Silkin Management Group’s blog posted on January 31st discussed some new incentives that the Obama Administration is proposing to help small businesses start up and expand. Some of these incentives are tax related and cover some issues we’ve discussed in this multi-part series covering tax issues to be aware of in 2012. Articles from this series can be found on several Silkin Management Group blog sites including this one.

Our earlier articles have covered the following points: a) increased tax audits and b) some potential tax consequences of the federal health care legislation that will be ruled on by the Supreme Court this year, c) extensions of some favorable tax rules, d) federal, state and local governments on the look-out for new sources of revenue, e) the potential effects of the Presidential race and election, f) potential increases in unemployment taxes and g) possible changes in estate taxes.

Here is another issue that any tax payer should be aware of:

• The impact of low interest rates: As we all know, interest rates are the lowest they’ve been in decades and, according to Ben Bernake at the Federal Reserve, they will remain low for at least several more years. While this doesn’t provide much incentive for savings accounts, it does impact dealing with the IRS. With these low interest rates also used by the IRS the penalties for underpaying estimated taxes are greatly reduced. The last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of this year finds the IRS charging only 3 percent on underpayments. Some business owners will consider the 3 percent underpayment charge small or even irrelevant compared to the value of keeping the cash until the end of the year to run and expand their business. Note: this does not mean that the taxes will not be owed. If you are contemplating this strategy, you still must make sure you have the cash to pay the taxes by April so you don’t incur penalties on top of the interest.

We will finish up this series in future Silkin Management Group blogs.

Scott Barnard
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or call us at 800-695-0257.

Silkin Management Group

Yesterday we began a series of articles concerning tax trends that readers of our Silkin Management Group blogs should be aware of for 2012. The two points we covered in yesterday’s article were a) increased tax audits and b) some potential tax consequences of the federal health care legislation that will be ruled on by the Supreme Court this year. You can link to that Silkin Management Group blog site here: http://bit.ly/xjpz9Y

Today we’ll cover two more 2012 tax related points that Silkin Management Group clients and blog readers should be aware of.

• Extension of some favorable tax rules: Last year we wrote about some tax rules that were very favorable to businesses. These rules included: a) the ability to take 100% depreciation on eligible business related equipment purchases; b) complete exclusion for gain on the sales of business stock that qualifies. Point “a” is most relevant to Silkin Management Group clients. These tax rules expired at the end of 2011 but were and are expected to be extended at least through 2012. There seems to be some bipartisan support for this so, hopefully, these extensions will not be part of the continual partisan bickering and lack of fiscal progress by Congress.

• New revenue sources: Every government entity is searching and searching for increased revenue to balance extremely unbalanced budgets. This includes state and local governments. As a simple example you might look at how much more parking and motor vehicle moving violation tickets cost these days. An increase in state sponsored gambling is one of the biggest new sources of revenue. Some states are attempting to legalize on line gambling to bring in money. Keep an eye out in your state and city for new tax rules and laws being implemented to raise revenue in your area. Any increase in revenue comes out of someone’s wallet, likely including yours.

During this week we will continue to add to this list of 2012 tax related issues that all business owners should be aware of.

Eric Korb
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group, give us a call at 800-695-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com.

Silkin Management Group

In yesterday’s Silkin Management Group blog we presented Part 4 of a series of five articles covering different methods that small businesses can use to potentially reduce their health care costs. You can access yesterday’s article at this Silkin Management Group blog site: http://bit.ly/AAxY9e

An article in Forbes magazine originally presented these ideas, and we’ve attempted to summarize them in this series for Silkin Management Group clients and readers of our various blog sites. If you are interested in reading this article you can find it here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/roblynch/2012/01/05/ten-ways-small-businesses-can-lower-healthcare-costs-and-hire-more-people-in-2012/

In the earlier articles we have gone over eight different ideas that small business owners can look into to help reduce their health care costs. They are:

• Pooling with other businesses in an insurance plan.
• Due proper due-diligence when shopping for a plan – get as many quotes as possible.
• Implement a wellness program.
• Implement a policy regarding smokers.
• Set up a wellness hotline.
• Be part of a pilot program for clinical trials.
• Review your premiums and who you are paying for.
• Investigate cost sharing with employees.

Today we will go over the final two ideas presented in the Forbes article.

• Only cover generic drugs: According to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association you can save up to 80% on the cost of drugs when you use generic drugs versus name brand drugs. With the ever increasing proliferation of pharmaceutical drugs in our society, this savings can be significant and thereby help reduce premiums.

• Reduce the choices of providers: There are plans out there that offer a smaller number of doctors and HMOs and include ones that are significantly less expensive. You can limit the choices that your employees have which can result in reduced premiums. This is something worthwhile to look into.

Scott Barnard
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group, call us at 800-695-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group has presented 11 different articles on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites, including this one, concerning over 20 benefits and reasons to hold short morning meetings in a health care office. Today we will give you the full list of all 22 reasons/benefits for your review. More detailed explanations of each point can be found in each of the previous articles.

• Scheduling of emergency patients.
• Reviewing the day’s schedule and possible trouble spots.
• Filling openings in the schedule.
• Being aware of new patients.
• Medical alerts or medical issues to be aware of.
• Confirming any lab case interaction.
• Patient/client financial situations.
• Insurance review for patients/clients coming in that day.
• Being aware of any relevant information about a patient/client such as they just got married.
• If a patient/client is a friend or relative of the Doctor or staff.
• What to do if a staff member is absent.
• Reviewing any special needs for tomorrow that need to be taken care of ahead of time.
• Being aware of any “VIP” patients – most particularly patients who refer.
• Reviewing practice goals and status of any bonus/incentive programs.
• Identifying potential calls for the Doctor.
• Analyzing yesterday’s schedule.
• Dentists only: Hygiene schedule review.
• Dentists only: New patient prophy review.
• Reviewing positive patient/client feedback.
• Reviewing negative patient feedback.
• Practice Announcements.
• Restating Your Mission Statement.

As we pointed out in our last article, if you aren’t holding morning meetings, start now and take up a few of these points at a time. Then start adding more items until you have a regular agenda for your meetings throughout the week. If you are already holding these meetings, review the above list and make sure you include any items that may be relevant and/or helpful.

Remember, the purpose of these meetings is to provide greater coordination and teamwork in the office. Properly done they will help increase office efficiency, decrease double and triple work and doctor interruptions, and facilitate higher production and a happier office. That’s what Silkin Management Group clients find when they’ve properly implemented this management tool.

Jack Hennessey
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group visit our website at www.silkinmanageentgroup.com.

Silkin Management Group

Today we’ll present the 10th article in the Silkin Management Group series covering 25 different reasons for holding morning meetings in your health care office. The previous articles are on this blog site as well as several other Silkin Management Group blog sites. The last article can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/zhT1r1

Nearly all Silkin Management Group clients are dentists, veterinarians and optometrists and all come to us wanting to run a more efficient and productive practice. Morning meetings help achieve that for all the reasons we have gone over in previous articles. Today we’ll add several more.

• Reviewing positive patient/client feedback: Patients or clients with positive feedback often relay this information to the staff, but less often the doctor. The morning meeting is a great place to share this type of positive feedback with the doctor and the rest of the staff. It increases morale and sense of purpose throughout the office.

• Reviewing negative patient feedback: As with positive feedback, patients/clients rarely share problems with the doctor but may speak about it with certain staff. Patient problems, where appropriate, should be discussed at the morning meeting so that the proper corrective actions can be taken. It may be more appropriate to discuss the problem in private with the doctor and appropriate staff rather than spread “bad news” throughout the office. The office manager should decide the best way to handle this situation. The important thing is that the information gets looked at and the proper correction takes place.

We still have two more benefits of holding morning meetings to present which we will do in future articles on Silkin Management Group blog sites.

Dave McKevitt
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group visit our website at www.silkinmanageentgroup.com or calling us at 800-695-0257.

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group has published on our various blog sites two previous articles summarizing different ways that small businesses can control health care costs. These ideas came from an article in Forbes magazine which you can access here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/roblynch/2012/01/05/ten-ways-small-businesses-can-lower-healthcare-costs-and-hire-more-people-in-2012/

Since Silkin Management Group clients, as well as many readers of our Silkin Management Group blogs, are small business owners we thought it would be useful to pass along some of the points from this article in a summary form.

The ideas covered in our two previous articles were:

• Pooling with other small businesses in an insurance plan.
• Diligently shopping many different plans for the most cost effective one available.
• Setting up wellness programs.
• Avoiding smokers and/or doing something pro-active with existing smokers.

Today we’ll go over two more ideas.

• Nursing hotlines: If you can set up some sort of nursing hotline, where your employees can call a nurse as their first response to a health issue, you can possibly reduce costs. Surveys show that these hotline reduce the number of trips to ERs and doctor’s offices as well as reduce employee absenteeism. This would be something worthwhile to look in to.

• Be a “guinea pig”: Check with your health plan carrier and see if you could be part of a pilot program for clinical trials and get reduced rates for participating. The Forbes article goes into this in a bit more detail. It may be worth a few phone calls to see if this is possible.

The Forbes article has several more ideas that we will pass long in future blogs on our Silkin Management Group blog sites. Keep an eye out for them.

Scott Barnard
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Silkin Management Group

As readers of our various Silkin Management Group blogs know, we’ve been following and writing about the different deficit reduction proposals that Congress is fighting over in the attempt to reduce the deficit and save the countries finances from going bankrupt. As usual, the Democrats refuse to accept the basics of the Republican’s proposals and visa versa. This is why the latest national surveys show the lowest level of trust in government in the history of polling.

We are following this issue as the economic situation in this country is and will continue to adversely affect all Silkin Management Group clients and readers of our blog sites, whether Silkin Management Group clients or not.

As many of you know, some months ago a 12 member “super committee” was formed to reach conclusions about how to fix this fiscal debacle. The stipulation was that if the committee was unable to reach a deal by next month’s deadline, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts would go in place throughout Federal Government agencies in 2013.

A recent revelation just came out regarding the “super committee”. As expected, it has been fairly stalemated along party lines. So 3 Democrats and 3 Republican members of the full committee struck out on their own to solve the situation. They are attempting to come up with a smaller deal that both sides can agree on given the existing gulf between each side regarding taxes and spending. Two of these Republicans are willing to look at revenue increases, which had been a big stumbling block on the right side of the aisle. Tax reform could be a big part of the means of increasing revenue rather than just overtly raising taxes.

If an agreement isn’t reached in time and automatic triggers go into place, there is a good possibility that the U.S. bond rating could be reduced again, raising the cost of borrowing by the government and adding billions more dollars to the deficit. So this is a very serious activity that we hope both sides can work out through compromise for the good of the country.

Bill Hickey
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about how Silkin Management Group can help you run your businesses finances in the exact opposite way that the U.S. Government runs theirs, contact us at 800-695-0257. Or go to our website: silkinmanagementgroup.com

Silkin Management Group

Part 2

In yesterday’s Silkin Management Group blog, we discussed the importance of a “mission statement” for a health care office. You can link to that Silkin Management Group blog site here: http://silkinmanagementgroup.net . In that article we explained why a mission statement is so important to the overall operation of an office.

When working out the mission statement, the practice owner should determine why she/he is engaged in the activity to begin with. Once the purpose and goal is identified, the owner can form a team that is in agreement with the stated goal and purpose. It is the understanding and agreement that comes from this that will allow the staff to evolve into a coordinated group, working together toward the long-term objectives of the practice owner.

The following is a sample mission statement. You can use it as a model for developing one that suits your practice. Once it has been developed, distribute it amongst the staff and review it as a group at your staff meeting. A copy should also be placed in the job description of each staff member. A copy of this sample is included in Silkin Management Group’s 400 page Office Policy and Job Description Manual which every client new to Silkin Management Group receives.

SAMPLE MISSION STATEMENT

Our goal and policy is to treat our patients as we would treat our families. We will offer high quality, friendly service in a gentle, caring atmosphere. Our patients are the heart of our practice and the reason we are here. At all times our patients will be treated with respect, dignity and compassion. Being of service to our patients is the definition of our purpose and the mission of our practice.

One could then list out the key things the office will provide to accomplish the mission (such as a highly trained professional staff), as well as the results the office will achieve by delivering on the mission statement (i.e. highly satisfied patients).

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group’s Office Policy and Job Description Manual, or about any of Silkin Management Group’s services, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or give us a call at 800-695-0257.

Jack Hennessy
Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Are They Helping You?

Silkin Management Group clients are small businesses and, as such, they all theoretically may be eligible for the “Obama-Care” tax credits. Over the last year we’ve presented many articles on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites concerning the different ramifications of the health care legislation on small businesses. One of the supposed benefits of this legislation for small business owners is the use of a 35% tax credit for the cost of health insurance paid for employees. But a recent survey showed that only 7% of small businesses were actually taking advantage of this credit and I don’t know of any Silkin Management Group clients who are using it.

Why? The restrictions on qualifying are numerous.

Through 2013 only employers with less than ten employees AND who have average salaries of less than $25,000 a year can use the full 35% credit. It seems to me these stipulations eliminate the majority of small businesses using the full 35% credit. And, as an employer’s number of employees increases beyond 10, and as the average annual salary increases above $25,000, the value of the credit decreases correspondingly.

Here’s more: if the business has more than 25 employees, or their annual salaries average more then $50,000, the business is completely ineligible for the credit.

Although in 2014 the maximum credit will increase to 50%, the salary limits remain the same. And, should you be lucky enough to qualify for the credit, you can only use it for the plans purchased on the government approved insurance exchanges. And, in 2016 the credits disappear. No more, gone!

You can add to that the disincentive for a company to grow and create jobs and increase salaries as, the more employees and the higher the salaries the business has, the smaller the credits.

Given all of this information, is it any wonder only 7% of small businesses are using the credit in present time and that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the credits will only impact 12% of small businesses?

It doesn’t seem to me that the rising cost of health care and its impact on all businesses, small and large, and as felt by all of us whether Silkin Management Group clients or not, is not being effectively handled through this legislation. The statistics on the use of the tax credits and estimates by the Congressional Budget Office clearly show that.

Eric Korb
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com.

Silkin Management Group

In past Silkin Management Group blogs, we’ve discussed the importance of hiring the right employee for the position you have available. Quite often we find with clients new to Silkin Management Group that, due to their poor past hiring procedures, they have non-productive and/or inefficient staff. This comes from a lack of knowledge of how to properly screen applicants and hiring based upon a “gut feeling” or a single interview or a variety of other factors.

Silkin Management Group consultants teach their clients very specific hiring techniques including how to screen a large group of applicants, how to properly conduct a hiring interview including the right types of questions to ask, how to do background checks, what types of questions to have on applications, etc. Many of these techniques also have legal ramifications, and any employer needs to be aware of the various employment laws that can affect your hiring procedures.

At Silkin Management Group we also encourage our clients to use pre-employment testing as part of their screening procedures. This, though, is another area where you must make sure that the tests you use have no discriminatory nature or questions. Your tests must be limited to a candidate’s traits and abilities that are directly related to the job being considered. Questions about their personal life, membership in any protected classification (race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, etc.) are not allowed.

But, if for example, you are hiring a receptionist, testing for their communication skills would not be “out of bounds” and in fact relevant to the job. The testing procedures that Silkin Management Group uses follows the basic employment laws and provides an employer with good, job relevant information. This makes the hiring process easier to conduct resulting in much higher odds that the candidate hired will work out well on the job.

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group’s pre-employment testing and interview procedures, contact us at 800-695-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Gary Crawshaw
Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Given that the Obama health care legislation will affect all small businesses and their
employees throughout the country, we’ve attempted to keep Silkin Management Group
clients, and anyone else reading our various Silkin Management Group blog sites,
informed about the progress of the several lawsuits attempting to derail this law. Here’s the latest update for Silkin Management Group clients and non-clients alike.

At least three different appeals courts will decide whether the government can force every citizen to buy health insurance. One of those courts heard oral arguments from both sides yesterday in Cincinnati. The arguments centered around the limits of congressional power and whether this law exceeded the regulatory power given to Congress under the Constitution. Opponents are arguing that the law far exceeds these powers while the lawyers for the Administration state that the law is simply a regulatory law concerning commerce.

The essence of each side’s argument was elucidated by a “broccoli” example. Mr. Muise, attorney for the Thomas More Law Center, stated that if such a congressional mandate is acceptable, then “there’s virtually no limit to Congress’s power to regulate anything from health care to eating broccoli.” The Justice Department’s attorney, Mr. Katyal, rebutted by saying, “I can’t show up at the broccoli store without money and buy broccoli” whereas in the health care market one can get medical services without the ability to pay.

The District Court in Detroit rejected the suit by the Thomas More Law Center last year stating that their argument that compulsory health care coverage equaled an illegal tax was not true. The law center then appealed resulting in these oral arguments. Two of the three appellate judges hearing this case were appointment by previous Republican administrations.

Two other federal courts have upheld the law and and two courts have ruled that either all or parts of the law are unconstitutional. All of those rulings are also being appealed. The next appellate case will hear arguments next week, and we’ll keep readers of our Silkin Management Group blog sites updated as we follow those oral arguments.

Jack Hennessy
Silkin Management Group Consultant

For more information about Silkin Management Group, visit our website atwww.silkinmanagementgroup.coM

Silkin Management Group

What They Mean For You

On our Silkin Management Group blog site of May 13 (which you can access here: Confidentiality and Non Disclosure) we went over the recent EEOC ruling regarding employees with disabilities.  These amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act take effect on Tuesday, May 24^th.  Given that Silkin Management Group clients are all small business owners who will be affected by these new amendments, we feel that it is very important to keep our clients informed of this matter.  Whether or not you are a Silkin Management Group client or not, if you are a small business owner you should make sure you are well versed on what is going on with the ADAAA.

Starting tomorrow employees with disabilities will have much greater rights.  The major change is that the new regulations put the emphasis on making sure disabled employees are well accommodated rather than on arguments defining what a disability is. The prior focus had to do with determining if the employee who made a claim had a disability that qualified. Now, with greatly expanded qualifications, it will be easier for employees to make disability claims. If you visit the above mentioned Silkin Management Group blog, you’ll find some of these expanded qualifications as well as links to two other websites that will help you understand this better.

Given the importance of this amendment, any employer, whether a Silkin Management Group client or not, should consult with a good employment attorney when any potential disability situation arises. Don’t try to figure it out on your own – it could be very costly to do so.

For more information about how Silkin Management Group can help you deal with staff, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Eric Korb

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Sample Policy

The confidentiality of patient and practice information is extremely important and, as all health care providers know, there are specific laws regarding this. Therefore Silkin Management Group consultants advise their clients to include a policy on this subject as part of their general office policies.

Clients new to Silkin Management Group are provided with the Silkin Management Group Office Policy and Job Description manual which provides over 400 pages of sample office policies and job descriptions for a health care office. One of the sample policies we provide, which you can see below, covers the subject of confidentiality and non-disclosure.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE

(Sample Policy)

We make available to each employee various pieces of information about our patients including patient history, contact information, payment records, etc. This information is highly confidential and is provided to the employee only for use in connection with their work in this office.  We require the following points to be adhered to:

1. To preserve practice information and patient/client information as highly confidential and not to be revealed or discussed outside the office or within hearing distance of any patient/client or unauthorized person.
2. To not disclose or allow to be disclosed any of this information to any unauthorized person or entity.
3. It is strictly prohibited to copy in any fashion any office or patient information without the permission of the management of the office.
4. To keep any office or patient information confidential even after leaving employment.
5. To not give out any information about any staff member, including address, phone numbers, etc. without the permission of that staff member.

Any employee who violates any of the points in this policy will be subject to discipline up to and including termination and, in extreme cases, legal action.

Silkin Management Group clients are advised that any policy which concerns federal and state laws should be reviewed by a competent employment attorney. This is one such policy. Whether you are a Silkin Management Group client or not, this is a very important practice to follow when implementing office policies.

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group’s Office Policy and Job Description Manual, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or give us a call at 800-695-0257.

Gary Crawshaw

Consultant for Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group

Today, as part of Silkin Management Group’s series of sample office policies for a health care office, we’ll present a sample policy that many Silkin Management Group clients adapt to their office. This policy is contained in Silkin Management Group’s Job Description and Office Policy Manual.

OFFICE BENEFITS FOR STAFF

Full and part-time employees may receive free care after three months of continuous employment.  Lab costs are not included.  Material costs (i.e. glasses in an optometric office) are offered at 50% of cost.

Immediate family members of our staff will be given a 50% discount off the usual fee for treatment. An immediate family member is defined as a spouse and/or children under the age of 18.

If you have insurance, you do need to use it, but the portion that insurance doesn’t cover will be handled as covered above. This is true also for any family members who take advantage of this office benefit.

At the doctor’s discretion, treatment can be scheduled either during normal working hours or outside normal hours. If you schedule treatment during normal work hours, it will be considered unpaid time, but can be deducted from any sick or personal time.

This benefit is only for treatment given during the time of employment. It ends upon termination of employment.

The above sample policy is one of many we’ve presented on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites over the last several weeks. You can access one of these sites by linking here:  Sample Policy on Advance Payment of Wages.

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group’s policy manual or how to implement policy in your office, contact us at 800-695-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Dave McKevitt

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group’s Office Policy and Job Description Manual has over 400 pages of sample policies and job descriptions that can be used in a health care office. This manual is edited for dental, veterinary and optometric offices and is offered to all clients new to Silkin Management Group.

As office policy is vital to the smooth and efficient running of any office, Silkin Management Group consultants work closely with their clients to implement key policies in each client’s office.  Over the last several weeks we’ve presented many different sample policies on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites.  Today we’ll present another, having to do with paying staff.

INFORMATION CONCERNING PAY – SAMPLE POLICY

Wages and Salaries:

This practice maintains a salary administration program which:

1. Provides for payment of salaries comparable to those paid for similar positions and services in the community;
2. Allows for differences in individual ability, knowledge and skill;
3. Provides incentive to encourage individuals to strive for improved performance.

Salary Adjustments:

Your wages will be reviewed at least once a year. Pay raises are based on performance, increased experience, profitability and individual contributions to the general welfare of the practice.

Payday:

Wages are based upon an hourly rate, daily rate, or a monthly salary based upon your position and the applicable laws. Wages are paid according to the “payday” notice”.

In the event a payday falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, you will get your paycheck on the following workday.

In tomorrow’s Silkin Management Group blog, we’ll present a sample policy having to do with payroll deductions – an important policy for all new and existing staff to know.

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group’s Office Policy and Job Description Manual, give us a call at 800-695-0257.  You can also visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Bill Hickey

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group clients are primarily privately owned health care practices in the optometric, veterinary and dental fields. Very few clients new to Silkin Management Group have comprehensive office policies. Due to the importance of policy to a smooth running office, our consultants work closely with new clients to implement proper policies in their offices.

Over the last several weeks, on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites, we’ve gone over a variety of sample policies that can be used in a health care office. These policies are taken from Silkin Management Group’s 400 plus page Office Policy and Job Description Manual. Today we’ll present a sample policy concerning overtime pay.

OVERTIME PAY – Sample Policy

Overtime pay is paid according to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act as well as state wage and hours laws.

• Exempt Employees: Employees legally exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provision of the Fair Labor and Standards Act and/or state minimum wage and overtime laws do not receive overtime pay.

• Non-Exempt Employees: Employees not exempt from minimum wage and overtime laws will receive overtime pay.

• Overtime worked must be authorized and approved in advance by the doctor or office manager unless emergency or other unusual circumstances arise. The point being that staff are not authorized to work overtime at their own discretion or whenever they want. They must have authorization to do so.

• Time not worked but paid for, such as vacation, holidays and sick leave will not rate or count for overtime calculation purposes.

If you would like more information about Silkin Management Group or Silkin Management Group’s Office Policy and Job Description Manual visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or call us at 800-695-0257.

Eric Korb

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Part 2

In our Silkin Management Group blogs this week we’ve presented some different sample office policies that Silkin Management Group consultants recommend to clients. We will continue to present additional sample policies over the upcoming weeks on our various Silkin Management Group blog sites.

Yesterday’s sample policy was the first part of a Leave of Absence policy.  You can link to Part 1 of that policy on this Silkin Management Group blog site:  Sample Policy on Leave of Absence Part 1. The second part of that sample policy follows here.

Sample Policy on Leave of Absence – Part 2 (add this to what was presented in Part 1)

• Extended Vacation:  Any earned and unused vacation time must be taken prior to the beginning of any leave of absence.  Vacation time is earned in 12 month increments and no vacation time is earned for time worked less than 12 full months.

• The following are all taken as “leaves of absence” and are not paid, unless otherwise indicated by law: Jury Duty; Funeral Leave; Military Duty.

• Marriage: A leave of absence without pay may be granted for a period of up to two weeks, unless valid vacation time is to be used.

• New Child:  Your written request for a leave of absence must be submitted as far in advance as possible so that adequate coverage can be planned for.

A staff member does not accrue seniority while on an unpaid leave of absence.  Dates for benefits eligibility and salary review will be postponed accordingly.

If the leave of absence is not subject to government regulations and/or laws, the office does not guarantee that the staff member will be reinstated.  Reinstatement is solely at the office’s discretion.

Staff members who fail to return to work on the scheduled workday will be presumed to have resigned employment voluntarily.

The above policy, as well as the sample policies we’ve previously presented on our different Silkin Management Group blog sites can all be found in our Silkin Management Group Office Policy and Job Description Manual which contains over 400 pages of office policies and job descriptions for a health care office, specifically designed for a dental, veterinary and optometric office. Everything in the manual can be easily edited and adapted for anyone’s practice.

For more information about this manual or Silkin Management’s services, visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com or call us at 800-695-0257.

Gary Crawshaw

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Over the last several months Silkin Management Group has presented a wide variety of articles on the subject of hiring the right staff for a health care office.  With hundreds of clients throughout the United States and Canada undergoing expansion, knowing how to hire is a vital piece of practice management knowledge for Silkin Management Group clients.

Several articles have been posted on many of our Silkin Management Group blog sites about the hiring, including the hiring interview. You can link to one such article here: Hiring Interview Questions. You’ll find below some more tips concerning hiring in general.

• Always screen for the applicant’s emotional tone level. You want a “glass half full” personality, not a “glass half empty” person. Watch for negativity in the answers to your questions and avoid those types of people.

• Always recruit new people. Don’t just wait for someone to leave. Otherwise, by the time you place an ad, three to four weeks could go by before you hire someone. Instead, keep your hiring process going and create a list of potential prospects.

• Don’t wait until you are totally overloaded to hire new people. Anticipate expansion. When you are in an expansion phase, hire while you still have time to train the new people. And hire before you are so overloaded that the office starts to slow down because of overload.

• Find out about Silkin Management Group’s group hiring procedure to quickly screen down to the two or three best candidates.  This will save you a lot of time weeding through prospects.

Tomorrow’s Silkin Management Group blog will present some more tips concerning the hiring process.

If you would like more information about how Silkin Management Group can help your practice, give us a call at 800-695-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Bill Hickey

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group

Silkin Management Group’s various blog articles over the last week have been covering successful marketing and promotion ideas that our consultants have developed and used over the last 30 years.

Silkin Management Group clients are in many different health care professions including dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors. Even with that variety of practice types, there are many generic marketing actions that will work with any office, with referrals at the top of any list. But there are also many profession specific marketing ideas that Silkin Management Group consultants use with each profession.

Yesterday’s blog went over some ideas that can be used in a dental practice.  Today we’ll discuss some marketing concepts for a veterinary practice.  If you’d like to access the Silkin Management Group blogs covering the generic marketing ideas, link to the following Silkin Management Group blog site and you’ll find the last of the three part series as well as links to the earlier articles: Marketing and Practice Ideas for Your Practice.

Successful Promotional Actions for a Veterinary Office:

• Vaccination clinics

• Alliances with groomers

• Alliances with SPCA

• Alliances with pet stores

• Start and run your own pet store – refer people to your practice from there.

• Talk to 4-H clubs

• Maintain an odor-free office

• Talk to Kennel clubs

• Place advertisements for vaccinations on the back of supermarket register tapes.

• Promote animal dentistry, especially during the winter.

• Create a duplicate Pet Alert Form so clients get a copy of your full treatment recommendations.

• Hold animal-owner pet care clinics on Saturdays or Sundays.

The above items are examples of many marketing and promotion procedures that Silkin Management Group has developed that help bring in new clients. We have many more that we use with our active clients.

If you are interested in finding out more about Silkin Management Group and how we can help you increase new clients, give us a call at 800-697-0257 or visit our website at www.silkinmanagementgroup.com

Jack Hennessy

Silkin Management Group Consultant

Silkin Management Group