Hold a flu shot clinic

My geriatric practice designates Halloween as flu shot day, making the event festive for patients and easier for them to remember. We decorate the office and provide refreshments, and some of us wear bumblebee costumes that reflect our theme: “BEE prepared for flu season!” Announcements in our waiting room promote the event. We use large, color posters designed to be reused each year (there's white space for us to write in the day, date and time of the flu shot clinic). Appointment postcards are mailed to patients inviting them to be present at one of four time slots. We hold a staff meeting prior to Halloween to discuss each staff member's responsibilities for the day. This is key in running the flu shot clinic efficiently. Two costume-clad greeters guide patients, many of whom use walkers or wheelchairs, from the lobby to the registration desk to the vaccination “beehive.” No patient waits more than 10 minutes. We give more than 250 shots in five hours. Patients always thank us for a fun and efficient flu shot day, and they make plans to come back next year.

Detecting warning signs of fraud

Document visits with Instant Text

I no longer dictate office notes. Instead, I type my own notes using the Instant Text program available at http://www.fitaly.com. The program replaces short keystrokes or abbreviations with complete words, phrases or paragraphs that have been assigned to them. So, by typing only a few letters, I can produce an entire Microsoft Word document, which I then paste into my electronic health record. I use Instant Text to document all office visits (e.g., physical examinations, office visits and procedures), to write prescriptions, to record ICD-9 codes, to compose e-mails to patients, and to generate content for patient and medical student education. My transcription costs have decreased by more than 80 percent, the program saves me time and my documentation has improved.