In order to hire the right person responsible for the daily ins-and-outs of your practice, first start with your vision or mission statement of what you want your office to become. Then start compiling a list of your needs and expectations of what you will need to make this vision become reality.
What will your office manager have to do in order to develop, run, and grow your practice? Your office manager requires a wide range of experience and skills. Typically, your manager will oversee all or a combination of:
- Human Resources: hiring; firing; company policy; conflict resolution; retirement; unemployment; disability; worker’s compensation; listening when an employee
needs to talk. - Facilities/Machines: shop and negotiate contracts for: phones, computers, EHR, medical devices, IT; train employees on use of equipment; repairs and maintenance.
- Systems: establish reception, medical assistant and practitioner work flow for check-in; check-out; patient payments; daily receipts; labs; follow-up care and communications; scheduling.
- Expense Management/Supplies: find reasonably priced suppliers; protect the bottom line; manage stock and deliveries.
- Accounting: payroll; accounts payable; accounts receivable by way of eligibility, coding, claim submissions, disputes; collections; taxes; budgets; banking; benchmarking; profit and loss reporting.
- Legal: familiarity with contracts for providers, services, equipment, insurance companies; credentialing; credit card processors; federal, state and local
privacy, health and safety compliance; risk management; malpractice; property/business insurance. - Marketing: master social media, web presence, advertising, develop products and expand services.
Look for individuals with experience and skills that correspond to your needs. The practices office culture will be set by its leaders so make sure your manager compliments your personality. During the interview, ask yourself if you can work closely with this person and how they will interact with your staff. Most importantly, do they understand and will they embrace your vision for your future practice.
The right candidate should have management experience; an Associates or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or Health Care Administration; or transferable skills that can support your specific needs.
Helpful personality traits may include an individual who is assertive, independent, forward thinking, resourceful, efficient, trustworthy, able to learn from mistakes, result oriented with emphasis on details, good listening skills, non-threatening in communicating, a teacher and team oriented collaborator, able to delegate, positive, able to motivate others, fair.
Your practice manager is your second in command and will keep your office running smoothly. They set the tone for the office and should inspire a healthy working environment. Hire carefully, empower your administrator as a leader and your practice will thrive and your vision will become a reality.
