Practice Management

Consider a referral to a mental health provider for patients who remain nonadherent to therapy or lifestyle changes even after extensive patient education efforts.

The art of medicine can be as pivotal as the science of medicine when it comes to managing the treatment regimens of patients with cardiometabolic disorders.

Superbills, encounter forms, and EOBs are not considered primary records and can be destroyed after they are input into the billing system.

No code has been assigned to report the administration of the upcoming H1N1 vaccine or the vaccine itself. Codes will likely be assigned around October 1.

For the first time, 17 of Advanstar Communications' Life Sciences publications and its web portal, ModernMedicine.com, are collaborating in a coordinated, interdisciplinary initiative to address a major public health issue: cardiometabolic disorders and weight.

The Stark law is relevant only in situations that involve a specific set of health services and patients who use Medicare.

Although Medicare is expected to offer a financial hardship exemption from electronic health records, the agency has offered scant details so far.

Over the many years of my medical practice, it has repeatedly occurred to me that we might be better caregivers if we had a more visceral rather than purely intellectual understanding of what our patients are experiencing.

Adults in the United States spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on visits to "complementary and alternative medicine" practitioners and purchases of alternative health products in 2007.

Eli Lilly and Co. has launched an online registry detailing recent payments the drugmaker awarded to physicians and other healthcare professionals.

A new tool to help treat cardiometabolic conditions with greater certainty is ready to be tested in a practice environment.

Beginning this issue and continuing through November, Medical Economics will deliver "Cardiometabolic Disorders & Weight: Action for Outcomes," a series of in-depth coverage designed to help you manage your patients' disorders more effectively.

Most states do not outline or limit the reasons a physician can terminate that relationship, which gives the physician considerable discretion to determine the reasons he or she might do so.

Physicians need to update the information related to their own NPI numbers. Failure to do so could result in not being paid for some services.

Starting next year, about 25,000 patients will be able to see all the encounter notes from their primary care physicians on an online personal health record for the duration of a 12-month study.

Testing of a hand hygiene program using infrared and radio frequency identification technology to capture and time-stamp hand washings is underway at a Miami hospital.

Universal coverage could clog the healthcare system unless new care-delivery models are created, such as telehealth and online doctor appointments, according to a recent survey.

EHR adoption has decreased in hospitals in states where privacy laws restrict the ability to disclose patient information, according to a study published in the journal Management Science.

The use of pen-and-paper workarounds in conjunction with electronic health records could boost overall efficiency, according to a new study.

For the third time, the Federal Trade Commission has delayed enforcement of its identity-theft protection system, or "Red Flags" Rule, which applies to physicians' offices.

Practicing medicine takes on a different feel when you're the only doctor in town. But Jim Selenke, MD, the lone physician in Hudson, Iowa, wouldn't have it any other way.

This is how hospital income guarantees usually work.

I took over custodianship of patient records for a colleague in my call group in exchange for any patients that might transfer to me. Can I charge those patients using new patient codes?

Staffing is my biggest expense. How can I cut back?

The way to optimize your earnings is to optimize communication with your coding and billing staffs. It's a key to successful practice that cannot be overstated: Prioritize internal communication. Listen to your team. Provide feedback. Strategize together.

The challenge: Selling a practice without a broker's help

Primary care physicians report job stress and a chaotic work environment, but researchers found no link between their feelings and an increase in medical errors, according to a recent study.

If you've never tried to negotiate payment schedules with your health plans-or if you haven't had success in the past-the tide may be turning in your favor. Consider it an unexpected result of the nation's growing shortage of primary care physicians.

Many physicians worry that if they install an electronic health record system, they will also have to become computer geeks to keep it operating. I've learned that you don't need to be IT-savvy, but you'll be happier if you are.

There is a middle road wherein standards and expectations of how to practice in a whole new world of real-time data can be established, and it must be addressed so that those who use EHR systems can do their jobs without apprehension and fear.