Practice Management Alert

Question: I am an assistant at a small medical practice that has expanded to the point that we are hiring a full-time practice manager. Our lead physician has tasked me with formulating a job description for this new position. What should I include in the job description for a full-time medical office practice manager?

Oregon Subscriber

Answer: The responsibilities of a medical practice manager depend entirely on the situation. Managers at small practices do a little bit of everything, maybe even coding. Those that manage larger practices likely have more streamlined responsibilities.

• There are certain skills, however, that a medical office manager will need regardless of practice size or scope of responsibilities. In general, a good medical office manager job description addresses a candidate’s ability to:

• devise and execute programs and procedures to improve the office’s operational efficiency 

• manage staff 

• perform budget and financial functions, as necessary

• manage overall operations specific to the practice’s needs (e.g., Is the practice manager responsible for payroll? Managing bank accounts? Accounts payable? Billing? Human resources?).

More specifically, you’ll want to tailor your job description to exactly what your practice wants from its manager. According to HealthLeaders Media, medical practice managers must be most prepared to:

• devise sustainable reimbursement models that place a greater share of financial risk on the practice

• deal with rising operating costs 

• work with electronic health records (EHR) software

• modify physician compensation formulas to more heavily emphasize quality measures

• recruit new physicians

• negotiate fair payer contracts

• maintain competitive physician compensation levels at the practice.

Best bet: Don’t go for a one-size-fits-all job description. Make a list of exactly what you’ll be asking your practice manager to do every day, and then form the description around that list.