Practice Management

A new study from consumer watchdog group Public Citizen finds that the number and dollar amount of malpractice awards has fallen steadily in recent years, while overall healthcare costs have continued to sore.

2013 is already halfway over, and primary care physicians in many states have yet to receive increased Medicaid reimbursements that were supposed to take effect on Jan. 1 of this year. Now, it appears that some states won't begin getting those larger Medicaid payments to physicians until December.

Sifting through the many banking options can make it difficult to find a financial institution that understands the needs of a medical practice.

This mnemonic device can help put the numbers in our personal and professional lives in perspective.

A reader argues in favor of removing the prohibition on balance billing,

A reader argues that the Patient-Centered Medical Home model is not appropriate for all primary care practices.

A profile of one practice that successfully added weight loss as an ancillary service.

Group Editor Daniel Verdon says tort reform is just one part of a complex problem encompassing providers, payers, physicians, and the justice system.

Ancillary services can provide vital revenue enhancements for primary care practices.

New payment models are not only challenging physicians financially, they are confusing. This article will clarify the most popular concepts coming into vogue and will also address some of the key contractual issues these models can generate.

OSHA is requiring training on the new label elements of the Safety Data Sheets (formerly Material Safety Data Sheets).

Medicare’s Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program lost two organizations that suffered $4 million in losses, while seven others have shifted to a less financially stringent ACO model.

Although a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives has drawn widespread support for repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, groups representing primary care physicians have raised some concerns.

Although numbers are vital to the practice of medicine, they can define a physician's life to the exclusion of everything else.

Although estimates for how much is spent on defensive medicine vary widely, experts agree that the dolllar amount is large.

Malpractice litigation’s most profound effect on the healthcare system doesn’t arise from malpractice insurance claims, case settlements, or court awards for damages, but from the defensive medicine it encourages.

The growing number of patients with chronic illnesses and conditions is forcing primary care practices to become more creative with the way they treat such patients.

New rules make it more important than ever to be proactive in ensuring compliance

These TED Talks will give you ideas and inspire you to make your medical practice more efficient.

It’s not news that the U.S. is facing a shortage of primary care physicians. But Gibb Wingate, senior recruiting consultant for the Delta Companies, says physicians need to seize opportunities in the next few years, before that urgency begins to taper off.

With the starting date for stage 2 of the meaningful use program fast approaching, two major provider groups are asking for more flexibility in the program's requirements

The study's findings suggest that, to reduce defensive medicine, it may be more effective to focus on physicians' perceptions of legal risk and the factors driving those perceptions, rather than tort reform. Prior studies have shown physicians "greatly overestimate their risk of being sued," according to the study.

A new study suggests that there may be a link between a physician’s office use of electronic health records (EHRs) and patients’ loyalty.

The ONC has released a guide for healthcare providers that explains key EHR contract terminology and how certain provisions could impact a physician’s practice.

Much of the national discussion on electronic health records adoption has focused on physicians, but getting the most out of this technology will require significant buy-in by patients. Find out what researchers learned when they studied how physicians can best engage patients in online records.