People joke that being a doctor means you’ll never have financial problems. But regardless of what profession you have in the healthcare field, there are plenty of expenses even if you don’t encounter problems. And when healthcare workers do make big mistakes, the consequences are much more costly than practically any other profession. Here are ones you should definitely avoid!
Too Much Student Debt
People in the healthcare field have varying levels of schooling to get through, and that isn’t free. The more you want to earn as a healthcare worker, the more education you’ll need, so even if you do everything right you’ll likely end up with student debt. Aspiring doctors, surgeons, endodontists and the like make a big mistake, however, when they bite off more than they can chew. Depending on the financial help you receive throughout schooling, some end up with student loan payments higher than their rent or mortgage. To avoid this, refinance your medical school loans and live like a resident until you’ve paid off the worst of it—any extra payments you can make will really help too!
Malpractice Lawsuits
Talk about how medical malpractice lawsuits can hurt healthcare workers. Medical malpractice is a problem you may encounter at any point in your career—it’s the biggest reason ongoing training for healthcare workers is required. When you fail to deliver the medical standard of care for a patient and it results in harm, medical malpractice could get pointed your way. You’ll have a lawyer, court fees, and reparations to pay for if found guilty. A malpractice lawsuit can even threaten your license to practice. To avoid such a mistake, stay consistent and transparent in your medical practice, keep up informed consent with your patients, and keep learning!
Bad Business Practices
Healthcare workers aren’t trained to be great at business, but sometimes it should be a requirement. Especially if you work at your own practice, there are lots of mistakes that can impact practice revenue and ultimately cost you. The worst of these are not conducting background checks when hiring employees, ignoring adjustments reports instead of looking at them at least quarterly, or under coding E&M services.
You can make a big difference as a healthcare worker. But to avoid a big hit to your wallet, you should also make sure to avoid big mistakes like these. With the best practices, your future in the healthcare field will be bright!
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