SoundPractice

When it comes to pharmaceuticals, you have heard the list of complaints. Drug prices are too high. Drug prices are not transparent. My insurance plan won’t cover X medication. Perhaps the complaint which should be raised but isn’t relates to China. Author Rosemary Gibson has rung a fire bell in the night with her book, China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine. Wel...

Research indicates that open communication raises employee satisfaction and increases retention. Implementing a 'Morning Huddle' with clinicians and employees is an excellent way to foster the communication that drives both of these improvements. In this episode, Cheryl Toth and Mike Sacopolus talk with Thomas Zoch, MD, Vice President Vice President of Care Management-Clinical at Ascension Wiscons...

A Conversation with Dr. Peter Angood, CEO of AAPL More and more healthcare organizations are hiring physicians to fill executive and other leadership roles. Given their clinical knowledge and focus on patient care, physicians understand healthcare care processes, organizational needs, and challenges differently than administrators. In this episode, Mike and Tothie talk with Peter Angood, MD, CEO &...

Information Technology ((IT) is mission critical for healthcare systems. Functionality, safety, and compliance all impact IT architecture and operations. In this SoundPractice podcast episode, Mike Sacopolus interviews Daniel Livschutz of ProMedical, a national IT firm specializing in healthcare. Redundancies, backups, and economics of outsourcing will all be addressed, within the framework of the...

The big day has finally arrived. Your practice’s new physician is ready to start. In this SoundPractice episode, Mike Sacopulos and Cheryl Toth will review tactics and strategies to smoothly integrate the physician into the practice. We will discuss simple and inexpensive ways to achieve happiness and productivity for all. The best way to ensure a smooth transition and successful new hire is to ta...

At least half of the US population now works remotely at least part of the time. Remote working certainly has its advantages. But managing a team of people that don’t come to the office has its challenges too. How do you keep people feeling connected and motivated? What are effective ways of communicating across geographies and time zones? SoundPractice co-host Cheryl Toth shares insights and less...

The potential for litigation is a fact of life for most physicians. The way physicians prepare and handle themselves in depositions and other legal proceedings can have an impact on lawyer and jury perception. In this episode, attorney and co-host of SoundPractice, Mike Sacopulos provides an “inside scoop” for physicians and walks us through a variety of considerations for physicians to keep in mi...

In this timely SoundPractice episode, Mike Sacopolus speaks with Sid Stamm about cybersecurity. Professor Stamm, an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Cybersecurity, navigates the listener through the world of Bug Bounties and ethical hackers. The conversation then moves on to the internet of things and mobile device policies. Professor Stamm is a national expert and has worked for such i...

After weeks (or months) of networking, reviewing resumes, and conducting video and in-person interviews, you’ve finally filled that open position. Time to relax and get back to your own job? Not quite. You may have hired a terrific candidate, but turning him or her into a productive, high performing, long-term employee requires managerial commitment to effective cultivation and training strategies...

In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo II moon landing and walk, SoundPractice co-host, Mike Sacopolus, interviews David Wolf, M.D. Dr. Wolf a physician and astronaut, is a veteran of four space missions. Three of his missions were on the space shuttle and one was a long-term mission on the Russian space station, Mir. In addition, Dr. Wolf pioneered research in the field of regenerativ...

In a study 234,000 exit interviews, the #1 reason employees said they quit was due to a lack of opportunity to grow in their preferred job or career. A lack of development also results in staff performing their jobs with outdated and often inaccurate information, which can lead to compliance issues, revenue loss, and fear of change. So how do you grow the team’s knowledge when you’ve got a limited...

In this episode Mike Sacopolus interviews Anthony Slonim, M.D., DrPH, FACHE. Dr. Slonim is the President and CEO of Renown Health of Nevada and the Editor-in-Chief of the Physician Leadership Journal, published by the American Association for Physician Leadership. They discuss Population Health and Renown’s “Healthy Nevada Project.” This project mixes genetic profiles with appropriate education an...

Social media is a mainstay of a healthcare organization’s digital marketing strategy. But although Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can be a cost effective way to communicate with patients and the community, healthcare practices must be smart about how they use these social tools. In this SoundPractice episode we cover some of the recent stories and cases that involve healthcare practices and soci...

When patients leave the clinic or hospital, we hope they’ll follow their treatment plan, take medicines as prescribed, and manage their chronic conditions. And we hope they will contact the office if they aren’t feeling better -- or they start to feel worse. The reality is that many patients don’t contact their healthcare provider, or don't contact soon enough. This can lead to poor outcomes and m...

Join Mike Sacopolus and Cheryl Toth as they interview Max Reiboldt, CPA and Justin Chamblee, CPA from Coker Group on trends in physician compensation. Coker Group is a leading healthcare consulting firm recognized for their expertise in physician alignment and compensation. This timely podcast interview covers healthcare reimbursement for value rather than volume, physician compensation trends, an...

It’s May and that means we are nearly midway through 2019. How are you doing on your compliance activities? From tossing expired meds to updating software to reviewing E/M code patterns, the volume of items on a healthcare organization's compliance checklist can seem overwhelming. To help minimize the pressure, in this episode Mike Sacopolus and Cheryl Toth (Tothie) use Mike’s annual Compliance Ca...

Accurate physician documentation is essential to reimbursement and compliance. Poor documentation can be a cause of inaccurate code selection, denied claims, and payor take backs. To help you understand these risks and how to avoid them, we talked with nationally recognized consultant, coding educator, and author of Greenbranch Publishing’s Field Guide to Physician Coding, 4th Edition, Betsy Nicol...

Coaching is used by companies and many industries to develop managers and leaders. But it’s only beginning to emerge as a professional development method in physician practices and healthcare organizations. In this episode, Mike interviews Tothie (Cheryl Toth) about what coaching is, what it isn’t, and the details around the coaching session process, certification, and costs. Tothie will share how...

If you’re planning on offering telehealth services in your healthcare practice, tune in for this episode. Cheryl Toth and Mike Sacopolus interviews two national experts on how telehealth services can work for physicians and practices and can work to increase patient satisfaction. In addition, we cover the the tactical side of implementation as well as the basics of billing and coding for telehealt...

Many healthcare practices routinely prescribe durable medical equipment. What should practices look for in a DME provider? What are rules and regulations imposed by CMS for these prescriptions? In this episode we will interview Pete Yelkovac, President of Lifestyle DME Group, LLC. Pete’s background as an attorney and executive of a DME company, makes him a great person to help us navigate the worl...

If you manage a healthcare practice, you’re probably familiar with office drama. You know what I mean….the turf war between the billing manager and the front desk staff. The coder who hoards work to make herself look busy and important. Or the nurse practitioner whose patients adore her, but who acts like a queen bee with her colleagues. If any of this sounds familiar, help is available in this ep...

Telehealth is all over industry news and venture capital is pouring into the market. With employers and health systems adopting telehealth services and CMS implementing new virtual visit codes, should your practice focus on telehealth this year? And if so, where should you start? We’ll explore the topic of telehealth on our next episode. Our guest is Dr. Lyle Berkowitz, Chief Medical Officer and E...

If you’d like guidance on how to navigate the complexities of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the integration of social media into your digital assets, don’t miss this episode where Mike Sacopulos interviews Brent Cavender, Chief Client Advocate of MetaMed Marketing. Brent shares his thoughts about the design, utility, and functionality of an effective healthcare practice web site, as well as...

From handling the impact of high deductible health plans and value-based care, to coding accurately, following payor policies, and leveraging payment technologies, successfully managing the revenue cycle requires prioritization and diligence. In order to succeed, practice teams must do the right things, at the right time, using the right tools. In this episode we talk with internationally recogniz...

Ring in the New Year with this bonus SoundPractice episode covering your action plan for HIPAA compliance. In this episode we discuss common causes of patient privacy breaches and how to avoid them. We focus on Business Associates, cyber insurance, and compliance requirements. This fast moving discussion is full of practical, inexpensive tips on how to navigate your way to patient privacy safety,...