The Podiatric Practice Manual: A Guide to Running an Effective Practice

A complete and fully customisable manual is available to the practising physician to assist with day-to-day operations. The Manual places an emphasis on improving and aiding the medical and business aspects of running an efficient and successful medical practise. An accompanying CD allows the podiatric physician and staff to customise a wide assortment of template forms, from memos for office procedures, employee job descriptions, forms for new employees to sign, and patient consent forms, to creating your own, personalised office employee handbook. This is truly a tool your office cannot do without.

Covers the following topics:

• Clinical Care. The Manual's first section deals specifically with clinically related procedures such as treatment algorithms, appropriate X-ray positioning, general clinical care policies and procedures, proper documentation techniques, and caring for, ordering and dispensing medical instruments, equipment and supplies. The section concludes with a collection of essential clinical care forms and patient education materials needed for everyday operations.
• Patient Relations. The second section discusses how the podiatric physician's office should manage patient appointment scheduling, insurance, new patient processing, missed appointments, and patient care outside the office. The forms provided at the end of this section will help you and your staff communicate effectively with your patients and provide staff with essential information for dealing with patient-related situations.
• Office Administration.The objectives of this section include identifying the specific job responsibilities for each of the office personnel, identifying office policies such as responding to telephone calls, delays in the waiting room, and cleanliness, as well as discussing financial polices such as budgeting, accounts payable, collection policies, coding and fee schedules, and insurance and Medicare billing. Conventional administrative forms follow this section's discussions.
• Personnel Policies. The Manual's fourth section contains the office staff policy guidelines, from compensation and benefits to behavioural expectations. A well thought-out personnel policy section is essential so that your employees know what is expected from them as members of your team. Key forms such as an appropriate employee warning notice and an example of a performance review are among the forms provided in this section.
• Appendices. Appendix A, Model Plans and Programmes for the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Hazard Communications Standards is a public domain resource reproduced in this publication as a reference tool. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all medical offices to have an Exposure Control Plan. This plan is designed to minimise exposure to bloodborne pathogens or other infectious material.

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