Practice Management

Requests for locum tenens physicians are up, but increased use of temporary doctors might be a warning sign of impending shortages and greater turnover in the clinician workforce. Demand is up particularly for primary care physicians-the group predicted to face the worst shortages in coming years.

Electronic health record (EHR) systems are built to help physicians improve their practices. But EHRs may also come between a physician and a patient during an encounter. Voice recognition software and scribes may help optimize your documentation.

In recent months, close to 50 electronic health record (EHR) systems have been certified to meet meaningful use 2 criteria for complete EHR systems, bringing the total number of certified vendors to 81 as of early March 2014. Download a copy of the list.

Although health insurance companies and physicians are encouraging patients to use wearable devices, usage is often short term.

In a continued effort to boost transparency, CMS will release finalized Medicare payment data for more than 880,000 healthcare professionals, as early as April 9.

The Republican-sponsored bill would cut $5.1 trillion in spending, but has little chance of becoming law

A new security risk assessment app designed to help small- to medium-sized practices conduct risk assessments of their organizations is now available for download from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It is still unclear how the influx of millions of new patients will affect healthcare’s gatekeepers-primary care physicians.

You have until midnight tonight to register and attest to Medicare’s 2013 meaningful use EHR Incentive Program, according to an alert from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Senate has passed a one-year patch to the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and a one-year delay to the implementation of the ICD-10 coding system.

Though physician organizations have been vying for an ICD-10 delay, many in health IT say that it is time to implement the coding system in spite of legislation that may push it back until October 2015.

Despite staunch opposition from physician advocates, the bill, which was introduced on Wednesday, will move to the Senate in an effort to pass the legislation before the current SGR fix expires on March 31.

The number of solo practitioners and small practices who have adopted electronic health record systems increased more than 10% from 2013 to 2014, according to a new survey.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance has updated its recognition standards for Patient-centered Medical Homes. The 2014 guidelines emphasize team-based care coordination, behavioral health integration, and care for high-need populations.

Legislation crafted to patch the controversial sustainable growth rate formula for another 12 months would also delay the transition to ICD-10 until October 2015.

According to a new study, physicians are recording higher blood pressure readings than their nurses, and this could be causing an increase in unnecessary treatment.

With the March 31 deadline to enroll for insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare exchanges approaching, the Obama administration still faces an uphill battle both to persuade the uninsured to obtain coverage and educate the country about what’s in the law.

President Barack Obama is proposing increased funding toward medical school programs for internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine in his 2015 budget proposal.

While the American Medical Association is fighting to reverse the financial risk to physicians over the controversial 90-day premium grace period in the Affordable Care Act, it just released a series of resources to help doctors if confronted with policy jumpers.

If you are planning to attend the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine 2014 meeting, April 10-12, in Orlando, Medical Economics is setting up video interviews with internists to talk about the challenges you face in practice.

Physicians can improve cash flow at their practices by financing their accounts receivable, but practices should use diligence before accepting terms

New MOC standards are intended to make the certification process easier and less costly, but physicians say they don't go far enough.

How can physicians begin to leverage the 247 million Americans who using healthcare mobile applications?

The goal of expanding health information exchange networks was to help providers exchange patient data safely, but not all networks are created equally.

A reader calls the maintenance of certification process "outrageous and ridiculous."

Several states are considering variations on “any willing provider” laws that would make payers accept broader provider networks.

Being able to exchange patient health information electronically with other providers comes with legal obligations you need to be aware of.

Patient scheduling is one of the most important operational systems in your practice for the delivery of care; for physician, patient, and staff satisfaction; and for practice profitability. Often it does not receive the attention it needs, to the detriment of the practice. Here are five tips to improve your scheduling process.

Audio, video and photography features on mobile devices have caused troubling incidents related to the unauthorized dissemination of information about patients and practices. While it’s impossible to completely prevent unapproved recordings, steps can be taken to minimize the risks.

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations require that a facility be appropriately certified for each test performed.