by Aptus Associates

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by Aptus Associates

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Are you busy? Too busy? Aren’t we all! For the office manager of a rural health clinic, every day seems like there just aren’t enough hours in it! In fact, you’re often asked to do more with less- less time, less money, and less staff members. So, how can you get it all done and with your sanity intact? Try some of these expert tips:

#1 Schedule Your Week in Advance. This is a fantastic tip for many people, not just office managers. At a minimum, you should be planning your calendar the night before to make sure you hit the ground running first thing in the morning. Want to save even more time? Plan your entire week in advance! Weekly planning enables you to quickly glance at and tweak your calendar at the end of each workday. Each Friday afternoon, sit and plan for the next week.

#2 Set Realistic Plans. If you give yourself 50 things to do every day, you’ll walk out everyday feeling like a failure. If you give yourself ten, that’s reasonable and you’ll accomplish them with no problem. You may say “But I have 50 things to do!” Often, if you prioritize, you will see that there are quite a few things you can either put off until tomorrow or have someone else handle instead.

#3 Eliminate Distractions. Maybe you’re only getting a handful of things done each day, not even your basic ten. Stop looking at your phone or walking to your coworker’s desk instead of straight to the coffee. Yet, don’t set yourself up to fail by setting unrealistic expectations for yourself. Instead, schedule time to indulge in less than productive activities once or twice throughout the day, for ten or fifteen minutes at a time. Actually put “go talk to Karen” in your calendar. Allowing yourself your favorite distraction now and again will make it less tempting to get off task and instead keep you on task for the majority of your day.

#4 Outsource Your Medical Billing. This is the easiest way for you to handle insurance, monthly payment statements, and other aspects of your billing department. It means you’ll need to hire less full-time employees. For a small, rural operation, it often isn’t in the budget to bring in another full-time employee. It will also save your team members’ time for other tasks. The worst thing you could do would be to have someone who should be doing a different job handling the medical billing. It is so important, and pretty difficult too! Outsourcing the work, beyond everything else, is the best way to know for sure that it is done in the correct way.

This paperwork can be incredibly tedious, with specific insurance codes that completely change the meaning of the form. A small mistake can be money lost for you, or a nightmare time dealing with the insurance company for your patients. Don’t do that! Ensure a smooth process for everyone by letting an expert handle your medical billing. That is Aptus Associates! The purpose of our company is to provide high quality medical billing and practice support services in a respectful, patient-friendly, and client-friendly environment. We would love to tell you even more about we can do for you, so email us at [email protected] to learn more!