Overwhelming Responsibility

Administering and coordinating the human resources side of a dental practice continues to be an increasingly daunting challenge. There are many pieces to the puzzle.

• There is the need to monitor ever changing state and federal labor laws.

• There is the need to be compliant with OSHA and HIPAA regulations.

• There is the need to maintain proper employment verifications.

• There is the need to understand and manage workers’ compensation coverage and claim resolution.

• There is the need to administer employee benefits such as medical, health care flexible spending accounts, 401(k) retirement plans, and life and

disability coverage.

• There is the need to process payroll and tax reporting.

• There is the need to manage vacation time and sick time.

• There is the need to have an effective, up to date, and well-written office policy manual.

The list goes on and on and on. And so – simply stated – I see most dental practices struggling with administrative overload. It is not that these functions don’t get done. Somehow they do get done because they have to. Some are performed by a payroll company. Some are performed by the doctor. Some are performed by the office manager. Some are performed by an accountant.

There is no question in my mind that it would be such a huge benefit to have these tasks organized and coordinated. I also feel that in the area of human resources so many policies and systems are evolving, that there is a continuous need for updated and current knowledge and information. As they say, “you don’t know what you don’t know”.

I have done some extensive research in this area, and in my first blog post of 2016, I plan to share some different solutions that will make your life easier. Wishing all of my readers a very Happy and Healthy New Year.