Limit Stock Losses Through "Harvesting"
June 17th 2008There is death, there are taxes, and there's death from taxes on gains from investments. This metaphorical fatality comes not from a single pass of the grim tax reaper's sword, but from a thousand cuts. Yet there are ways to heal some of the wounds inflicted by the marauding swordsmen of the IRS. Some of these methods, such as holding retirement assets in tax-deferred accounts, are obvious to even the most casual individual investor.
Long-Term Disability Coverage is Paramount for Physicians
June 16th 2008How important is long-term disability insurance for physicians? Just ask a Maryland-based neurologist who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003 and soon was unable to maintain business as usual. For the sake of his privacy, we’ll call this physician Richard Mason, M.D. “As my private practice income diminished to nothing, disability insurance provided monthly supplementary income which kept my family financially afloat,” Mason explains. “We would have lost our house had it not been for the insurance.”
Teaching Physicians that Practicing Excellence is the Right Way to Practice
June 13th 2008In 2002, Stephen Beeson, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician practicing with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group in San Diego, was asked to serve as coach for the group’s Sharp Experience, an organizational commitment to service and operational excellence. He began compiling a war chest of material related to training and coaching physicians, and before long he had a substantial curriculum involving different elements of physician performance. Beeson thought, “I could write a book on this,” and so he did—Practicing Excellence: A Physician’s Manual to Exceptional Health Care (Fire Starter Publishing, 2006).
Choosing Your Children's Guardian
June 10th 2008If you have minor children, the lawyer who draws up your will probably will ask you to name a guardian for them. It's a very important decision. If anything should happen to you and your spouse, your children's future well-being could depend on the person you choose for this crucial job.
MBA Pursuit Opens New Doors, Opportunities for Physicians
June 6th 2008Whereas physicians have historically invested time in continuing their medical education throughout their careers, today they’re doing so with a more business-like approach. Business as in Masters in Business Administration. Educational facilities are realizing that as well. According to the National Association of MD/MBA Students, there are currently 54 schools in the U.S. that offer a dual MBA and MD degree. Ten years ago, there were fewer than 12.
Low Health Literacy Hits Physicians Where it Hurts
June 4th 2008Consider that fewer than 1 in 6 adults—and only 1 in 3 seniors, have proficient health literacy. In addition, most Americans read at a 5th grade reading level while most healthcare information is written at a 10th grade level. The result is that rising healthcare costs from low health literacy are now, by some estimates, $236 billion annually.
The Online Healthcare Marketplace: Providing Physicians with a New Revenue Stream
May 30th 2008If an online healthcare marketplace existed where consumers could have real-time consultations with physicians, the millions of healthcare consumers who are thirsting for online access to providers would be ecstatic. Would physicians?
The Hospitalist: Physicians Find New Opportunities in Hospital Medicine
May 23rd 2008The term “hospitalist” was first used by Robert Wachter, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, in a 1996 article written for the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Wachter, generally considered the academic leader of the hospitalist movement, might have done well to copyright the term, because today it’s practically a household word.
The Healthcare Billing "Shell Game"
May 21st 2008When a patient with health insurance receives healthcare services, generally his/her out-of-pocket costs are limited to copays and deductibles. Lately, however, some healthcare providers with a beef against health insurers have been slamming patients with balance bills, according to
Tougher Medicare Marketing Rules on Tap
May 13th 2008The Bush administration has apparently had it with unscrupulous agents who peddle inappropriate Medicare plans to unsuspecting seniors. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services recently unveiled proposed new rules that would bar agents from using aggressive tactics
Money an Important Factor in Physician Work-Life Issues
May 5th 2008Five years ago, physician concerns with the nation’s healthcare system were two-fold: They said they were spending less time with patients, and they needed to work harder to maintain an income. Those same concerns are often voiced by today’s medical doctors.
Avoid Family Employee Tax Traps
April 30th 2008You can get some nifty tax breaks if you employ family members in your medical practice, including a business deduction for salaries as well as benefits like health insurance coverage. If you opt to go this route, however, you must make sure your family members are legitimate
Genetic Bias Bill Moving to Law
April 29th 2008In a rare unanimous vote, the US Senate passed a bill last week that would outlaw discrimination against a person based on his/her genetic profile. Aimed at both health insurers and employers, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would bar insurance companies from