Patient engagement isn't just a buzzword; it's the key to success for independent pediatric practices looking to grow and remain independent in a shifting healthcare market....
With kids away at camp and families on vacation, it's not uncommon to see a dip in appointments. However, it doesn't have to be that way. By leveraging the right tools and strategies, you can keep your schedule full and ensure your patients receive the care they need....
It's summertime, and while many pediatricians dream of a relaxing getaway, the thought of leaving their practice unattended can be a major source of stress. The constant need to be available for patient calls can make it challenging to truly disconnect....
The fall wave of flu season might feel far away, but smart pediatric practices know that the key to a successful (and stress-free!) flu season is planning ahead....
Back-to-school planning in the Spring? Absolutely! Coordinating office visits for all those physicals, vaccines, and school requirements can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. ...
The vast majority of parents now find their childโs healthcare provider online. Is your pediatric practiceโs website designed to impress and convert them into patients?...
In today's digital world, doctors need to master Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to connect with potential patients online. ...
If you want to grow your pediatric practice, here are four things to consider when designing your medical website to encourage new patients to visit you....
For pediatric practices, successful vaccine management extends beyond protecting the health of their patients โ it also involves optimizing resources....
Your websiteโs design, aesthetic appeal, useability, and accessibility play a crucial role in shaping a visitor's decision to transition from a casual observer to a valued patient....
In todayโs fiercely competitive healthcare environment, creating a new website that provides a seamless user experience can make all the difference in attracting new patients and keeping your current patients engaged. ...
By leveraging DAR reports, pediatricians can ensure timely well visits, optimize vaccination rates, manage chronic conditions effectively, and make informed decisions for practice growth....
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 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 todayโs digital age, online reviews have become a crucial aspect of every business. Thatโs why itโs 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 itโs 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, and it further exacerbates the stress of billing for pediatric practices. When it comes to running a pediatric practice, the days of โone size fits allโ are over. You can no longer thrive and work efficiently using a generic, non-specialty-specific EHR, and the same is true for billing and revenue cycle...
We are fortunate that diseases like polio, mumps, and diphtheria are now words most young people only know from history lessons โ 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 are much less prevalent today. Vaccinations play a significant role in pediatric success. To explain the history and impact on society as a whole, OPs Medical Director Dr. Dan Feiten, and OPs Clinical Director Dr. Rich Szabo joined our podcast to discuss โSuccess Against Diseases: The History of Vaccinationโ. Here are some...
As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, itโs critical that pediatricians and pediatric practices have a robust system for managing and sharing important patient information. In this blog, weโll discuss the essential technology tools you should be using to share information to be in compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act. We also provide best practice guidelines and a FREE workbook to help you develop your own information sharing policies. Understanding the Implications of the 21st Century Cures Act The 21st Century Cures Act is a federal law that contains a number of provisions that impact information sharing in healthcare. Title IV...
KPIs help practices achieve their goals by establishing a concrete way to measure their progress. If you donโt track your progress, itโs hard to know which aspects of your practice require improvement.ย ...
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 weโve 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, itโs 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 challenges for healthcare providers across the country as more people are going through difficulties and reaching out for help.ย ...
Cultivating the patient-provider connection is essential to delivering an exceptional patient engagement experience at your pediatric practice. Itโs 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 theyโre facing what seems like an insurmountable combination of increased expectations and decreased practice resources....
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 nationโs 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 were experiencing at least one dimension of burnout....
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 thereโs no one standard metric that providers can use to measure their progress....
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 how their organization is working to meet this moment, and make mental health and suicide prevention a much easier subject to speak about openly.ย ...
Rich Szabo, MD, joined the PediaTricks Podcast to discuss "Pediatric Mental Health - Seeing the Whole Childโ to address the ongoing mental health crisis, what may be exacerbating these issues for our kids, and how OPโs 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 in making this happen....
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 more engaged in a world that may still feel overwhelming. You should be ready to listen to their concerns and work with them to find activities that feel both fun and safe. ...
Itโs no surprise thatย pediatric mental health issuesย 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 share ideas about programs, policies, and best practices that will positively impact the mental health of youth and adolescents in the US....
Each May, we celebrate National Childrenโs Mental Health Week to underscore the importance of nurturing positive mental health among our nationโs youth. This year, from May 1st-7th, the awareness week will emphasize the vital importance of building strong emotional health for childrenโs long-term development and overall wellness....
It is no surprise that children andย youth mental healthย 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.ย ...
For many parents, raising kids that have a healthy relationship with social media can be a challenge. Why? Because social media is ubiquitous....
Imagine starting every visit with a complete picture of the patient's health journey, whether they are new or established. Picture having instant access to everything from a patient's growth chart and immunization records to specialist consultations and ED visits. Then, imagine being able to digitize your entire new patient intake process. No more relying on incomplete information or a parent's recollection....
In the realm of pediatric care, every detail counts. From tracking growth charts to managing complex vaccine schedules and everything in between, the unique needs of young patients demand specialized tools and expertise. ...
