Special Feature

This isn't the first time that Twitter has been in the news due to its ability to disseminate less-than-reliable information about an important health topic. So what can you do about patients who look to Twitter for medical advice?

A recent study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, found that a single tweet can spread incorrect information to more than a million people.

Good news doctors! Although the current Congress is content to fritter away your future income with so-called healthcare reform, a plucky Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada has offered a sensible (and tasty) alternative to the usual fee for service: poultry!

This New York City MD practices with colleagues who run their patients through an assembly line of unnecessary tests and procedures out of greed and worse. He hates what he sees, but is unsure what he can do about it.

I soon found myself spinning and wheeling back and forth between patient and computer, and when my patient did talk, his story came only in spurts because every time I turned my back to him to type, the room fell silent.

After 25 years in private group practice, this full-share physician is headed for new pastures and is unsure of how to handle managing his buy-out. The first step: determining how much you're worth.

A hypochondriac with a backache can access test results online and communicate with his physician about them; he can also convince himself that he has an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Such is life with today's connected patients.

In Part II, we cover more advanced ground, revamping your office structure with sustainable, renewable, and biodegradbale materials and devices.

Your money's lost and is wandering away into everybody's elses pockets. Lucky for you you're a Physician's Money Digest reader. We've got the map to lead it back home to your bank account: greening your office. Do a little good for the environment and save a couple bucks in the process? Can't go wrong with that.

This doc understands municipal bonds and is happy with the returns they've generated, but wonders if he should be diversifying his portfolio with annuities. Whether he should depends on how they would fit into the overall asset allocation.

Approached with an offer to fund a guaranteed insurance contract that will triple in value over 13 years, this doc wonders whether the proposal is sound. It seems, though, that the numbers don't add up.

1) Do you have enough money outside of your IRA to pay conversion taxes? 2) Do you expect your tax rate after retirement to be the same or higher? How you answer will tell you whether the conversion will save you money over the long term.

High cost of injectable therapies will limit overall uptake in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

A recent study found that more than 80 percent of older policy owners did not know they could sell their policy for cash. Educate yourself on this and four other characteristics of life insurance that can significantly increase expenses.

In the past, the IRS has also allowed taxpayers to split tax refunds between as many as three different accounts. This year, you'll be able to convert that refund into inflation-adjusted savings bonds, known as I Bonds.

According to a new global report series by iData Research, the US market for gastrointestinal endoscopic devices is estimated to grow at double-digit rates, reaching over $1.8 billion by 2016.

FDA says request, which represents a 23 percent increase over fiscal year 2010 budget would help the agency transform food safety system, invest in medical product safety, regulatory science.

Only Novartis, Pharmacopeia, and Cytos Biotechnology have novel agents in mid- to late-stage development for hypertension, according to new findings from decision resources.

Recent interest rates on 10-year municipal bonds, combined with their built-in tax advantages, make for a very attractive investment. But underneath the averages were some disturbing default statistics, say bond gurus.

If ownership by directors plays an economically and statistically significant role in fund performance, it stands to reason that funds in which directors have low ownership significantly underperform.

While some funds will beat their relevant index by several percentage points, the problem for the average investor, say Wall Street analysts, is trying to figure out which funds will do it.

Heirs of those who die will owe no estate tax in 2010, no matter how large the estate. Like any issue that has to do with the tax code, however, things aren't that simple.

One looks at the results in the first week of active trading and another looks at results for the entire month. This year, so far, the forecasts are looking good, as stocks posted a 2.67% increase in the first five trading days of 2010.

Everyone makes mistakes; that's why they make erasers. But when it comes to medical billing, the mistakes can be costly. For example, it is estimated that billing errors can lead to loss rates of up to 10% of a physician practice group's revenue. That's significant money. Outsourcing, however, can eliminate those errors by putting all or portions of a practice's billing operation in the hands of specialists.

David Cordani, who started as chief executive officer of the health insurer officially on January 4, believes a bigger international presence is critical to increasing Cigna's bottom line.

The government estimated 94 million individual shots were needed, thinking that everyone would need two jabs for immunity against the illness. Doctors now say a single vaccination is sufficient.

Genzyme Corp. announces that Hospira Inc. will conduct the final manufacturing process for several of Genzyme's most important drugs.

Spend less. Save More. Make a budget. These fiscal pledges to do better are popular because most people realize that they can help improve their financial well being. But there are also some less common resolutions that you should consider.

The media is full of ads touting easy ways to get rich quick, but when it comes to building wealth, there's really just one important rule: spend less than you make. It sounds simple, but it may not be easy.

Rising unemployment is partially to blame for an increase in medical identity theft, say some law enforcement officials, but far more common however, is theft of medical records and using them either to obtain medical treatment or to file fraudulent claims.