Teen privacy at the pediatrician's office is paramount to ensure that adolescents receive the best possible care, feel comfortable discussing their health concerns, and make informed decisions about their well-being....
Patients want to feel as if their doctor truly cares for their well-being, and using an automated answering machine sends the opposite message. ...
Pediatricians have an important role in the entire health of children, including their mental well-being. Because there is a shortage of behavioral and mental health specialists in many areas, pediatricians must be well-equipped to treat mental health problems when referrals are not readily available....
For doctors who strive to provide the highest quality of healthcare to their patients, telehealth services are a perfect way to elevate a pediatric practice. ...
Flu season can be a challenging time for pediatric practices as they navigate increased patient visits, concerns from parents, and the potential for outbreaks. To ensure your practice is ready to handle the flu season effectively, it's crucial to take proactive steps and follow the recommended guidelines. In this blog,...
In today's digital age, your website isn't just a digital brochure; it's a vital tool for building trust and providing valuable resources to your patients....
Healthcare practices and providers have been implementing electronic health record software at an increasing rate, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services....
Simply defined, vendor consolidation in healthcare IT is the process of reducing the number of vendors you engage with, while carefully choosing partners who can still fulfill all or most of your needs....
In today’s digital age, online reviews have become a crucial aspect of every business. That’s why it’s essential to understand the impact they can have on the success of your pediatric practice....
Now is a great time to encourage families in your practice to turn their focus to well visits for their children....
When infants and babies feel secure in their relationships with their closest caregivers, it provides a positive impact on their overall mental health. Ensuring pediatric practices meet these needs can help infants and young children grow into healthy and well-adjusted adults....
SEO, or search engine optimization, has a significant influence on online businesses, including pediatric practices....
Very few things about medical billing are straightforward, but it’s especially true in pediatrics. Proper coding, modifiers, and changes in Medicaid rules and payer guidelines can turn a simple office visit into a minefield of dependencies. Add staffing shortages and the challenge of finding qualified medical billers to the mix,...
We are fortunate that diseases like polio, mumps, and diphtheria are now words most young people only know from history lessons — not from first-hand experience with the diseases that were an ever-present danger decades ago. Thanks to the heroic vaccination efforts of physicians, many diseases have been eradicated or...
As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, it’s critical that pediatricians and pediatric practices have a robust system for managing and sharing important patient information. In this blog, we’ll discuss the essential technology tools you should be using to share information to be in compliance with the 21st Century Cures...
KPIs help practices achieve their goals by establishing a concrete way to measure their progress. If you don’t track your progress, it’s hard to know which aspects of your practice require improvement. ...
The national impact of an employee shortage is being felt as demand for physical and mental healthcare services outstrips supply. After spending much of the pandemic innovating new ways to keep staff engaged, many practices are now being served termination notices from core team members....
Interoperability is a big word that is often used when discussing healthcare efficiencies and workflows, but what exactly is interoperability? In the context of healthcare, interoperability refers to the ability of any tool to manage, access, and transfer data between different providers or health systems. ...
Many of us have experienced trauma over the last few years as we’ve been forced to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, social unrest, and a dire economic outlook. Unfortunately, the youngest among us have not been immune to the trauma either....
Operating a pediatric practice that runs on time is essential not just to your practice families, it’s important to your staff as well. ...
Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) are at the center of a movement toward improved resource sharing. Understanding the basics of CINs and how they can benefit your patients and your practice is the first step in evaluating whether this may be the right path for you to take. ...
Making self-care a priority is essential when you work in a healthcare setting. Day in and day out, you spend a large portion of your day caring for the well-being of your patients, but over time, it can take a personal toll. The last several years have brought even more...
Cultivating the patient-provider connection is essential to delivering an exceptional patient engagement experience at your pediatric practice. It’s up to you to reimagine what the future of medicine looks like. ...
The ability to survive as an independent pediatric practice is contingent on being able to find new sources of revenue, even as reimbursements continue to shrink. But with a tight labor market and the challenges that come with finding skilled staff, it can be a tall order to fill....
Parents, researchers, pediatricians, and front-line mental health providers are all saying the same thing: there is an ongoing mental health crisis among youth in America. Taking action to mitigate these challenges is essential. However, it can be hard to know where to start without the appropriate data....
One common thread that comes up often in conversations among pediatric providers and their staff is that the last several years have been exhausting. Pediatricians in cities, suburbs, and rural areas alike are burned out and they’re facing what seems like an insurmountable combination of increased expectations and decreased practice...
While Medicaid has been used as a way to provide healthcare services to Americans for decades, individuals within the healthcare system, including pediatric providers, do not fully understand it....
All employees deserve to feel fulfilled, appreciated and engaged in their jobs. Nurturing employee engagement is an important part of running any pediatric practice; when done correctly, it benefits your staff and your practice families....
ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders present in childhood. Despite receiving significant attention throughout the last 30 years, doctors and researchers are still uncovering new potential causes, contributing factors, and treatment options for those with ADHD....
Medical professionals and public health officials across the United States are expressing concern about the growing rise of youth behavioral health visits in our nation’s hospitals. While alarming, this trend should come as no surprise given the ongoing youth mental health crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated....
Since early 2020, many pediatric practices have been forced to juggle increased patient demand against new safety precautions and a reduction in the number of people they have on staff. The COVID pandemic has been a significant stressor on the pediatric community, with one survey finding that 60% of pediatricians...
This flu season, ensuring patients over six months of age get vaccinated is critically important to help avoid illness. Getting vaccinated against influenza also helps to support the health of the community at-large, which is vitally important as other diseases like COVID-19 continue to circulate....
Revenue cycle management is too significant to hand over to just anyone. You need a safe, trusted partner and expert who communicates well and produces results. ...
Recent legislation allows children to take mental health days off from public school, but not all states are on board. See where your state stands, and how you can advocate to include mental health selfcare as a legitimate reason for missed school days....
Learning to communicate with patients online has been a central hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric practices. However, evaluating whether your practice is succeeding in this area can be a challenge. The scope of communication in healthcare varies, and there’s no one standard metric that providers can use to...
Many young children and teens struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, organizations like Duck Cup Memorial Fund are stepping into the fray to bring more awareness to this issue. Sara Jutz, the Executive Director of Duck Cup Memorial Fund, recently spoke on the PediaTricks podcast to share more information about...
Rich Szabo, MD, joined the PediaTricks Podcast to discuss "Pediatric Mental Health - Seeing the Whole Child” to address the ongoing mental health crisis, what may be exacerbating these issues for our kids, and how OP’s tools can help....
Social media can be polarizing, but there are many benefits that can be gained from using it as a patient engagement tool in your practice. Having open lines of communication with patients and their families is an important step for practice success, and social media can play a significant role...
The Trevor Project is one of this nation’s foremost non-profit organizations focusing on the mental health of of youth and young adults in the LGBTQ community. Since 1998, The Trevor Project has sought to help LGBTQ individuals through their work in crisis intervention, peer support, advocacy, research, and public education....
Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, telehealth has been one of the most influential tools providers use to serve their patients. Claims have soared nationwide, going from just 527 claims filed in February 2020 to a remarkable 12.5 million claims just two months later. Since then, telehealth claims have...
The No Surprises Act creates protections against unanticipated medical bills. These unexpected medical bills are an unfortunate reality of the pediatrics landscape – they happen when a patient is inadvertently given care from a provider or facility that is out of their insurance network. Learn more about the impact the...
Some of the best summer activities can also help children decompress from a stressful school year, which can help improve troubling mental health symptoms. As social distancing measures are now relaxed, and more activities become available, children may need some encouragement to step outside of their comfort zone and get...
It’s no surprise that pediatric mental health issues have skyrocketed to unrivaled levels as children have been forced to navigate the challenges that have come with the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Desperate for ways to address this growing concern, healthcare professionals across the United States are coming together to...
This year, Mental Health Awareness Month feels especially timely, as scientific publications and news pieces continue to chronicle the ongoing mental health crisis in America. COVID, and its impact across all areas of life has triggered an alarming spike in feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety, stress, and hopelessness. ...
Each May, we celebrate National Children’s Mental Health Week to underscore the importance of nurturing positive mental health among our nation’s youth. This year, from May 1st-7th, the awareness week will emphasize the vital importance of building strong emotional health for children’s long-term development and overall wellness....
April is Autism Acceptance Month (AAM), a month-long celebration devoted to raising advocacy for and awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This year marks the 50th anniversary of AAM, which was founded by the Autism Society in 1972 to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change. ...
It is no surprise that children and youth mental health has suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools forced to switch back and forth between remote learning and in-class education, it has been very difficult for teachers and school personnel to keep up with the surging demand for resources. ...
The past couple of years of uncertainty, loss, and change have had a profound impact on our nation’s youth. Even prior to the pandemic, rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among adolescents had been steadily rising for a decade....
For many parents, raising kids that have a healthy relationship with social media can be a challenge. Why? Because social media is ubiquitous....
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