Your day may not look anything like what I describe below, but the point of the post is to suggest that most managers put out fires throughout the day and juggle meetings, email, and issues. of employees and doctors and have very little time to plan. and thinking. Depending on how long you’ve been with your current group, how well-trained your staff are, and how many supervisors you have working with you, you may have a much easier day than described below—or a much easier one! hard!

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

An employee calls you at home before 7 am to tell you that he will not be there. Check the schedule to see how staff can be rearranged to meet all needs.

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

When you arrive, two employees have been waiting for you and have things to discuss with you: one wants to reschedule your vacation for the third time, and the other wants information about FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). look at the schedule and go back to it and give the second one an FMLA information packet for them to review.

She checks her diary and notices that Nurses’ Day is coming up soon and she needs to make plans to celebrate her day.

You check your email and see that your state list server has some interesting information that it sends to your billing manager, asking them to look into the problem and tell you if it applies to your practice.

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

You handle a patient complaint. Round everyone up in practice, checking that everyone has what they need and checking their weekends. On their way back to her office, a nurse mentions that the exam rooms aren’t cleaned as thoroughly as they should; you make a mental note to talk to the cleaning company.

Your 9:30 am meeting is with a broker who has some quotes to share with you in anticipation of his earnings year-end on June 30. His main doctor has asked that the group consider reducing benefits this year if health insurance rates go up again.

He listens to several voicemail messages that came in while he was meeting with the benefits broker. The first is your EMR project manager calling to say that you may need to change your launch date; please call him. Another is a payer requesting to schedule a chart audit sometime in the next three weeks.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

A doctor informs you that you are using the last of the Rx pads. Could she ask for more ASAP?

It’s payroll week and he spends most of the hour finishing up payroll and checking in with the four employees whose payroll record doesn’t have a hit. You submit the payroll file and move the money to the payroll account, check the bank balance, and note the electronic funds transfer that has come in since you checked it on Friday.

12:00 – 13:00

You meet with a doctor who has concerns about the compensation program. Request a report showing your charges, receipts, and work RVU by month for the last two years.

You get your mail, put the bills on the payroll file, and notice that an employee you fired is appealing his unemployment denial and there will be a hearing next week.

You call your print shop and place a rush order for Rx pads.

13:00 – 14:00

You look at your calendar and remember that the accountant is coming today for her quarterly visit and you don’t have everything ready.

You realize lunch is out for today, grab a soda from the break room, grab a packet of cookies from your drawer, and check your email. She’s been advertising on craigslist for a medical records clerk and she takes a quick look at the responses she’s received and sees that there are two that seem like a shot. You call both candidates and leave messages that you’d like to talk to them about the position.

You gather the rest of the information for the accountant and clear a space on the desk where you work when you arrive.

14:00 – 15:00

The accountant arrives and starts work, and you know you’ll have to stay close by to answer any questions they have.

You start working on the reports that the doctor has requested.

You call your EMR project manager but get his voice mail and leave a message. Call the payer and request a list of charts needed for chart review with a letter of request detailing the type of audit.

Start reviewing the benefit broker report to see where you might change other benefits to allow yourself to continue with the same health insurance plan.

15:00 – 16:00

One of the medical records candidates calls back and you talk to her at length, then invite her to an interview with you in two days.

Check the staff vacation schedule to see if you can change the schedule for the employee who has changed their mind about their dates.

Go back around to everyone in practice, checking that everyone has had lunch and that things are running smoothly.

When he comes back from the bathroom, he has five voicemails (!), one of them being the manager of the EMR project who calls him back.

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Your billing manager comes to your weekly standing meeting and reviews the previous week’s dashboard numbers for charges, receipts, charge-offs, and accounts sent to collection. She tells him that one of the check posters has noticed that a payer is not honoring the payment contract. The manager wants to know what to do about it. He asks you to track the payments and identify exactly when they started to go off schedule. She calls the payer representative and requests a meeting later this week.

You get a call from the second medical records candidate, and after talking to her on the phone, you decide not to invite her to the interview.

The employee asking about FMLA stops by and makes an appointment to speak with you tomorrow morning. She tells him that her mother is sick and that she will have to take time off work to take care of her intermittently.

The cleaning crew arrives and you walk with them through various exam rooms, discussing the level of cleanliness that is required. He makes a mental note to contact the nurse who is monitoring the rooms and see if there is any improvement in a few days.

You check your email, you fix the surface of your desk, you notice that the to-do list you started the day with has nothing crossed off. You add two more things to the list, turn off the lights and leave the office. There is always a tomorrow.