Here are tips for choosing a good office manager

Practice Management. By Julie A. Jacob, amednews staff. April 23/30, 2001.

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

A column about keeping your practice in good health

SEE ARCHIVES

What's the secret to a well-run office? Many doctors will say the key to a practice that functions smoothly and efficiently is a good office manager.

An office manager, also called a practice manager, takes care of all the nonmedical-related functions in the practice, explained Teri Arseneau, president of the Professional Assn. of Health Care Office Management (http://www.pahcom.com/).

Although specific responsibilities vary, office managers typically perform or supervise bookkeeping and payroll duties, prepare monthly profit and loss statements, hire and supervise nonmedical office staff, oversee the administration of employee benefits and arrange for office maintenance. In other words, they are in charge of everything not related to the practice of medicine. Said Arseneau, "An office manager allows physicians to lessen their involvement in day-to-day [operations] so they are free to treat patients."

Among the responsibilities of an office manager for a six-physician pediatric group practice in Milwaukee, pediatrician Catherine Slota-Varma, MD, notes, "She does payroll and our bookkeeping, she does oversight of our retirement plan, she monitors our costs for medical supplies and health insurance benefits and keeps up to speed on what our cost overruns are."

And Ross Black, MD, who practices in a six-physician family practice group in Akron, Ohio, describes his group's office manager's responsibilities like this: "Day-to-day human resource and personnel management issues ... ongoing oversight of maintaining office procedural compliance by the office staff, ordering materials, working with the accountant ... organizing monthly staff meetings, handling patient complaints, etc."

Because office managers are required to wear so many hats at once, what qualifications and skills should physicians look for when they are hiring a practice manager? The answer really depends on what roles and responsibilities the physicians in the group want the office manager to perform, said Arseneau.

Likewise, the office manager's salary also depends on the person's responsibilities and educational background. The median salary for an office manager is $37,816, according to the Medical Group Management Assn.'s 2000 Management Compensation Survey. However, the average salary for an office manager with a high school diploma is $35,482, and more than $50,000 for those with a master's degree.

The size of the practice is also a consideration in setting a salary. In a multispecialty practice with fewer than five physicians, the average salary is $35,951, while in a multispecialty practice with more than 25 doctors, it's $41,403.

A solo or small-group practice may do just fine with an organized, experienced person with a high school degree, while a large, multispecialty group will likely need someone with a college degree, or even an MBA, who has experience in corporate management, said Arseneau.

For instance, Michael Wasylik, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in solo practice in Tampa, Fla., 15 years ago promoted his receptionist to the role of office manager. Because his practice is small, he was looking for someone with all-around skills who could pinch-hit in various jobs.

However, Bruce Bagley, MD, a family physician in Albany, N.Y., works in a group practice with eight family physicians and four physician assistants that needed an office manager with strong business management skills. The group hired someone with an MBA to be its office manager.

"We felt that for a group of our size and management, we needed professional management," said Dr. Bagley.

Previous experience running a medical group, but not necessarily formal business training, was the main requirement for candidates applying for the office manager's position at Dr. Slota-Varma's group. When the group's long-term office manager left for a job at a bigger practice, the group hired someone who had managed a small group practice elsewhere. Although the person the group hired did not have a background in business, she had practical experience in managing a medical group.

In terms of technical skills, a good office manager should be knowledgeable about managed care, CPT coding, billing, bookkeeping and employment law, said Arseneau.

As far as personality traits, good office managers have strong leadership skills and "share the goals and values of the medical practice," she said.

Trustworthiness and loyalty are also important, said Dr. Wasylik. "You have to be able to trust the person who is dealing with all this work."

It's also important that the office manager fits in well with the rest of the staff, said Arseneau. For instance, Dr. Slota-Varma's group had all the candidates meet with the staff before choosing someone. "If it was someone the others didn't like at first glance, that would be a problem."

Once the group has hired the office manager, the best way to work with that person is to simply let the person do the job without constantly looking over his or her shoulder or second-guessing every decision.

"You have to be willing to delegate responsibilities," said Dr. Bagley. "You don't want to micromanage or supervise everything they do."

Dr. Slota-Varma agrees that it's important to avoid the temptation to interfere with the office manager's job role. "For office managers to have credibility, you have to let them function in their job, with direction from us, and let them have the stature among employees as the manager."

Jacob served as a staff writer for AMNews from 1996 to 2002.