Should physicians use credit reports while hiring?

Many physicians are unsure of whether or not they should use credit reports during the hiring process for their medical practice. The answer, like so many other things, depends on many factors.

Using a credit report while hiring members of a medical practice staff can clear up many difficult questions, but it can also present a problem for physicians who don’t know how to read the report and which parts are relevant – and whether it’s legal to obtain the report in the first place.

Establish legality

The first step, of course, is to discern whether the use of the credit report during the hiring process is legal. According to Danielle Urban, an employment lawyer and Denver-based partner with Fisher & Phillips, the situation is cloudy.

“You have to make sure the information is correct, and you need to have a really good reason as to why this information means that you are not putting that person in the position,” noted Urban, in an interview with American Medical News.

In other words, it is legal for doctors to obtain and look at a potential employee’s credit report during the hiring process, but they will need to supply excellent and legally sound reasoning why any of the information within the report is, first of all, relevant to the position, and second of all, a reason to hire or not hire someone for the position.

Is it necessary?

Once a physician has established that the use of the credit report is legal, they need to determine if it’s necessary. According to Amednews, it is definitely not required, but it can help small practices to avoid the costly hassle of taking on bad employees. According to a survey on the website MiracleWorkers.com in December 2011, 77 percent of responding medical practices noted that they had been negatively affected by a bad hire. Using credit reports can help to determine whether a person is a good fit for the position, as well as whether that person is financially trustworthy

This content has been created by Bankers Healthcare Group. BHG Inc. is dedicated to helping arrange loans for doctors, physicians dentists and veterinarians looking to purchase new equipment, move into new facilities or grow their business in any other way.

In-house blood testing may be beneficial to veterinarian practices

Blood testing conveys a lot of valuable patient information to veterinarians. Such analyses can help diagnose disease and determine appropriate medication dosages. However, in cases when time is of the essence, having blood testing capabilities within one’s own practice can make a world of a difference in the lives of patients, experts told Veterinary Practice News.

According to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, blood tests are able to measure levels of several key substances, including albumin, alkaline phosphatase, ALT enzyme, amylase, bile acids, bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, cholesterol, creatinine, glucose, potassium and total protein.

During emergencies, such capabilities are critical to timely clinical decisions. Furthermore, some blood samples can degrade as time passes, making in-house testing a huge asset. However, the decision to add this component to a veterinary practice should not be made casually.

“Realities that must be considered are that maintaining an in-clinic laboratory requires a dedicated budget, a commitment to quality management [and] dedicated personnel who are appropriately trained, appropriate physical space and time,” Bente Flatland, D.V.M., told Veterinary Practice News.

She added that equipment should be selected on the basis of caseload, costs and personnel sources. Leslie Sharkey, D.V.M., Ph.D., agreed with the point about staff, saying that expert analysis through microscopy may catch subtle information that laboratory equipment can miss.

Ultimately, clinicians should not let machines lull them into a false sense of security, Sharkey told the news source.

When it comes to equipment, maintenance and inventory are not only essential to the medical care of animals, but also to overall costs. If reagents are not used before their expiration date, they may not work properly and can risk creating an expensive mistake.

This content has been created by Bankers Healthcare Group. BHG is dedicated to helping arrange loans for doctors, physicians dentists and veterinarians looking to purchase new equipment, move into new facilities or grow their business in any other way.

The right marketing techniques for social media

When medical practice owners are researching marketing techniques, they often encounter many guides and experts telling them that social media tools are a great way to access potential clients in the current technological age.

However, what many of these guides fail to mention that because social media is a fairly new marketing ground, older techniques aren’t as successful there. If medical practice owners want to have a successful social media marketing platform, they need to mold their techniques to fit the media.

Don’t rely on social media for information

One of the biggest mistakes that companies make when switching to a social media marketing platform is to treat it like any other outlet and try to glean information about their consumers. There are billions of potential customers on Facebook, for instance, but companies who are calling for the social media goliath to release information about its users are misunderstanding the process. Facebook customers do not want large firms to get information about them through social media. They feel violated when their information is shared – in fact, Facebook could face legal action if it shares sensitive information.

Talk with – not at – consumers

Instead of trying to sneak information out of social media platforms, companies should be using their social media accounts to showcase their best aspects and prove why consumers should choose their services. Rather than relying on the traditional marketing techniques of sell, sell, sell, firms might have a better chance of success if they join the conversation. Producing platform-friendly content, like pictures, and posting them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest is a great way to grab consumers’ attention. Standing up for a cause and talking about genuine issues can also catch the eyes of consumers who are weary of seeing the same advertisement over and over.

Build a presence

According to Windmill Networking, 20 percent of medical patients reported using social media to research new practices and physicians. Therefore, building a large and notable presence on a multitude of platforms is a great idea for small practices. Of course, practices need to be careful to maintain standards of patient confidentiality and professionalism.

This content has been created by Bankers Healthcare Group. BHG is dedicated to helping arrange loans for doctors, physicians dentists and veterinarians looking to purchase new equipment, move into new facilities or grow their business in any other way.