Practice Management

The goal of expanding health information exchange networks was to help providers exchange patient data safely, but not all networks are created equally.

A reader calls the maintenance of certification process "outrageous and ridiculous."

Several states are considering variations on “any willing provider” laws that would make payers accept broader provider networks.

Being able to exchange patient health information electronically with other providers comes with legal obligations you need to be aware of.

Patient scheduling is one of the most important operational systems in your practice for the delivery of care; for physician, patient, and staff satisfaction; and for practice profitability. Often it does not receive the attention it needs, to the detriment of the practice. Here are five tips to improve your scheduling process.

Audio, video and photography features on mobile devices have caused troubling incidents related to the unauthorized dissemination of information about patients and practices. While it’s impossible to completely prevent unapproved recordings, steps can be taken to minimize the risks.

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations require that a facility be appropriately certified for each test performed.

Understanding the complex­ities of lease arrangements and spelling out the needs of a busy and changing medical practice can take on a great financial importance for physicians.

Physician employment contracts with hospitals or healthcare systems can be unpredictable. Physician must look closely at compensation, impacts of new payment models, termination clauses, and restrictive covenants.

New startling figures surrounding Alzheimer’s find that older women have more chance of developing the disease than breast cancer.

Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans have obtained health insurance, but new research shows that those newly insured won’t be guaranteed access to primary care physicians.

Even modest improvements in continuity can lead to substantial savings.

The overuse of many common preventive tests is adding to the ballooning costs of healthcare and should be limited, according to a recent study.

In an effort to crack down on narrow network plans and broaden patient access to physicians, the Obama administration has proposed tougher restrictions for health plans on the federal exchanges, beginning in 2015.

Advanstar’s Medical Economics and Contemporary OB/GYN recently netted three of the most prestigious business-to-business editorial awards in the United States.

Legislation that will change Medicare’s SGR passed through the House of Representatives on Friday, though an amendment that delays a penalty for the individual mandate of the ACA is causing Democrats to oppose the bill.

U.S. News & World Report released its rankings for the best U.S. medical schools for primary care.

Physician comments will be used in designing a model for the transformation of a clinical practice, CMS says.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has provided more details for hospitals and Eligible Professionals who may qualify for the Meaningful Use Stage 2 hardship exception for the 2015 reporting year.

A new website created by CMS aims to help practice owners come up with a plan to implement ICD-10.

Designed to increase the transparency of financial relationships in the healthcare industry, the Sunshine Act requires the collection and reporting of certain financial transactions to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Why taking a chronic care approach to smoking cessation is an effective way to battle the third leading cause of death in the United States

There are many ways a doctor’s schedule can get derailed - an expecting mother is ready to deliver her baby, a patient in respiratory distress needs immediate attention, or there is an influx of patients with influenza requesting to see a doctor. Do you have a scheduling disaster plan?

Only credentialed medical assistants are permitted to enter medication, radiology, and laboratory orders into the EHR to count toward meeting the Meaningful Use thresholds under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive programs.

A reader writes that he has been recertified four times and met his continuing medical education requirements, so he should not be required to do maintenance of certification again.