Practice Sustanability & Benchmarking Seminar - Best Practice News Alert 140

HEALTH & LIFE’S BEST PRACTICE NEWS ALERT CURRENT CIRCULATION: DATE: ISSUE NO:

7014 th 5 March 2007 140

Welcome to Health & Life’s free email newsletter service. Tell a friend that we would be happy to add their email address to the distribution list. This service is to provide Health and Life’s clients and those who attended our presentations with up to date information on key financial and practice management issues that may affect your practice. Please do not use this as a substitute to seeking professional advice.

Writer in charge: Mr David Dahm CPA, BA Acc, FTIA, FFin, FAAPM,GLF.

Practice Sustainability and Best Practice Financial Benchmarking Seminar, plus more.

Conference and Seminar Diary Dates: th

1. Medicare On-Line (New) – Getting paid the next day! – AAPM SA - 13 March & 2 2007

nd

April

2. Practice Sustainability and Best Practice Financial Benchmarking – AAPM Staff Development th Day Program - Melbourne 24 March 2007 3. “Who’s the boss? Please don’t take it personally!” Shadow Directors are you one? – AAPM National Conference, Hobart 16 - 19 October 2007 See below for further information. th

1. Medicare On-Line (New) – Getting paid the next day! AAPM SA - 13 March & the 2 April 2007

nd

On-line claiming Medicare On-Line aims to process patient claims within 3-4 days. Most practice software is now compatible with Medicare On-Line. Why not take advantage of the $750 incentive payment that is available?

Electronic claiming – New & Improved Claiming System!!

Electronic Medicare claiming is a fast, easy and convenient new claiming channel which will be available in the second half of this year. It allows you and your patients to lodge Medicare claims using the existing EFTPOS terminals already in most surgeries.

When a patient’s card is swiped through a standard EFTPOS terminal, firstly Medicare will confirm that the patient exists and confirm and apply any concession status that patient may be entitled to. Secondly the bank will credit the doctor’s account on the next working day. Currently this payment takes up to three weeks. If there is a gap, the patient can pay the gap directly at

reception. If the patient pays the total account directly to the doctor, the bank will transfer the correct rebate to the patient’s bank account immediately, so the patient will not be out of pocket.

This session provides a valuable overview of the new system and will assist practice managers in developing more efficient accounts processes.

For further information contact: AAPM SA Secretariat Kim Monu PO Box 846 NORTH ADELAIDE SA 5066 Phone: (08) 8342 4548 Fax: (08) 8342 4548 Email: sa@aapm.org.au 2. Practice Sustainability and Best Practice Financial Benchmarking Having problems with finding another doctor or provider? Start worrying about the right things and not the wrong things.

In this seminar we cover issues from succession planning to improving practice performance. We look at both the big picture issues and then zoom down to the micro management issues that affect your practice and what you can do about them now!

Are you working hard trying to doing the right thing or are you doing the thing right? Would you ever get into a car without a roadmap or destination point? Would you ever put your car into gear with your foot flat on the accelerator without looking outside the window? You may say this would be crazy however most practices operate and run their businesses this way. Few appreciate that the end point of the journey is more important than just how to get there. Most practices don’t really know how they are going unless they compare themselves with their competitors. This session will start to reveal your practices inefficiencies/opportunities and ultimately this will make your practice sustainable in the long run.

The key areas covered include: Topic 1 Practice Sustainability What is it?

Why is it important for recruitment, retention and succession planning?

What is your practices business model?

Leveraging Practice Income – Beyond Eat What You Kill Income leveraging examples Healthcare Prevention is the buzzword - Chronic Disease Management Clinics Topic 2 Best Practice Financial Benchmarking Abraham Lincloln once said "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

We will show you which tree to chop, and how your competitors are doing. The good news is we have done the hard bit for you. This session is about identifying your key financial and nonfinancial performance goals in your practice.

1. What is best practice benchmarking?

2 How do you compare to your competitor? Are you efficient? Where can you improve and how?

3. What are some Key Performance Indicators (“KPI’s”) to aim for e.g revenue,expense,profit per patient ratios through to debt collection targets.

4. “Practice Dashboard” Reports – a simple annual and monthly 2 page bullet point report to help you keep track of your practice’s goals.

5. How can you link financial performance to your pay packet!

Presenter: David Dahm For Full Program details contact: AAPM Victorian Secretariat Ph: (03) 9432 0311, Fax: (03) 9432 0700 Email: vic@aapm.org.au The Venue: Rydges on Bell - 24th March 2007 205 Bell Street PRESTON VIC 3072 For registration and more information about the one day staff development day visit: www.aapm.org.au.

3. “Who’s the boss? Please don’t take it personally!”

Due to popular demand this topic is be presented at the Australian Association of Practice th th Managers National Conference on 10 -14 October 2007.

As practices move to incorporate their practices under the new industrial laws or operate practices that use corporate trustees, the Corporations Law’s Shadow Director rules may implicate practice managers/spouses and practice staff. Are you a cheque signatory to your practices bank account or do you have your name on practice minutes? What constitute’s a “Shadow Director”? Will you be personally liable? Moving assets into a spouses name may be a great idea but pretty dumb if the same person is also involved in running the practice. What should you do?

Topics covered include: •

Duty of care of practice staff – case law and Corporations Law

•

Be careful - you can be held liable as a shadow director or negligent employee

•

What steps you can take to protect yourself such as job descriptions, insurance, written approvals, practice policy manuals, systems and procedures etcK

Presenter: David Dahm This plus many more exciting topics on modern day practice management issues will be presented in Hobart.

Australian Association of Practice Managers National Conference Wrest Point Casino 16 - 19 October 2007

For registration and the provisional conference topics visit www.aapm.org.au or contact the Conference Secretariat on (03) 6224 3773.

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