Content about Community

A medical malpractice lawsuit can have a devastating effect on the reputation of any medical practice. There’s always a concern that patients and the community in which you serve could perceive that your medical staff is incompetent. Practices may worry about losing a significant portion of their patient base. You may also wonder what kind of action your local medical board may take as well as how your medical malpractice insurance rates will be affected. Below are some ways you can help your practice move forward following a malpractice suit and preserve your reputation in the eyes of your patients and the medical community.

Consumers have many choices when it comes to healthcare providers. They can, of course, visit your practice or they can go somewhere else – to your competition. They might also choose to look for answers to their healthcare questions online through one of an increasingly growing number of sites designed for “do-it-yourself” care. That represents indirect competition. Or, they may decide to forgo care altogether, a growing choice especially for those without adequate health insurance coverage. In order to compete effectively, you need to know what your competition is doing. Here, MOT discusses the best ways to scope out the competition so you know what you’re up against.

Has your healthcare organization embraced video and all the ways it can be used? If not, you’re missing out on an effective tool that appeals to both existing and prospective patients, experts say. For many medical practices, video has become the cornerstone of their marketing program, and they’re focusing their marketing dollars on videos that can be used on their websites and social media sites, as well as in the office. Here MOT talks with a number of professionals who have found success using video to market their practices and educate their patients.   

With health information – and misinformation – so readily available to the public via technology, it’s more important than ever for healthcare providers to remain up-to-date on emerging health issues such as illness, outbreaks, medicine warnings and recalls. It’s also crucial to maintain connections with public health agencies in case an emergency situation should necessitate calling in additional healthcare providers to help treat patients.

When it comes to personal and home-related emergencies, you know exactly, without a doubt, the people you can call on to help and the right companies to contact to take care of your problems. Their numbers might even be posted on your refrigerator and saved in your phone’s memory. Unfortunately, most medical practices haven’t taken the time to think about who they can rely on if something goes wrong. In honor of National Preparedness Month (who knew, right?), MOT identifies 10 people and/or companies your practice should have on speed dial.

There are numerous research studies addressing the impact of providing (or not) interpreter services to patients who speak limited English. Communication breakdowns are responsible for nearly 3,000 deaths and other sentinel events per year. When patients cannot communicate in English and providers bypass proper language access services, the patients’ health can be compromised. In addition to federal laws, state and regulatory agencies have added standards specific to the provision of language access services.

Rural communities face a number of healthcare challenges – residents are often older, poorer and more reliant on Medicare and Medicaid than other parts of the country. Although the population in these rural areas is sparse, the land area is much larger and the roads are more difficult to travel upon, making access to healthcare facilities a little more difficult. Despite these challenges, there are several smart strategies you can implement to ensure that your medical clinic or practice can thrive in a rural environment.

Social responsibility has become an increasingly important aspect of conducting business for medical practices today. The idea of giving back – can be accomplished in many different ways, from volunteerism to donations. Many organizations including medical practices choose volunteerism, dedicating entire days or even weeks to special community projects. Volunteerism allows you and your employees to give back to the community you’re serving, while helping to improve team morale.

You may not know your patients' pharmacists, but there’s a lot of evidence supporting the idea that you should. MOT spoke with a number of experts in physician/pharmacist relationships to find out why it’s important for physicians to seek out local pharmacists and form strong business relationships with them. Here’s what they had to say.

Holiday gift-giving can be a daunting experience and no less so when it’s for colleagues, staff and others in a business setting. You want your gift to convey your year-long appreciation to the recipient in just the right manner, but what is an appropriate gift? Whom should you give gifts to, and how much should you spend?

Most physicians readily associate themselves with the medical community, through either their specialty or their affiliate hospital. But smart physicians remember that they’re a part of the local community as well, and they need to nurture this status by participating in community events.