Practice Management

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.

Medical malpractice liability premiums are at a 30-year low and claims have dropped 45 percent since 2000, according to a recent study.

For a solo practitioner or a small group practice, cross-coverage arrangements are like oxygen: Without them, there is no life-that is, no weekends, no evenings, no vacations, and no holidays.

Take Care Clinic, a subsidiary of Walgreens, announced plans to step up its services offered-including dermatology procedures-at all 345 in-store medical offices.

There is a new, specific code to use when primary care physicians administer an injection of iron.

Third-party payers have been slow to adapt to group medical visits, meaning billing can be difficult.