National Answering Service on Importance of Changing Your Perspective

Posted April 15, 2014 in doctor answering service, medical answering services, national answering services by admin

I was at a medical industry conference early last month and the primary topic was the looming conversion to ICD-10. For those of you not in the medical industry, this conversion basically means that the 13,000 or so codes currently used by medical providers would be replaced with over 68,000 codes effective October 1 of this year. These codes are a big part of what enable physicians’ offices to get paid via reimbursements from health insurance; so obviously, this government mandated change is a massive undertaking for healthcare providers. So much so, that the keynote session for this particular event, was a motivational speaker to help the group find some inspiration to tackle such a daunting project.

Gearing Up, Gearing Down on a National Scale

Several members in the audience had already invested a good deal of time, effort and energy in preparations and planning for this conversion – laying out milestones, scheduling resources and building their strategies for the next several months to ensure they would be ready. The problem is, less than a month after the event, and rather unexpectedly, there was a congressional vote that delayed the conversion to ICD-10 by at least one year. While some may have breathed a sigh of relief, others were not so happy. All of the efforts to date, and the resources and schedules planned for the next several months had to change once again. As described by one medical practice manager, “it was one of those ‘ready-to-pull-my-hair-out’ moments, occurring on a national scale”.

Changing Your Perspective

Back to the keynote speaker from the event – Jonathan Edison. He had mentioned that people deal with small changes on a regular basis. Although they can sometimes cause frustration, we can deal with them because they occur on a more frequent basis. Big changes are harder to deal with, because most people don’t deal with them on a regular basis. “Change your perspective, change your life” was one of his key messages. Whether you are trying to make big changes, or a big change is thrust upon you, making a conscious and dedicated effort to changing your own perspective and resetting a stronger frame-of-mind is one of the best methods to ensure you come out on the positive side of that change.

Dealing with the Unexpected

A change in perspective seems particularly relevant this year. As a national answering service, we deal with the unexpected on a regular basis. The harshness of this past winter, and subsequent loss of several days of productivity for so many businesses was not how most people expected this year to start. However, Q1 is now in the history books. Whether it was the loss of productivity in Q1, the ICD-10 delay (for medical providers), or some other major change(s) you may be facing; the big question is: will you let it haunt you for the rest of the year? Or will you make a concerted effort to change your perspective and move in the direction of a more positive outcome? For a little extra inspiration, click the ‘Watch Jonathan’s Demo’ button at http://jonathanedison.com/.

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