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Barry Lang, MD, JD, a medical malpractice plaintiff's attorney and orthopedic surgeon, admits that doctors have the advantage in most medical malpractice lawsuit trials.

The concept of ?meaningful use,? together with an improving economy, appears to be spurring an increase in healthcare information technology spending, suggest recently released results of the 21st annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Leadership Survey.

To close the broadband connectivity gap that exists among healthcare practices, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing transforming its Rural Health Care Program, which is authorized to spend $400 million per year, to help healthcare delivery locations meaningfully use health information technology.

"Healthcare information technology is the instrument that will transform healthcare . . . [and] improve quality, safety, access, and cost-efficiency," said Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society board chairman, March 1 in his opening remarks at the HIMSS annual conference in Atlanta.

Although it's been nine years, Jeff Pearson, DO, clearly remembers hearing actor Stephen Furst speak about his battle with diabetes at the 2001 annual convention of the American Osteopathic Association.

The False Claims Act (FCA) prohibits the "knowing" submission, or causing of a submission, of a false claim to the federal government. The Federal Enforcement Recovery Act extends the reach of the FCA to medical practices that fail to notify the government of overpayments received. This situation creates potential liability for practices that fail to pay careful attention to their billing and collection processes.

A killing in Kentucky

I didn't know Dennis "Denny" Sandlin, MD, personally, but the colleagues we have in common tell me he was a great human being.

Changing the model of physician inaccessibility we have come to expect not only has improved my patient care and led to an exponential growth of my business.

President Obama's $3.8 trillion 2011 fiscal year budget contains earmarks that will benefit primary care physicians, according to the AAFP.