owner of medical billing service you may think I'm naturally biased towards outsourcing. I can assure you that this is not the case.

Physicians who are overly controlling, uncomfortable or mis-trusting toward billing services are nearly impossible to administer. I don't want anything to do with those types of physicians but I completely respect and understand their point of view. Setting all ideology aside I would like to delve into the pros and cons of this difficult and complicated decision.

I am a physician who is very interested in the business aspect of medicine and I do not mind spending my valuable time managing the medical billing aspect of my practice.

Clearly, the best way to do your billing is to do it personally. Obviously, doing it yourself is probably not an option but if you're willing to spend the time and have the interest I would recommend that you do your own billing. Keep in mind that most billing service owners and certainly our employees have limited medical backgrounds. Physicians who study CPT, regularly attend billing seminars and keep up to date on industry changes are the ultimate medical billing gurus in my view.

I am a physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.

Unfortunately, most physicians are in this position. Even if they were interested in keeping up with all the changes and elements of medical billing the practical reality is that there is absolutely no time. Let's face it; time is your most valuable asset. It's sort of like mowing your own lawn. You'd be way better off financially seeing patients for three hours on Saturday morning. I believe the following information will dramatically help with your decision to outsource your billing or continue to do it yourself and with future decisions in the ever-changing business aspect of medicine.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the com

So, You Want to be in Management? Five Essential Factors that Will Determine Your Chances
The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with senior executives with whom I conducted over the past four years. These senior executives represent a variety of industries and organizations. It is interesting to note the similarities of their responses. The research concentrated on five areas:1. How they gained their experience and knowledge to become a senior executive.2. What are their attitudes and opinions concerning the youth of today?3. What are they most concerned about in running an organization in today’s society?4. What are their hobbies and interests outside of work?5. What do they read to keep current?How they gained their experience and knowledge:• For all respondents, education was the number one priority. All had an undergraduate degree and approximately 60% had a graduate degree. They all believed that without a college education, their chances for advancement to senior management were almost unattainable.• Having mentors throughout their career was very important to these men and women. They learned how to promote themselves through the guidance of a mentor. I highly recommend that you read Steven Scott’s book, Mentored By A Millionaire.• Networking was the key for much of their success within and outside of their industry. When they joined professional associations, they joined with the goal of becoming an officer in the organization for better exposure and networking. Networking consistently served as a catalyst for thinking creatively to capitalize on opportunities.• They all are students of human behavior. They are keen observers of their employees’ and managers’ actions. They look for team- oriented individuals who treat others with respect and dignity. Attitude is the key ingredient for being recognized by this group of executives. They are constantly on the look out for talent within and outside of their organizations.• The majority of these senior executives moved around their organizations every two to three years. A lot of them took lateral transfers in order to understand all facets of the organization.• It was evident that these senior executives all focused on results. They have no patience for excuses or reasons why something cannot be done.• All o

usting toward billing services are nearly impossible to administer. I don't want anything to do with those types of physicians but I completely respect and understand their point of view. Setting all ideology aside I would like to delve into the pros and cons of this difficult and complicated decision.

I am a physician who is very interested in the business aspect of medicine and I do not mind spending my valuable time managing the medical billing aspect of my practice.

I am a physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the co

Would You Bet on Your Brand? - Three Strategies for Winning at Brand Poker
It seems you can't turn on the TV without seeing some sort of World Series of Poker contest. Poker, especially, Texas Hold 'Em, has become extremely popular. It's not for crusty old men anymore. Poker has a new brand - it is now young, hip and cool. When branding your business, take a lesson from poker. See, match, and push are poker terms that can have major impact on your brand. Below is a review of how you can use these traditional poker terms to raise the level of your brand-poker game.1) See - Have a clear vision of what you want your brand to become. If you can see it, you can achieve it. I once heard a story about a reporter speaking to Roy Disney, at the opening of Disney World. The reporter commented that it was sad Walt was not alive to see Disney World. Walt's brother quickly replied, "if Walt had never seen this, you wouldn't be seeing it now!" Where do you see your brand in a perfect future? Can you describe it down to the smallest details?2) Match - Be certain your actions fit with your brand. Good marketing is not always good marketing. A guy in a chicken suit may be a great way for a new chicken store to promote awareness. However, it would not fit for a new financial adviser office. The fit isn't there. Associations and partnerships are just as important to match with your brand. You don't see Tommy Hilfiger apparel on the shelves at Walmart. It simply would not be a good fit. The brands are too different.3) Push - Lean into your limits. Sometimes limits are just there because no one has the courage to test them. Starbucks took coffee out of the deli and well, you know the rest of the story. It is safe to assume there were naysayers that laughed at such an idea! There are coffee addicts all over the world thankful that some businesses push the limits. Perhaps there are aspects of your product or service that have not been exploited for all of their value.Follow all three strategies and you are sure to notice a sharp improvement in your brand-poker game. If your brand-poker game is strong, your business is sure to be stacking lots of chips!Traditional poker definitions:See - To call in the final round of betting.Match - To put in the pot an amount equal to that already there.Push - When a

the best way to do your billing is to do it personally. Obviously, doing it yourself is probably not an option but if you're willing to spend the time and have the interest I would recommend that you do your own billing. Keep in mind that most billing service owners and certainly our employees have limited medical backgrounds. Physicians who study CPT, regularly attend billing seminars and keep up to date on industry changes are the ultimate medical billing gurus in my view.

I am a physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the co

Competency Frameworks; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Effective use of competency frameworks provides employees with a clearly-defined set of personal development objectives and managers with a consistent measurement tool that could be used across geographical, cultural and work boundaries.The concept is simple. To complete any task, people need to have the behaviour, skills and knowledge to undertake the task. Defining the behaviour, skills and knowledge (competence) to undertake a set of tasks (a job) and measuring the competence of people allows managers and employees to understand the gap between desired and demonstrated competence and develop a plan to close the gap.Many organisations however fail in their attempts to build a framework to proactively manage competencies.The major reason for failure is that competence frameworks are developed and implemented with no clear business purpose in mind. Without a business purpose, there is no objective on which to base design decisions as the framework is built. The resultant design is usually flawed, serving too many masters and is discontinued after a year or two of use.Competency development frameworks built with a clear business purpose in mind suffer from other fatal flaws limiting the use of and belief in the framework. Frameworks built which confuse tasks with competency are usually complex and difficult to administer and therefore are difficult to communicate to employees.For a framework to be successful, not only do managers need to believe that business performance will improve, but employees also need to believe that the framework, especially the measurement of competence, is fair and transparent.A common fault of competency frameworks is that they confuse competence with task. Tasks are better positioned in the job description. Frameworks which confuse tasks with competencies generally have between forty and fifty "competencies" described. Each job description tends to have between twenty and thirty competencies to be evaluated in an employee.In the early days of the internet, before people were careful about what they put in the public domain, I stumbled across NASA's competency framework. It was huge with hundreds of listed "competencies" and resembling a list of all of the tasks that astronauts and the support staff do. It was

physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the co

Employee Expense Reports
Every organization needs to have a standard and easy-to-use employee expense report form available to the employees for the sake of reimbursement of expenses during their official or pleasure visits. The employee expense report should include the details about the amount spent, date, purpose and place of expenditure. It should be accompanied by vouchers and bills of the expenditures.Also, the employee expense report should include the signature of the authorized person who has approved the employee’s visit. Employee expenses are reimbursed if the expenses are business purposes and only if the employee submits the expense report within a specified time. Business-related expenses mean those expenses that have been incurred while performing employee-related services. However, if an employee has gone for an eligible pleasure visit, then he/she can submit for reimbursement. Once the employee has completed the expense report form, he has to send it to the concerned approval department for review and the subsequent approval of the claims.If an employee does not receive reimbursement for some expenses after submitting an expense report and the expenses are genuinely business related, then the employee may get tax rebate on such unreimbursed expenses. However, it depends on how the employer treats such reimbursements. Moreover, if the employer is following Accountable Plan of reimbursement, the expenses are not subjected to tax. Before applying for the reimbursement of his visit’s expenses, it is advisable to the employee to check with his employer as to which plan, accountable or non-accountable, he will come under. Employees can submit expense reports online which, in fact, speeds up the submission and approval processes.Some companies offer expense report software like Expense Management Automation (EMA), which is also useful to the organizations in trimming and controlling the costs, as employee travel expenses occupy a major portion of the total expenses of the organizations. Thus, expense report software helps the employees to have quick reimbursement of their visit expenses without any chaos.

The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.

I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the competence of your office manager, you've got an excellent computer system, proper information systems and your office is doing a superb job at collecting your money, then by all means do not make any changes. Conversely if you're planning to outsource your billing make sure you hire quality firm. I'll spend some time at the end of this article discussing this further.

Most leading experts agree that it costs about 4.5% of net collections to perform the billing function within a physician's office. Incidentally, this is close to my actual cost as well.

Theoretically, a billing service should be able collect more money than a physician's office because it is our core competency. The question is how much more? This is why I focus on how to choose a billing service at the end of this article.

The numbers

A. Lets just do the math in a theoretical model.

We'll base our numbers on a practice whose total gross receivables are $100,000 per month. Obviously, this is an overly simplistic model designed to quantify the aggregate cost and or opportunity cost of the medical billing component only.

Current Aggregate Billing Expenses

In-house expense

Total gross revenue $100,000

Current billing expense $4,500

(4.5%) ---------------

Net Revenue $95,500

Outsourced Billing Expense

Total gross revenue $100.000

Current billing service exp. $7,000

(7.0% net collections) ---------------

Net Revenue $93,000

Net cost increase with outsourcing = $2,500.00

As you can see in this,” all things being equal” theoretical model your practice would incur a $2,500 decrease in net revenue with the implementation of a billing outsource strategy. Keep in mind that this model does not addre

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Find out how your small business can compete with Fortune 500 companies using a toll free virtual PBX system. Use a virtual PBX to project a professional image without losing that personal touch.

OODA loop was a term coined by the military. But applying it to your workload can be effective. It's about systems and processes...a large part of becoming and remaining organized.

The average person spends more time in meetings than they'd like to. The average manager spends the majority of their workday in meetings. Given these facts, shouldn't meetings be more fun?

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