Practice Management

Whether you've been in practice 40 years or 40 days, there are likely some workdays that stand out from others--some for good reasons, some for not-so-good reasons.

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are not in competition; rather, we are here to complement each others' services.

Midlevels are NOT physicians and do not have the training and or experience to diagnose and treat complicated problems.

Discover whether the IRS is cracking down on employer withholding tax compliance.

Sixty-five percent of established recruited physicians were placed in hospital-owned practices and 49 percent of physicians hired out of residency or fellowship were placed within hospital-owned practices in 2009, according to a salary survey.

Understand whether it is appropriate for MAs, LPNs or RNs to perform athletic evaluations.

What would it take to make your job more satisfying?

Clarify any confusion regarding definition of 'great vessels'

Determine whether it is appropriate to bill for a mesh inserted during a herniorrhaphy.

Be aware of the tax changes in the health reform legislation.

In most patient satisfaction surveys related to the medical practice setting, patients' main concern is long wait times. Even though a long wait time is not likely to be the main complaint in a lawsuit, it does not endear the doctor to the jury. A proactive approach and communication are key.

Understand how the Stark and antikickback laws apply to patient referral incentives.

"Marketing" is any action to attract or keep patients, which includes many activities.

The financial crisis of 2008-2009, along with more recent concern over the large debts run up by Greece and some other members of the European Union, has made debt a frequent topic of meetings with clients.

When the medical malpractice insurance market came crashing down and premiums skyrocketed a decade ago, physicians began to focus on the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits.

You obtain a signed ABN (waiver of liability) from a Medicare beneficiary to convey that the Medicare program is not likely to provide coverage in a specific case.

International locum tenens may be a practical way to fulfill dreams left unfulfilled.

Understand whether to offer free care to the family and staff of referring doctors.

A two-year national demonstration project of the patient-centered medical home concept of 31 primary care practices shows that the model does improve care, but patients still complain of lack of income and personal relationships with physicians, according to study results.

Media outlets are always seeking content. The best approach to reaching them is to create and distribute press releases on local angles to current national topics related to the types of patients you would like to attract.

Learn how to handle contractual relationships with Medicare Advantage plans.

How to count number of active patients.

For busy clinicans, new technologies promise savings in time as well as costs-in theory. But in practice, is this actually true? The jury is still out, as Medical Economics found out.

How to handle phone number when moving locations.

Family issues are the leading reasons physicians resign as well as accept positions, a healthcare recruiting firm survey reveals.