Medical

Oral health is a field ripe with misconceptions and “common wisdom” which is wrong more frequently than it’s right. In an effort to help correct some of this bad information we present ten common dental myths and explain the truth behind them.

#1: Sugar Causes Cavities

This is partially true, which is why the belief is so widely held. But in fact, sugar doesn’t cause cavities directly. Instead, it’s the bacteria that feed on the sugar you eat that is responsible for tooth decay.

That means eating sugary foods is fine for your teeth as long as you’re brushing and flossing regularly to prevent plaque and keep the bacteria in your mouth in check.

#2: The Harder You Brush, The Better

Many people think that brushing is more effective the harder you press the bristles into your teeth. But this isn’t true when it comes to oral health. In fact, brushing too hard can be damaging.

When you press too firmly you wear at the gums that support the roots of your teeth. Over time this can lead to gum recession and can damage tooth enamel. The reason this extra force isn’t necessary is two-fold.

Brushing removes the soft plaque on your teeth, the bacterial film that builds up throughout the day. It doesn’t take a lot of force to disrupt the structure and wash it away. Plaque that has already hardened into tartar, however, is extremely strong, and no amount of brushing, no matter how hard, will remove it. So go easy on your teeth.

#3: You Only Need to Visit the Dentist When Your Teeth Hurt

Many of us only see the doctor when we’re sick, so the logic goes that we only need to see the dentist when our teeth hurt. But both of these are misconceptions for the same reason.

Preventative health maintenance is just as important as seeing a doctor when there are problems. We should get regular check-ups even when we feel fine to make sure there aren’t developing problems, and we need to see the dentist on a regular basis, too, even if our teeth feel fine.

Regular, professional dental cleanings remove tartar build up that brushing and flossing alone can’t get. This tartar, left unchecked can lead to gum disease. Also, regular dental visits can help identify problems early, before they start causing pain, which aids in reversing the issue.

#4: You Shouldn’t Brush or Floss If Your Gums Are Bleeding

This misconception is common because people assume that their brushing or flossing is somehow responsible for the bleeding. But in fact, not brushing or flossing can make the problem worse.

This is because it’s the bacteria that builds on your teeth and under the gumline that’s responsible for weakening the gums and causing them to bleed. Brushing and flossing remove that bacteria, leading to healthier gums. They may bleed a few times, but the bleeding will stop if you keep up your cleaning regimen.

#5: Baby Teeth Don’t Matter Because They’re Going to Fall Out Anyway

It’s true that the teeth themselves are expendable, but they serve as placeholders for a child’s future, permanent teeth. The spacing and alignment of baby teeth help guide the growth of adult teeth, so if a child gets cavities in their baby teeth it can affect the growth pattern of the teeth that replace them.

#6: White Teeth Equal Healthy Teeth

Sometimes yes, but not always. Teeth can discolor because of health issues, but they can also be stained by smoking and by certain foods and beverages. Stained or yellowish teeth do not automatically mean there is a health issue.

The more pernicious problem with this belief is the idea that using teeth whiteners will lead to healthier teeth. Whitening your teeth will only make them whiter. It won’t fix underlying issues.

#7: Diet Soda Won’t Hurt Your Teeth Because it Doesn’t Have Sugar

This is wrong in two ways. We learned earlier that sugar itself isn’t a problem for teeth, which means regular soda isn’t any worse for your teeth than diet soda. And both can damage your teeth because soda is extremely acidic.

Both regular and diet soda contain carbonic acid, which is created by the carbonation process, as well as small amounts of citric acid and phosphoric acid. This acid content can degrade tooth enamel as well as cause tooth sensitivity.

#8: You Should Brush Your Teeth After Every Meal

Many people assume that the reason we brush our teeth is to clean away food particles. For this reason, they think it’s best to brush each time they eat.

This isn’t the case. Brushing is intended to remove soft plaque, and interrupt the process which hardens it into tartar. As long as we brush twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, we’re sufficiently cleaning our teeth. Brushing after every meal is unnecessary and can be damaging to tooth enamel.

#9: If You Eat After Brushing At Night You Need to Brush Again

This is wrong for the same reason you don’t need to brush after every meal. Food particles don’t cause tooth decay. They only serve as food for the bacteria in the plaque that accumulates on your teeth.

When you brush, you break up this plaque and rinse it away. Eating after brushing does little to affect your teeth because the bacteria that would feed on it aren’t present in sufficient numbers. So if you have a midnight snack, don’t worry about brushing again.

#10: Once A Tooth Has a Crown or a Filling It Can’t Get a Cavity

Not only can you still get a cavity in these teeth, in some cases a cavity is more likely. That’s because plaque and tartar can form around the margin where the crown or filling meets the tooth. If this is allowed to fester decay can begin. It’s important to care for all of your teeth, even those with fillings or crowns.

All misconceptions aside, as long as your brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing, and getting regular, professional dental cleanings and checkups, you’re giving your teeth the best chance they can get for a long and healthy life.

If you are looking for a dental collection agency to address your accounts receivable: Contact us

The cost of healthcare in the United States has been a concern for 50 years. Over the past decade, however, medical debt has bloomed, and its growth has caused a ripple effect. Burdened with high costs, lost wages due to illness, and other ways a medical need can affect finances, more people are filing bankruptcy because of medical debt.

Big Medical Bills – A large and looming problem

An estimated 79 million Americans have medical debt problems. These can range from owing money to a hospital or other care provider, to forgoing vital care because of prohibitive costs. The total past-due health care debt in America is now $81 billion. With such a large number of people affected by the cost of medical care, it is unsurprising that some of this group will be pushed beyond their personal financial brink.

Bankruptcy is an extreme remedy under the law, and few people approach filing bankruptcy without exhausting all other options. In fact, the Bankruptcy Code’s means-testing requires debtors in Chapter 7 filings to prove that they could not pay off their debt through stricter budgeting.

From June 2018 to June 2019, about 765,000 individuals filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. This number is a slight drop from the previous year, which continued a downward trend over the past few years.

However, recent academic research discovered that over 66 % of all bankruptcies are medically-related.

The growing number of medical debt-related bankruptcy filings highlight a large problem that has culminated from increased costs of care and an ongoing political battle over how Americans pay for and receive health care services – a situation that many refer to as a health care crisis.

Unfortunately, the Coronavirus (or COVID-19) pandemic will push more people towards bankruptcy. Hospitalizations, ER stay, Outpatient visit, Ambulance trip, co-pay, tests, X-ray scans and more, can quickly wipe off the savings of a typical American family even with insurance. Moreover, a lot of people have lost jobs, and a large medical bill is the last thing they want to see right now.

It’s not only a crisis for the uninsured

One might think that lack of insurance is the primary reason for out of control medical debt. Care is expensive, and many Americans do not have sufficient savings or room in their monthly budgets for surprise expenses. Health care is very likely to be unplanned, especially expensive procedures and hospitalization.

While people may not have financial cushions to absorb the shock of urgent medical care costs, this problem affects those with insurance as well. Insurance deductibles and denied claims for procedures that are not covered are a big part of the problem. Not everyone has access to low deductible insurance, and high deductibles can easily surpass the average American’s savings.

Also, even the lowest deductible doesn’t alleviate the cost of illnesses that can easily spread beyond one’s health care.

Age groups affected

Another reason for concern is the fact that medical debt is negatively impacting the lives of Millenials. A study showed that 11% of people with at least one medical bill in collections are 27-years-old. This is a large percentage for one very specific and limited age group, and it is notable as the age when children are no longer eligible to be on their parent’s insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act. This generation is also facing an increased cost of living and student loan debt that can collectively make even small amounts of medical debt unmanageable.

The cost of health care, however, is not only a concern for younger adults. The growing senior population and increased costs for health care are also sending older Americans to bankruptcy. Also, medical needs can affect anyone at any age, but a large number of affected individuals at each end of the age spectrum might provide some clarity about the larger problem. Health care is expensive, insurance doesn’t cover everything, but many Americans lack financial stability to weather unexpected expenses.

Solutions: from laws to charity

Anyone even half-listening to national politics knows that solutions to the costs of healthcare are hotly debated, and have been for years. Some of the solutions implemented, however, have not made a notable impact on medical debt and its effect on bankruptcy filing rates. A study by the American Public Journal of Health showed that the Affordable Care Act did not lower the number of medically-related filings. This is because of high deductibles, which can put the price of medical care beyond one’s budget. Pushes for and against “Medicare for All” legislation are highly politicized, and it’s unclear if the net result of such a plan would save individuals money.

This situation has left many to seek an alternate solution: charity.  Many non-profit hospitals have programs to forgive medical debt for those unable to pay, but there is not enough to go around for all of America’s medical debt. Crowdfunding has risen to fill this gap, with over 250,000 medical GoFundMe campaigns last year alone.

Ultimately, the solution may require a combination of various efforts. Bankruptcy is a remedy for individuals who have gotten in over their heads due to a number of circumstances, but the clean slate that results from a successful filing doesn’t protect against future medical debts.

Patients will be able to eliminate medical debt in both Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. However, bankruptcies will stay on your credit record for anywhere between seven to ten years. But not everyone is eligible to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Your medical bills and other debts can’t exceed the allowed Chapter 13 debt limits.

Image Source: https://www.nber.org/papers/w22170

 

Do you need a debt collection agency endorsed by NAOHP  (National Association of occupational health professionals), to recover unpaid bills for your occupational therapy center? Urgent care and Occupational Health debt collection process requires careful planning and experience. Recovering money while attempting to preserve the delicate patient-doctor relationship is essential

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Many clients of Occupational Therapy Centers do not want to use their insurance to make payment for the treatments received. Such clients are often unable to pay their medical bills as promised. Unpaid bills are a big problem for Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation centers. Selecting a collection agency with extensive experience working with Occupational Therapy doctors and professionals makes a big difference in the recovery rates.

Medicare and some other payers have limits on how much they will pay for therapy services in a given year. Therapists must track their patients’ progress toward these limits to avoid providing services that will not be reimbursed. Low reimbursement rates from payers can make it difficult for occupational therapy practices to stay profitable. This is particularly an issue with Medicaid, which is a major payer for many practices but often has lower reimbursement rates than other payers.

Difference between Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy

You’ve suffered an injury and you need therapy to aid in your recovery. You’re familiar with the terms physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT), but it’s unclear which one would be most appropriate or which might help the most.

You’re not alone. To the uninitiated, these therapeutic practices can seem like the same thing. They’re both concerned with rehabilitation and offer advice on maximizing the healing process. They also both work with patients to avoid injuries in the future.

But the two focus on different aspects of the recovery process and often use different techniques to accomplish their goals. For many patients, there isn’t a choice between PT and OT. They’re complementary practices, and one often follows after the other. So which do you need? You might need both. Let’s look more closely at the differences.

Occupational Therapy helps to improve mechanical and motor operational skills to perform everyday functions. Physical Therapy prevents long-term pain through exercise and treatment.

Occupational Therapy helps to regain a sense of independence. Physical Therapy attempts to help to gain full mobility in damaged areas.

Occupational Therapy helps to regain happiness and confidence. Works on mental aspects as well. Physical Therapy helps to perform everyday activities. Focuses mainly on the physical aspect only.

Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy often work together during comprehensive Rehabilitation Therapy.

What Does Physical Therapy Focus On?

Physical therapists are concerned with diagnosing and repairing injuries. Their therapeutic techniques focus on restoring range of motion and balance, rebuilding muscle strength, getting bones back into proper alignment, and helping patients recover gross motor abilities.

Physical therapists most commonly employ stretching, mobility exercises, and massage and use their intensive understanding of human anatomy to help patients recover from their injuries and reduce or eliminate associated pain. These interventions are often performed to help patients avoid surgery and the complications that can come with that.

Someone who has been in a bad car accident, and suffered considerable damage to their legs, will usually benefit from physical therapy. Both the damage itself and the muscle loss caused by being off their feet during the recuperation period can cause significant difficulties in regaining the proper balance, muscle tone, and strength to walk. A physical therapist would work with this patient to recover their joint flexibility and the range of motion needed to reestablish full mobility.

Physical therapists focus strictly on healing the body. Occupational therapists take a more holistic approach.

What Does Occupational Therapy Focus On?

Occupational therapists aren’t trained in the healing modalities used by physical therapists. Their focus is less on repairing the body and more on helping patients recover their quality of life. They work with patients to regain fine motor control and learn ways to work around their disabilities and limitations so that they can perform daily tasks again.

They look at how a patient’s injuries affect their daily life and help them build a plan to regain the functionality important to them.

Occupational therapists don’t restrict their work to people that have suffered an injury. They also regularly help people that are disabled and developmentally or cognitively challenged. Rehabilitation is central to their work, but they also help individuals learn new skills in a way that works for their impairment.

Someone who lost a hand in an accident might turn to an occupational therapist to learn strategies for getting themselves dressed, preparing food, and taking care of other tasks that are now more difficult for them.

Occupational therapists help patients learn to live with their injuries and disabilities, while physical therapists attempt to heal them as much as possible.

How Do the Two Work Together?

The two disciplines can be employed separately, but many patients benefit from both.

Revisiting our car accident victim from earlier, he would need to undergo intensive physical therapy in order to regain their ability to walk. Once that milestone has been achieved, an occupational therapist might step in to help the patient recover task-based abilities that fall outside the physical therapy purview.

Residual joint tightness and muscle damage might make it difficult for this patient to put their pants on in the morning or to bend over far enough to tie their shoes. An occupational therapist would work with them on strategies and exercises to help them either regain their former ability or learn new ways of accomplishing these tasks.

Physical therapy helps patients recover from their injuries as much as possible, attempting to avoid surgery and dependence on pain medications. Occupational therapists help fill in the gaps in their lives that are left when complete recovery isn’t possible. In this way, the two disciplines combine to give people back as much of a patient’s previous quality of life as possible.

Which type of therapy you need depends on whether you need to heal from an injury or whether you need to learn to live with that injury or disability. Both are extremely effective in their specific area of influence.

Healthcare finance has always been a tricky business, likely due to the sheer number of patients that many healthcare providers have and the different aspects that play into what one particular patient’s bill might be. In general, a healthcare provider will typically look at the metric of Days in Accounts Receivable, otherwise known as DAR, as a way to analyze how strong their financial performance is going. Once a healthcare provider determines what their median DAR is, their goal is to bring this figure down as low as possible. What a lower number of AR days means is that bills are getting paid more efficiently and effectively. When this is the case, a healthcare provider will be better able to avoid debt accumulation and maintain a steady cash flow. While the prospect of reducing AR days may seem daunting and complex, it can more easily be managed by following these steps.

Determine Your Current State In Terms of DA

Before you can begin working on reducing AR days, you need to determine what your current position is in terms of DAR. If you’re not yet aware of what your current DAR figure is. This is easy to figure out, as long as you can look back within the last six months at your total charges and know what your total accounts receivables are. From there, the figure you’re looking for can be achieved through a simple two-step formula. First, you’re going to determine an estimate of your average daily charges. To do this, simply divide your total charges for the past six months by the number of days in the last six months. Got it? Now you’re going to take your total of accounts receivables and divide that by the number you just came up with, or your average daily charges. That will give you your DAR.

Hopefully, this number is between 40 and 50. If so, your billing performance would be considered average in comparison to the DAR of other healthcare providers. If that number is below 40, congratulations! You’re billing performance is more efficient than average! This doesn’t mean that you should stop working towards bringing that number down, but it does mean what you’re doing right now is working well. If your DAR is above 50, you’ll know that your billing performance needs work in order to avoid debt collection and ensure healthy cash flow.

Utilize Data to Get An Idea of Where You’re At In Terms Of AR

How can you better manage your revenue cycle if you don’t have a clear understanding of where you’re at? Healthcare providers should strike to improve their revenue cycle as much as possible while implementing purposeful changes that are inspired by data that depicts where your performance currently stands. This is your chance to look for any trends that may exist within the data. Does one particular payer tend to often not pay in time? Once you have this information, you can address the issue with the payer and hopefully reduce this problem in the future.

Hire a Quality Coder

If you’re really looking for ways to enhance your financial performance, you need some trained and certified employees on your side. It might be prudent to invest in a certified coder who can help you ensure you are accurately documenting your finances, meeting any payer requirements necessary, and getting an understanding of industry trends. This is really just another way to ensure you are covering all your bases and taking every possible step to successfully reduce AR days. This individual can also potentially help provide patients with any assistance they might be looking for as far as copayments and deductibles.

Change Your Timeframe In Regards To Billing

If you notice that you’re consistently having your patients pay bills late, there might be an issue with the time frame you’re utilizing for billing. In an effort to increase bills being paid on time, consider adjusting the amount of time you’re providing patients with. Make sure you’re sending out bills as fast as possible. The sooner you can send the bill after the time of service the better. Do away with weekly or monthly billing and instead decrease the time between the date of service and date of billing.

Invest in Technology that will Help Reduce AR days

There are many different options out there in terms of useful software programs that will provide an accurate estimate of patients out of pocket liability based on data from a patient’s insurance coverage. When you’re able to provide this information to patients well in advance, for example before they undergo an expensive procedure or operation, it not only takes some of the stress of the unknown off their shoulders but also typically means they are more likely to pay in a timely manner. The psychology behind this factor is pretty simple. If a patient already knows that the estimate they’ve been provided with is both fair and accurate, they are going to be less likely to debate their bill and more likely to pay early on. These software programs also have other features that can help a healthcare provider determine the status of many different bills and payments, thus alerting them if something hasn’t been paid before they’re smacked with late fees and debt.

Provide Patients with as Many Ways as Possible to Pay their Bills

These days we’re moving further and further away from paper billing and heading in the direction of only digital bills. Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, or AI, as well as the 5G network are leading to the great shift from paper to digital faster than could have ever been expected. This is in part due to the additional security measures such advancements offer, for example providing patients with multiple ways of confirming their identity before gaining access to their accounts or financial information. We’re now seeing two-factor verification in many bill processing centers, whether in the form of thumbprint identification, security questions, or even facial recognition with some of the newer devices coming out. In short, all these precautionary measures are all ways to avoid a patient’s information being compromised, prevent hacking or scamming, and keep confidential information secure. These advances not only prevent hacking but alert financial institutions within seconds if an account has been compromised. Heightened security is also vital whenever you’re dealing with finances, but is even more important for healthcare providers because of the sheer volume of classified information and patient data they’ve been entrusted to protect.

This shift will help even those most technologically hesitant feel more confident about paying their bills. Many people, particularly those among the older generation, have been slow to jump on board with digital payments out of fear of their information being compromised. However, new technological advancements make it all the more difficult for security breaches to occur.

Another way for healthcare providers to reduce AR days as much as possible and prevent debt accumulation is to offer their patients as many ways as possible to pay their bills. They should most certainly encourage digital payments, whether this may come in the form of an online portal or perhaps a phone application that syncs up with their financial institution. Digital payments not only allow bills to be paid faster and more efficiently but are also often more secure.

While healthcare providers should encourage digital payments and continue to remind patients that this is an option for them, this does not mean they should neglect providing paper billing as an option. The more options they better in terms of ways to pay bills.

Final Thoughts

To conclude, it’s possible for any healthcare provider to reduce their AR days by simply determining where they are currently in terms of their DAR and deciding where the goal is for the future. From there they can invest in modern software programs that make bill payments easier and more efficient. Finally, never neglect to provide patients with as many ways as possible to pay their bills.

In today’s competitive healthcare space, running your own medical practice is both rewarding and challenging. It’s a constant balancing act between providing long-lasting, quality patient care, and optimizing business profitability. Also, many important aspects such as dealing with crushing administrative tasks and rising operating costs come into play.

The truth is, many new medical practitioners aren’t cognizant of the business side of running a practice, thus they struggle to make a profit. You may be one of them. If so, you’re probably not bringing in the profits you should be.

To help you earn more profit, we have included some strategies that’ll get you in a more entrepreneurial mindset. These strategies can have a powerful impact on your bottom line if executed well.

1. Build an Online Presence, Get a website.

We live in a digital age where almost everyone uses the internet daily. It would be wise to build your own online presence to make it easy for new to find you on the internet. More and more people are using the internet to research and book their next medical appointment. Which means that your online presence is an integral part of your practice’s marketing and visibility strategy. It is therefore important to

• Have a  medical or dental website that serves as your digital home that should have clear information on your services offered, practitioners, and access to a patient portal or booking system.
• Be knowledgeable about SEO. SEO is a powerful online marketing tool that will benefit you for a long run in your online patient recruitment proclivities, so make good use of it.
• Use social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These are all online platforms where a huge chunk of your current patients and potential patients hang out. It is important to keep your patients informed and engaged so post content with important and helpful information, provide helpful tips and news on your clinic. By doing so, you are attracting new clients and building a strong referral network at the same time.
• Online reviews: Online reviews like Google, Yelp and BBB reviews are the equivalent of word-of-mouth and are the most trusted way to build a strong online reputation.

2. Transfer Accounts Receivable to a Collection Agency

You know very well, accounts who have been past due for over 60-90 days are hardest to collect. Over 90% of those patients will not pay even after repeated calls from your staff.  Assigning accounts to a Collection Agency is a game-changer. A medical collection agency is usually able to recover over 50% accounts receivable which are assigned to them between 60 and 90 days. You cannot beat the collection rate and cost-effectiveness of a collection agency.

3. Market Your Practice

In this age, relying on old marketing models is a surefire way to lose clients. Today you have to show your community what makes you the best choice for their needs. No longer can you wait for clients to come to you, instead you will have to be proactive and enticing.

You can try a variety of marketing and public relations tactics that require almost no funds, or you can invest money in a more effective marketing campaign that will raise awareness of your practice and increase your patient base such as advertising and participating in free healthcare checkup camps.

4. Automate patient reminders

Whether it’s an appointment reminder for an annual check-up or an update for a patient whose test results are ready, good dialogue with your patients helps deliver a quality experience and increase patient loyalty. The good news is that you can automatically send your patients’ reminders by setting them up through your medical practice management software.

5. Provide a patient portal

A patient portal is a website that leverages cloud technology to enable instant access to medical information for patients. In addition to that, it also reduces the time spent on administration for practitioners, thus freeing up time in their busy schedule to work on other essential tasks.

Another benefit of the patient portal is that it allows your patients to book and reschedule appointments which significantly reduces patient no-shows. Practitioners can set up automated reminders for any health check-ups that are needed and share real-time information with patients.

6. Monitor Competition

It is important to remember that you are not just a physician, you are also an entrepreneur. This means that all the physicians in your vicinity who are providing the same services as you are your competition. Every patient, they treat is one that could’ve been yours.

For this reason, it would benefit you to monitor your competition to understand how they gain patients. The easiest way to do this is through the internet. Conduct a Google search to find out what they might be doing that you aren’t. If they provide a popular service that you are not providing yet, feel free to copy them. Make sure to provide a high-quality service with exceptional customer service to keep your new clients coming.

7. Increase First-Pass Resolution Rate

Increasing your first-pass resolution rate (FPRR) also known as the “clean claims rate” is a great way to improve your practice profitability more quickly and efficiently. By doing this you will be reimbursed on the first pass. This limits the turnaround time for reimbursement and the money can be more directly reinvested in the practice.

8. Incorporate a seamless billing system

Every company, regardless of size, relies on steady cash flow to operate effectively. Billing is the door that allows the cash flow to enter the business, thus it is a crucial part of your practice success. But the billing process can be tedious, time-consuming and mistake-prone, especially if you are managing different fee schedules.

This automated billing process like AthenaHealth can upload receipts and invoices to the patient portal as soon as a patient has finished their consultation. The automated billing process can also send automated SMS or email reminders for overdue payments.

Present your patients with one straightforward amount with a short breakup below, rather than sending multiple invoices. Your patients will be more comfortable paying the bill. This will also minimize any confusion and hostility.

9. Take Business Courses

Running your own medical practice is a business, and as an entrepreneur, the only way to be successful is to understand the nuts and bolts of running a company. While the internet offers a myriad of physician business tips, attending business courses still provides the most in-depth learning experience. Reduce stress and be cheerful with your patients and staff.

Fortunately, Physician-focused business programs have been blossoming all across the country and some of these are certificate programs available at prestigious universities. The flip side of taking courses is the time and money you’ll have to invest. But in the long run, the investment in more formal education should pay for itself.

10. Avoid medical malpractice lawsuits, have insurance coverage

Billions of dollars worth of medical claims are paid out every year. Mistakes happen, and courts judgement are often not too favorable of medical practitioners who are anyway looked upon as the big and rich guys. One lawsuit can wipe of your years worth of earnings and hard work. We have listed some common reasons of dental malpractice lawsuits.  A good malpractice insurance is an absolute necessity for any medical practice.

A few Collection Agencies do a litigious patient scrub before initiating collections. It means they recommend against collecting a few hundred worth of bills against those patients who have a history of suing doctors in the past.

Final thoughts

Running your own medical practice is no easy feat, especially in today’s highly competitive business environment. To stay on top of the competition and be profitable, it would behoove you to follow the above-mentioned tips.

Experiencing severe pain or being diagnosed with a serious medical ailment can make anyone emotional, agitated, irritated or even angry. Understandably, no one would enjoy being confined in a hospital far away from loved ones. Sometimes patients can get so emotional that they cross all boundaries and start to take their frustrations out on the entire healthcare team. In such instances, the best thing the healthcare team can do is to ease the situation.

Here are some ways healthcare providers can deal with angry patients:

1. Understand the reason for the patient’s anger or dissatisfaction

Patients can get angry for various reasons! However, sometimes these reasons may be personal and completely not medically related – even though they’ll disguise it as such. It is important that medical professionals providing care to the patient, recognize and address the origin of the patient’s anger. Often, the patient can identify the immediate frustration that sets them off but, not the root cause of the anger.

In such cases, healthcare professionals can attempt to calm angry patients or prevent further development of the patient’s anger by improving communication, bedside manner and minimizing significant delays while continuing to provide efficient care. Always watch your own language to prevent things from getting bad to worse. Remain calm, caring, empathetic, and tactful; and their tension will likely diffuse itself.

2. Dr. Google could be interfering:

The Internet is full of misinformation. These days half of the patients who walk into the doctor’s office believe that they have already diagnosed themselves by reading on the internet. Few of them don’t mind giving a short tutorial, even to the doctor.

When their internet-based self-diagnosis differs from the doctor’s opinion, some patients do not take it nicely. They hate being told they are wrong, even after the doctor has properly explained.

“But doctor what I read …”
“Do you think we should be doing this instead ….”

It is perfectly fine for patients to do some self-research, express their opinion and clear any doubts, but aggressively defending their hypothesis by trying to contradict or doubting doctor’s treatment can be incredibly frustrating. A patient who does not have adequate belief in his doctor should be advised to have a second opinion from another medical practitioner.

3. Getting too much treatment:

A doctor often prescribes several tests and medical procedures to diagnose the patient properly. Many patients think it to be unnecessary or a way for the hospital/doctor to make extra money.

In the United States, thousands of medical professionals are sued by patients every year for negligence. Doctors need to be extra careful, usually all those extra tests are recommended to eliminate less obvious medical conditions. Some tests are not fully covered by their medical insurance and the patient is on the hook to bear those expenses. Many patients get angry because they feel the whole healthcare industry is commercialized to extract money from them.

A patient who raises objection/declines the tests or procedures that you have recommended, and if your patient continues to remain unconvinced, then keep a proper written proof of his treatment preference, duly signed by the patient. Otherwise refer him to a different doctor.

4. Explanation of services

Patients who are in an emotional and agitated state are prone to act irrationally and display anger. Sometimes patients will burst out in anger simply because they believe that a medical professional is providing lackluster care. Patients might even compare the care provided by one medical professional to that of another to prove their point – even when the services rendered by the different medical professionals were completely unrelated.

To defuse this situation and calm the patient, it is best to explain the service being rendered step by step and in detail. It is recommended that the medical professionals explain the care they will provide upfront to prevent any miscommunications and aroused anger.

5. Cost and insurance breakup

“What do you mean my insurance does not cover it?” – these are words caregivers are all too familiar with when dealing with patients. At this point, you might almost see their anger boiling to the surface as they stare in disbelief while a caregiver is trying to explain the situation logically and efficiently.

Many patients do not fully comprehend the makeup of their insurance. It is therefore important that caregivers explain in full detail the cost of the services being rendered, the breakup of their individual insurance and respectfully direct them to their insurance company for clarification.

6. Medication side-effect

Patients can get angry for numerous reasons, but sometimes this anger is attributed to a medical reason. Sometimes patients are on medication for other conditions and thus are finding it challenging to manage their emotions. Unfortunately, these medications can also cause a patient to become fidgety, easily irritated or aggressive.

In this case, the medical professional rendering services can only be sympathetic, communicate with the patient regarding the service and continue providing care when the patient is calmer.

7. Fear and worry

Being medically ill can be an intensely destabilizing experience for a patient, especially if one is hospitalized. In some cases, unclear results of a diagnosis, the occurrence of complications during treatment and a demand to stay hospitalized for a longer period can cause a patient to worry and become fearful about their future.

This fear can trigger anger and patients may attempt to direct this anger to caregivers. It is common for patients who are constantly worried and afraid to become broody, moody and even aggressive. Caregivers can attempt to help the patient recognize their source of anger and encourage them to alleviate their worries and fears.

8. The patient feels un-involved

At times patients might believe that medical professionals are not involving them or keeping them up to date on important decisions regarding their health. This might cause anger and confusion. Some patients might even express anger to catch the attention of medical staff as they feel that they have not received sufficient information about their illness or that their concerns have not been addressed.

Ensuring that patients feel they are involved in their care all time can stop anger outbursts even before they happen. Medical staff should always strive to explain thoroughly to patients about their conditions and the care they will be receiving.

9. The patient is experiencing high levels of pain

Sometimes when a patient is in excruciating pain, they become more emotional and their ability to think logically decreases. This is completely natural, as anger is an emotion often raised by pain, especially chronic pain. Pain has caused many patients to lash out at caregivers for no apparent reason and sometimes even refuse to accept the care being provided.

Caregivers who are involved with these patients must first assess the pain and only prescribe analgesics if needed. However, caregivers must strive to alleviate the pain and offer comfort to the patient as soon as possible.

10. Stay calm

Anger should never be reciprocated with anger, even when patients appear to become upset for no reason. The truth is that there is always a reason that triggered their anger, whether it is immediately apparent or not. It might be that they are sad, worried or in distress.

Unfortunately, caregivers will be at the receiving end of the patient’s anger. As a caregiver, your role is to stay calm, show empathy and validate their feelings. You can do so by making the patient feel that you understand and care about them. Focus your attention on them, their feelings, expressions, and actions. Show them that you are interested and that they are important. This is powerful and can calm them down immediately.

Sometimes patients intentionally pretend to be angry just because if they show more tantrums, the hospital/medical practitioner will become extra careful and concerned about their treatment. The fact is that doctors have to master the skill on how to deal with different personalities in the best way possible,

Conclusion

It is common for medical professionals to get involved with angry patients daily. Patients who are experiencing excruciating pain are prone to become emotional and act irrationally, agitated or angry. How medical professionals handle these situations will cause a patient to calm down or become angrier. Your patient needs to be treated like a partner. It is, therefore, best to follow the above-mentioned methods when dealing with angry patients.