Practice Management

When it comes to your company, there is no greater asset than a healthy team culture. As it has been said many times, “Team culture eats company strategy for breakfast.” You can have the best strategy, the strongest marketing, and the greatest profitability. However, if you do not also have a healthy team culture, your long-term success is doomed to failure. Read Article ›

On August 17, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its proposed plans for payment and reporting changes for 2021. In contrast to previous years on record, the final rule is likely to be released in early December instead of early November. This means that there may be less than 30 days to prepare and implement changes prior to January 1, 2021. Read Article ›

Who determines how successful we are at providing high-quality cancer care? It is our patients and their caregivers, as well as our communities. Most healthcare organizations have specific teams and tools designated to focus on improving the patient experience. They know that patient satisfaction is vital, and invest in teaching this to their leaders and holding them accountable to achieve the best possible satisfaction scores. As we continue to work toward value-based payer models, it is imperative that we emphasize the importance of service excellence. Read Article ›

As oncology management professionals, the sentiment is never lost that people are our strongest asset. The proficiency of a practice’s front-line staff can affect the efficacy of treatment, support the initiatives of professional organizations, and greatly influence the mood and mindset of patients. Therefore, as we continue to navigate through the ever-changing healthcare environment, it is critical to take the necessary steps to support those who are critical to the care of our patients. Read Article ›

Medical practices entered a strange new world of patient safety requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, and life will never again be the same. Regardless of size or specialty, all medical practices face significant challenges to protect their patients, community, and staff by reducing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus, while simultaneously maintaining their financial viability. Read Article ›

In the evolving landscape of today’s healthcare industry, more and more demands are being placed on practice managers and their staff. The Certified Medical Office Manager-Business of Hematology & Oncology (CMOM-HEM/ONC) program is a valuable resource for oncology practice managers who want to gain the knowledge and skills they need to motivate their employees, improve their practice’s financial outlook, and handle administrative issues so that providers can focus on maintaining high-quality care for their patients. Read Article ›

With the goal of treating as many patients as possible with the highest level of care and respect, infusion centers often mistakenly operate under the logic that appointments must be scheduled well before they occur—that by booking early and locking things down, schedules will run smoothly and accommodate more patients. In reality, scheduling appointments with significant lead times, often weeks or months before the actual appointment, may actually cause more problems and serve fewer patients. Therefore, it is worth reconsidering how infusion centers schedule appointments. Read Article ›

Given the high cost of oncology drugs, it is important for pharmacists to become more business savvy regarding their practices, said Andrea Ledford, PharmD, BCOP, Oncology Pharmacy Manager, Orlando Health UF Health Cancer Center, FL, at the 2019 Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Annual Meeting. Read Article ›

“There are a number of ways to go wrong when you’re trying to improve something,” said Kaveh G. Shojania, MD, Director, Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, University of Toronto, Canada, and Editor-in-Chief, BMJ Quality & Safety, who delivered the keynote address at the 2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. Read Article ›

There’s really only one way to identify how patients are coping with serious illness: by asking them, according to Thomas J. Smith, MD, FACP, Director of Palliative Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. Read Article ›