My personal list of new employee orientation best practices has been shaped by my experiences in private practices as well as hospitals. Every organization has different resources to draw upon, but each group has core goals that must be fulfilled by a good orientation:
- completion of paperwork including federal and state W-4s, I-9, direct deposit and benefit elections
- emergency contact information (included in hospital employee health intake)
- orientation to the organization, including designations, specialties, departments, sites, affiliates and an organizational chart
- completion of mandatory annual training such as safety, standard precautions, and HIPAA
- mechanics of name tags, parking tags, lockers, keys and codes
- signing off on understanding and agreement to confidentiality, compliance and personnel policies
In addition to these core goals, critical information to be shared during this time should minimally include:
- personnel policy review with emphasis on important (typically abused?) policies
- code of conduct/ shared basic competencies (mission and values, professionalism, communication, chain of command)
- computer security (passwords, internet policy, protection of PHI)
- workstation ergonomics and patient lifting policy (sadly lacking in many medical practices)
Important training that is rarely covered:
- Customer service (what is it and how do we measure our success or lack thereof?)
- Cultural sensitivity and diversity training
- Non-clinical employees’ role in medical emergencies
- Personal safety (coming in early or leaving late, patients threatening staff by phone or in person)
- Expectations for the first 90 days (training, communication, questions, problems)
Making Orientation Memorable
Whether the title is manager, medical practice manager, physician practice manager, administrator, practice administrator, executive director, office manager, CEO, COO, director, division manager, department manager, or any combination thereof, with some exceptions, people who manage physician practices do some combination of the responsibilities listed here or manage people who do.
Human Resources: Hire, fire, counsel, discipline, evaluate, train, orient, coach, mentor and schedule staff. Shop, negotiate and administer benefits. (more…)
By Carla Hannibal, CMM,CPM,CIMBS
Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) will pursue corrections of Medicare claims by auditing for overpayments and underpayments under Part A or B of the title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Health care providers will be affected as Medicare has recently contracted with RACs for 2009 and beyond. RACs will audit every United States and Peurto Rico health care provider who files with Medicare. The audit and recovery plan is expected to be in place by (more…)
