Eyeworld

104 | EYEWORLD | JUNE 2022 P RACTICE MANAGEMENT Contact Wohl: czwohl@gmail.com Pinto: pintoinc@aol.com both the good news and the bad news. Without this, you could miss out on important information. 4. Get your priorities straight. As in medicine, triage. Separate out administrative duties and projects that can be pushed off for a later time when the new administrator is hired vs. those that need near-term attention. At any one time, an experienced administrator is juggling numerous projects and tasks. It is not realistic to expect that an interim administrator, a cov- ering MD/CEO, or even a newly hired super- star administrator would be able to manage and complete all of your legacy activities on time. Learn which are the high-priority tasks that no one else could do in a pinch vs. those tasks that can be delegated, delayed, or even canceled. 5. Look within your mid-level management team for immediate bridge support. One of your department heads may be able to act as interim administrator. You may have an associate doctor who can fill this role. Many consultants and accountancy firms are willing to act as interim administrator. 6. Don't delay the recruitment process for your new manager. Establish a search committee. Update the position description. It's harder than ever to find a qualified administrator, partly because the field is so competitive and partly because practice complexities have grown so much in recent years. 7. Finally, when things calm down, perform an assessment. • Why did you lose your administrator in the first place? • Why with so little notice? • Were there signs you overlooked that they might be a flight risk? • Is it simply a matter of too little compensa- tion, encouragement, praise, or face-to-face time? Once you make the next administrator hire, close any gaps to help improve tenure in the future. physician leader stepping in results in fewer bumps during the transition. This is most commonly the existing managing partner, but it can also be another surgeon or optometrist chosen by the managing partner to take the helm. Everyone wants to know who is in charge. Don't leave the team guessing. Help them remain focused on patient care and less worried about the transition to a new leader. As a bonus, the physician leader who steps in temporarily as an MD/CEO will be more ca- pable of knowing the skills needed by the new administrator and better at assisting with the initial onboarding transition. To accomplish this, focus on the highest priorities. These will hopefully be aspects of the practice you are already conversant with, but they may be practice domains you will simply have to learn on the fly. They include: • Cash flow is paramount. You need to have a full understanding of revenue cycle man- agement in your billing department (or outsourced billing service). Examine the written protocols. Know who is responsi- ble for each role. Be prepared to run and interpret reports. If you are a solo practice owner, it's smart to know even the granular basics before you lose an administrator, like how to post a charge and submit a claim. • In addition to bringing the money in, you may be temporarily responsible for accounts payable. In average practices this is typical- ly not too hard; the managing partner or their designate is obliged to review invoices and sign checks. Now may be the time to engage a bookkeeping service to stay on top of accounts. • Understand all components of HR manage- ment and employee benefit administration; this is something that can often be pushed off to your CPA or a comprehensive payroll service in a pinch. • Communicate clearly and often with man- agers and general staff. Be aligned with your management team to the point of having them comfortable bringing you continued from page 102

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