The primary goal of all medical practices is to provide excellent care to patients, but at the end of the day, a practice is a business. Without a solid patient base, practices cannot be financially successful. Specialty practices that offer elective procedures like cosmetic plastic surgery, fillers and botox injections, and Lasik eye surgery, should not only rely on existing patients for business, but always be looking for ways to bring new patients into a practice. One of the most cost effective ways to build a patient base is through word-of-mouth marketing.

With each passing day, technology is becoming a more integral part of the way we conduct our lives, and medical practices are no exception to this rule. Whether it's the emergence of more intricate and user-friendly EHR systems, practice management software, data reports from wearable technology or new patient portal solutions, our practices are more technologically involved than they've ever been before. While all of this technology is aimed at simplifying life, it can actually complicate things a great deal if managed improperly. Take a minute and check out these tips for managing technology in your practice to keep things running smoothly, seamlessly and effectively.

Interoperability. To say it’s a priority for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would be an understatement. As an added effort to encourage interoperability between vendors and providers, the CMS is calling on everyone in the medical community to – for lack of a better word – snitch.

Use of electronic medical records (EMRs) continues to spread throughout medical practices in the United States, especially in the field of ophthalmology. According to the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) 2015 EHR Customer Satisfaction Report, 75 percent of ophthalmologists are currently using an EMR in their practice. EMR’s growth in ophthalmology can largely be attributed to Meaningful Use since the majority of ophthalmology patients are elderly and likely using Medicare. Unfortunately, with the increase in EMR use has come a slight rise in dissatisfaction in EMRs as well. In the last two years, dissatisfaction rose four percent in the survey (18-22 percent).

Financial management of a medical practice is similar to mastery of a fine art or sport; it's something that one has to be working at constantly in order to do well. However, striving for financial excellence doesn't have to be a chore. In fact, there are several key habits that you can work into the practice's daily and quarterly routine that can help you maximize profit, reduce error and improve financial stability across the board. Whether you're satisfied with the state of your practice's financials or are looking to improve them, you may benefit from reading these tips:

Take one look at the world around you and it’s easy to see—society has gone mobile. In a bi-annual report conducted by Ericsson, they predict more than 70 percent of the world will be utilizing smartphones by 2020. Thanks to this kind of technology, consumers can conceivably access information from any location. As people take advantage of this unprecedented access, it’s only natural to see patients utilize mobile tools for their healthcare, a trend that only seems poised to grow over the coming years.

Physician's Practice estimated Facebook has at least 890 million users in the U.S. alone. Taking note of these key points can help you make sure you're maximizing your potential for ROI in marketing on this platform.

A Broken Promise? In a recent article published by Medical Economics, they interviewed healthcare providers (from various fields and specialties) about their opinions as to whether EMR/EHR systems have delivered on initial promises such as increased efficiency, better time management, and fast charting. Their responses were, to put it nicely, less than positive. The vast majority of healthcare professionals interviewed in the article expressed feelings of disappointment with the EMR/EHR industry as a whole, as well as what needs to happen in order for the EMR/EHR industry to regain the trust and support of physicians and other users in the medical field.