Lifestyle

Primary-care doctors would receive a new 10% incentive under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final 2011 physician fee schedule, while reimbursements for certain tests and procedures will be slashed by as much as 50%.

A new survey finds that while the number of docs who report having relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers has dropped, many still have ties.

The muni-bond market has been in a free-fall lately on fears that struggling state and local governments may default on their debts. The resulting imbalance in the bond markets may prove to be a buying opportunity for investors willing to stomach a bit of risk.

It was my birthday this week, a classic time to take stock. If you had asked me years ago how my attitude toward money might change with age, I probably would have said very little. But events, and especially time, have a way of remolding our certitudes and we realize few money truths are eternal. That's especially true now for young physicians facing an extremely uncertain financial future.

As a lame duck Congress scrambles to find a temporary compromise on the Medicare physician-reimbursement formula, a weary physician workforce watches and waits, resigned to more months of uncertainty. By not appreciating what this does to physicians' morale, the public is telling doctors that from a federal policy point of view, they simply don't matter.

A reader wants to give a financial gift this holiday season, but he feels gift cards are too cold and impersonal. Here are four financial presents for young and adult children that show you put your heart into the gift.

Take a minute today and scan your life -- all of it. Your work, your family, your friends, your home, yourself. What do you see there that you are deeply grateful for? I reflected on my life and realized I have so much to appreciate. While I'll keep the really personal stuff to myself, may I share with you why I am so thankful to be an entrepreneurial physician?

I'm often asked, "How do I begin to get my financial affairs in order?" That's a great question. The problem I see with most physicians -- and most financial advisors -- is that they focus on the products too much and not on the purpose those products are serving. Before you pick the next stock, or buy the next annuity, or hire a financial advisor, you need to define your goals.

Two expert money managers offer up their Top 11 financial moves investors should make in the coming year to preserve and grow wealth, and adapt to changing income-tax and estate-tax policy.

Two biotech companies failed to price their initial public offerings last week as Detroit automaker General Motors stole the headlines with what could be a record-setting $20 billion IPO.

Bill Mitchell is an artist in Anacortes, Wash., the traditional end of the road to catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands. His prolific paintings, which appear on most of the exterior walls in town, are nothing short of astonishing.

The "danger zone" for physician burnout looms when work begins to become overwhelming, menial, tedious, exhausting, boring and/or highly supervised. I look at the issue of career burnout, and offer three essential "dos" and "don'ts" to help you find happiness on the job.

If you are planning to get married between now and New Year's Eve, it's a good idea to sit down with a tax professional now to get a handle on how it will help, or hurt, your income-tax situation.

Too often, the focus on the medical practice billing process is whether or not it's efficient. The first question really should be, "Is the process effective?" Taking the time to make these basic observations will help in understanding both effectiveness and efficiency of your billing system.

A recent article explains why we need to save more and spend less, for all the obvious reasons. It's too bad that we, as rabid consumers, find it so painful to heed the call. The writer counsels: "You'll be fighting with your brain about money as long as you live. So focus on the war and not the (exhausting) day-to-day skirmishes."

The Senate voted to delay the looming cut in Medicare pay for physicians, keeping reimbursements at current rates through Dec. 31. If the House approves, the move would postpone a 23% cut in reimbursements that was due to go into effect on Dec. 1.

Failure to take medications as prescribed poses major health risks for patients with cardiovascular and other chronic illnesses. The key to getting your patients to take their meds as prescribed starts with better communication.

Doctors topped the list of professionals seeking to escape their expensive auto leases in 2010, a new survey found. More physicians are citing financial concerns as the reason for wanting to get out of their lease contracts.

This week's wild stock market swings help to make the case for the "buy and hold" investment strategy. Buy and hold investors in the U.S. stock market made an average annual return of 8% during the 15 years from 1995 through 2009.

A global financial-services firm plans to bring the concept of investing in art to the not-super-wealthy investor. Art adds diversification to an investment portfolio in that it has low correlation with stocks -- meaning, when stocks go up or down, art does not necessarily follow.

More patients are empowering themselves by turning to the Internet to obtain information about their health. Although the right information can be useful, plenty of online information can be out-of-date or just plain wrong. Here's what you can do to help.

A reader and his spouse are considering cosigning a lease for their adult child. We look at the potential dangers to your wallet and your credit score, and offer suggestions on how to protect yourself.

We often cover smartphone apps that help you do your job better, but we know even doctors need some downtime. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of the great apps that can be used daily by just about anyone.

A quick search of studies on physician job satisfaction came up with very little research covering U.S. docs. Maybe there's much less physician job dissatisfaction here than the blogs, the media and my selective conversations with doctors would lead us to believe. Or perhaps, no one but we physicians care.

Petroglyphs are distributed widely across the world and at least three dozen such sites exist in the U.S., all telling the tale of those who lived there thousands of years ago. These places are not easy to find, however and their messages are poorly understood.

Investors focused on upcoming initial public offerings from biotech companies this week, including a proposed $2.8 billion bid that if completed would be the largest biotech IPO ever.

Retailers look forward to the holiday-shopping season all year -- and so do cyberthieves. As consumers head online to track down the hottest gifts, make travel arrangements and contribute to their favorite causes, thieves do their best to separate them from their money. Here are this year's Top 12 scams.

New data looking at hourly wages indicates that surgeons earn significantly more than PCPs, leaving some to question the sustainability of primary care.

Card issuers are competing for your business by beefing up their rewards programs this holiday season, and retailers are slashing prices and offering online discounts even before "Black Friday." Here's how to find the best deals.

The risks inherent in inaccurate coding are two-fold: On the financial side, it often means that medical practices are not properly reimbursed. Of greater importance, however, is the growing danger of poor coding resulting in fraud charges.