For specialty providers, the odds of needing to actually treat patients with COVID-19 are incredibly low. However, there are still certain actions that specialty providers should be taking to minimize the risk of exposure for staff, patients and themselves.

Attending a medical conference can add value to both your professional abilities as well as your practice. That being said, most of us would probably agree that, on at least one occasion, we have returned from a conference feeling that it did not provide the return we expected. Conferences are an investment of not only your time, but also money for things such as airline tickets, hotel stays, food, registration fees, etc. Therefore, we should expect to come back from a conference with some tangible returns such as new skills, new best practices and/or new strategies to implement.

As the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States, glaucoma is a top concern across the ophthalmology community. Early disease identification, along with proper care management, are essential to limit ocular damage and preserve vision. It is critical for patients who have or who are at risk of getting glaucoma to regularly receive a comprehensive eye exam with dilation. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, presenting a prime opportunity for ophthalmologists to review their glaucoma care processes and assess whether they are proactive and preventive. Technology can be an asset in this effort. An ophthalmology practice’s electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management (PM) systems, for example, can enable smoother, more reliable care and ensure patients receive the necessary treatment in a timely manner. Here are several ways these systems can elevate a practice’s approach to glaucoma management.

As we have recently been launched into a new year, now is a good opportunity to find new areas for improvement. Reviewing and reflecting on performance allows specialty practices to identify areas in which they can work better, as well as determine ways to make processes more streamlined, reliable and patient-friendly. How should specialty practices figure out if their current operations have room for improvement? Here are three areas that can reveal potential opportunities.

You did it. You survived 2019, which was a tough (but interesting) year, earning a number of “worst year ever for” titles--Worst Year on Record for Data Breaches, Worst Year of the Decade for Job Cuts, Worst Year Ever for Hospital Overcrowding, and the list goes on. Luckily for us, the ultimate title of “Worst Year in Human History to Be Alive” actually belongs to the year 536 CE, and for a number of horrible reasons that we won’t go into detail about in this blog article.

With the holiday season upon us, people are searching for the right present for friends and family. But what about a specialty practice? Could it benefit from a little holiday cheer? One item at the top of many healthcare organizations’ wish lists is better insight into business performance. As specialty practices aim to prevent revenue leakage, meet rising consumer expectations and effectively participate in value-based care arrangements, it can be difficult to know where it’s best to focus time and resources. Fortunately, robust business analytics is the perfect gift to guide strategic decision-making this holiday season, and one that keeps on giving throughout the year. Here are three areas where strong analytics can make a difference in a specialty practice:

Patient communication is one of the most important metrics that modern practices can examine to understand patient satisfaction. That’s because the patient experience is deeply tied to how easy and convenient it is to communicate with your practice. 96% of patient complaints are related to poor service, with only 4% actually related to quality care. The number one driver of these poor service complaints is poor communication. That can mean anything from cumbersome phone trees, long wait times on the phone, unanswered emails, or constantly forgotten portal passwords.

Thanksgiving is upon us once more… and you probably have no idea how much danger we are all in.