Practice Management

When my employer, which is also a health insurer, asks me for personal health information, is that a HIPAA violation?

We have a physician leaving our practice and a new physician who is joining, and we are confused regarding how we should bill for services during this transition.

Freedom from the stress of private practice is a common reason physicians hit the road as locum tenens.

Generational differences can be a source of conflict, but they can also result in better medicine.

Most health insurance markets are dominated by only one or two health insurers, according to a report issued by the American Medical Association.

The federal government is backing a new pilot website that aims to ease doctors' concerns about security and privacy when sharing health information electronically.

We are a 35-year-old group of six, and one member who has been in the group for 18 years isn't pulling his load in patient production, time, and fees.

We have two cardiologists in our six-person practice, and they both want to cut back on their work schedules.

Is it legal to charge a modest amount to each Medicare patient that is provided 24-hour coverage?

Patients need to understand their financial responsibilities, even if it means adding another layer of responsibility for your scheduling office.

It is possible to bill patients up front for the cost of treatment to get around slow third-party payments. But there is a lot to consider before going this route.

If nurse practitioners are going to treat patients outside the office, they should be credentialed independently, so they can bill their services under their own provider numbers.

From top-dog Sermo to upstarts like Ozmosis.com and iMedExchange.com, the number of networking sites dedicated to physicians have proliferated recently.

Family and internal medicine doctors were in high demand in 2008, but saw only a modest increase in compensation, according to a report by the Delta Companies.

One of Washington state's largest health systems is putting $20 million behind the concept of a patient-centered medical home.

Certain models of the concierge practice method of medicine could be construed as engaging in the insurance business, according to a report issued by the Maryland Insurance Administration.

Coders, software firms, and physicians were granted another two years to prepare and comply with the greatly expanded set of disease diagnostic codes.

Our fee schedule hasn't changed in a while, and I'm concerned that we're undercharging for some procedures. What can we do to learn whether our fees are at appropriate levels?

Which is more important: Having a chart co-signed promptly by a physician regardless of whether that doctor is listed as the overseeing physician that day, or leaving it open until the overseeing physician can sign it?

When is the right time to refer an account to a collections agency? Generally, is referring accounts to a collections agency worth the time, expense, and effort?

A crossover is done on claims paid by Medicare based on the eligibility information reported.

Medicare will pay for treatment up to and including pronouncing time of death.

Some ZIP codes have more than one Medicare payment locality. These require the four-digit extension for payment to be rendered.

The process of ordering and managing medical and office supplies and drugs gets little attention from most primary care physicians and their staffs. But as pressure mounts to reduce costs, improving inventory management can be a fruitful place to look for savings.

"Rental" agreements, in which new health plans use a Preferred Provider Organization network from a plan you're contracted with to discount your fees without your permission, may soon be more transparent if a ruling by the National Conference of Insurance Legislators evolves into state laws.

Only a small number of consumers are visiting the estimated 1,100 retail health clinics nationwide.

The early days of the Obama administration give the estimated 83 percent of doctors without an electronic health record system valid reason to sit tight for a while longer.

Health insurer Wellpoint plans to collaborate with health plans in four states on a new online cost transparency initiative.

Patient education company Vivacare has expanded its free, online library of patient handouts to include a wider range of specialties, including family medicine.

The Medical Group Management Association launched a national campaign earlier this month to require health insurance cards to be machine-readable and accepted at every medical practice by 2010.