Karen Zupko

Everyone agrees that it’s important to understand how many patients seen in consultation actually schedule surgery. Aesthetic surgeons measure their value on it, and patient care coordinators are rewarded for improving it. Nearly every aesthetic surgeon we talk with wants to know what is a “good” conversion rate.

Pricing can be one of the toughest aspects of running a plastic surgery practice. Here are some proven strategies that can help make this intimidating task more manageable.

As the patient deductibles rise so does your accounts receivables. You would be wrong not to worry about the impact this will have on your practice. By acting now you can help patient's pay their portion while reducing your deductibles.

When front-desk collection implementation is not executed well, we find that the initiative often fails, and staff returns to collecting copays and telling patients they’ll be billed after insurance pays.

This article reviews five common reasons for front-desk collection failure, and how to avoid them.

To charge or not to charge? That is the question many aesthetic surgeons and their staff ask about paid consultation fees.

Read this article for the reasons why I recommend charging how to implement a move from free to fee.

Help your practice stand out by recognizing what makes it unique in the marketplace.

Preparing for retirement can be challenging for any busy professional. But for physicians, the challenge goes beyond office closure procedures and financial details. Of course you'll contact the state medical society, board of medicine, and Drug Enforcement Agency to verify rules about how long to keep records, financial data, and licenses. And practice closure checklists are plentiful.

For physicians, there are a number of "human" issues to be addressed. Here are seven of them, gleaned… Show more

Preparing for retirement can be challenging for any busy professional. But for physicians, the challenge goes beyond office closure procedures and financial details. Of course you'll contact the state medical society, board of medicine, and Drug Enforcement Agency to verify rules about how long to keep records, financial data, and licenses. And practice closure checklists are plentiful.

For physicians, there are a number of "human" issues to be addressed. Here are seven of them, gleaned from my recent interviews with a dozen physicians about their retirement and other practice transition experiences. Show less

Having a strong, well-written governance agreement can protect your practice from faltering during challenging times. In this new Healio Orthopedics article, Karen Zupko discusses the most important aspects of such an agreement and provides a checklist to help guide you when creating or updating your own.

Surgeon friends on LinkedIn will find this article of value especially if they are over 55 and they consider
a Practice Transition.

Looking to build the skills of a newly hired Patient Care Coordinator (PCC)? Need an objective approach for showing the PCC how to polish her professionalism? Want to help your PCC go from good to great?

This article offers some options.

Planning your retirement or transitioning out of your life's work is an involved process with many aspects to consider. If you don't plan ahead you might find yourself scrambling or regretting the timing of your decision.

Karen Zupko interviewed a variety of plastic surgeons in various stages of "exit." Read what made these surgeons' transitions successful, and challenging, in this article.

There is a common perception among aesthetic surgeons that the primary reason a patient doesn’t schedule surgery is because of the fee. You aren’t “cheap” enough. You won’t discount or haggle. Someone across town charges less so they probably scheduled with him/her.

After mystery shopping over 150 aesthetic plastic surgery practices through their websites and by phone, we’ve come up with a pattern of kerplunked leads. Whether the “lead,” (AKA “prospective patient”) calls or writes your office you’ll’ be surprised how many inquiries are not answered or answered well.

Here are six recommendations on how to avoid dropped leads which are the ‘termites’ eating away at your promotional return on investment follow.

A look at five powerful and often overlooked features that we recommend and why you should use them.

If you are a solo orthopedic surgeon or practice in a small group and are 55 years or older, this article is for you. The answer to the question: "When is the right time to begin planning for the transition out of practice?" is now! And planning is the most important word in that sentence.

The Classic "4Ps" of the marketing mix Product/service; Place; Price and Promotion need a 5th P for plastic surgery practices to be successful. That 5th P is Personnel. All the money spent on websites and SEO and special events is worthless if the staff drop leads and don't provide superior service.

Because employees of medical practices and medspas have easy access to patient information, employers must conscientiously verify information provided by applicants. One way to decrease the risk of hiring staff members who may jeopardize patient or practice safety is to perform reference and background checks. Some of the key areas medical practices are wise to review include: past employment history, educational experience and credentials, credit history, and civil and criminal records.

“How long will I have to stop running after surgery?”

It’s a simple question that many patients ask. You can choose to give the patient a simple answer, for example, six weeks, and move on to the next topic on your laundry list of risk factors and scheduling logistics. Or, you can choose to hear this question for what it really is: an opportunity to deepen the relationship with the patient and get to know her as a person. Because if you ask follow up questions such as “What kind of… Show more

“How long will I have to stop running after surgery?”

It’s a simple question that many patients ask. You can choose to give the patient a simple answer, for example, six weeks, and move on to the next topic on your laundry list of risk factors and scheduling logistics. Or, you can choose to hear this question for what it really is: an opportunity to deepen the relationship with the patient and get to know her as a person. Because if you ask follow up questions such as “What kind of running do you do? How long have you been running? Have you ever run a race?” the patient will lighten up and share her story. Plus, even if she can’t run, you can tell her what she can do. Show less

Plastic surgery economics and why not to discount procudures

How to lower the risk that employees steal from employers.

You’ve spent thousands on attractive branding and Web design. You’ve hired a capable team that excels at personalizing the patient experience. Your office decor rivals the Four Seasons.

So why on earth would you give your patients a fee quote that looks like that? So much for “branding.”

“We aren’t getting as many phone calls as we used to…”

“Fewer patients are scheduling and more are postponing…”

“Website and social media traffic is down…”

Staff comments like these can cause even the most confident plastic surgeon to hastily discount his or her fees. But although it might put one or two surgeries on the books, reactionary discounting delivers no long-term benefit to your practice.

There is an old Zen story about a man who watched his neighbor zipping down the road on a fast running horse. “Where are you going?” he shouted to the neighbor as he whizzed by. “I don’t know,” the neighbor responded. “Ask the horse!” In many plastic surgery offices, the schedule is like this horse: out of control.

Plastic surgeons preparation for ICD-10

Proper e-consultation ettiquette

How plastic surgeon can appeal to a greater demographic

Checking HIPPA compliance

Electronic health records are being blamed, in part, for the skyrocketing payments associated with level four and level five evaluation and management codes in private practices and hospital emergency departments. Over the last decade, the additional costs for E&M coding increases are estimated to be in the billions.

When CMS releases news that a medical practice or DME provider has been busted for submitting millions of dollars in fraudulent claims, it makes many legitimate physicians and their staff wonder “How did that happen when we can’t even get paid for a new patient visit or test?” The reason is that CMS is stepping up efforts to ferret out fraud through its new Center for Program Integrity (CPI), whose mission is to watch suspect providers/suppliers, their coding, and their claims.

When a physician hears “What is your hourly rate?” she most likely assumes the question is directed to an accountant or an attorney. Unfortunately, physicians rarely think they possess an hourly rate like other professionals.
While it’s true that payment systems do not lend themselves to billing an hourly rate, every doctor has one. Not realizing the importance of hourly compensation causes many practices to fail to appreciate the enormous pickpockets. They steal your opportunity to… Show more

When a physician hears “What is your hourly rate?” she most likely assumes the question is directed to an accountant or an attorney. Unfortunately, physicians rarely think they possess an hourly rate like other professionals.
While it’s true that payment systems do not lend themselves to billing an hourly rate, every doctor has one. Not realizing the importance of hourly compensation causes many practices to fail to appreciate the enormous pickpockets. They steal your opportunity to completely schedule your day with revenue-producing visits. Show less

The DO's and DON'T of Discounting

When Lucy showed up for the interview, you thought your prayers were answered. Here was the patient coordinator/office manager candidate you had always envisioned. Actually Lucy’s resume and cover letter caught your attention; they were among the best you’d seen. Well-groomed, articulate with a soothing slightly Southern accent, she was on time and had a great handshake.

The questions to ask when interviewing a candidate

Try these reasons on for size and take action

Hiring the right people to optimize the software and hardware investments

How to market plastic surgery to the Baby Boomer generation

Recommendations on how to reduce a plastic surgeon's overhead and boost their bottom line.

The trade-offs between private practices vs. hospital employment.

Simple financial solution during an economic downturn

Five Tips to Use Technology Effectively

Steps and tips to avoid expensive mishires