Lifestyle

Physician practices are being sold to hospitals with increasing frequency. If you're considering selling your practice, here are the Top 5 considerations to have in mind before making your decision.

Creating a patient-centered medical home is largely attainable, however, according to a two-year National Demonstration Project, the process is difficult and time-consuming, and requires "effort and self-motivation on behalf of practitioners."

Biotech investors were on the lookout for this year's "sleeper hit" at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual cancer-drug conference. Here are 10 companies with share prices under $10 that generated significant buzz on Wall Street heading into the conference.

My primary objective in the stock market is to lose the least amount of money when I am wrong and make the most amount of money when I am right. As Friday's big sell-off clearly demonstrates, that goal's not easy to achieve in a market this random. After this week's "follow-through day," all bets are off on this signal of a fledgling rally.

President Obama and Democratic leaders told us when they passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that the American public would grow to like it. That certainly hasn't happened yet. My hope is that this law will be repealed, and not because it would be a political disaster for Democrats -- it's a disaster for them already.

By now, you're more than familiar with the names Twitter, Facebook and YouTube -- the big three in social media. You've probably often been asked, ‘Why you don't have an online presence?' Experts say there are four good reasons to be using social media: marketing, public relations, market research and customer service. All four help to accomplish one goal: To connect you with your current and potential customers.

Hurricane season 2010 officially begins this week, and experts predict it's going to be an exceptionally bad one. Business insurance will cover typical replacement costs if your medical office is hit. But what about the income lost while you can't see patients? For that, you need business interruption insurance.

Joshua Tree National Park offers a glimpse into life on another planet. It's a hot, demanding place that forces you to slow down and evaluate your human survival skills. On a recent weekend visit, I also realized these same skills are ones that all entrepreneurs and small business owners need to survive.

Many people use debt for immediate gratification, or to plug a leak in a sudden financial hole. But used properly, debt can be a strategic financial-planning tool. Dr. Brown offers up two examples of how his own financial advisor saved him money by helping him to use credit wisely.

Healthcare reform is decimating the nation's doctor-owned hospitals. Provisions of the new law ban the construction of new doctor-owned hospitals and place stiff restrictions on the expansion of existing facilities. As a result, doctors stand to lose millions.

Nearly two out of every five healthcare professionals reported a data security breach in 2009, up from just 13% the previous year, according to a recent survey. The majority of the breaches typically involve lost or stolen laptops and portable data-storage devices, and improperly discarded documents.

After correctly calling May's sharp market reversal, Mike takes a look at where the stock market might be headed in June and outlines some of the factors investors need to consider to develop a plan. One scenario Mike will be watching for in the upcoming weeks is a stock-market bounce and weak rally attempt.

A reader says her mortgage broker is urging her to refinance her mortgage. She wants to know if it's a smart financial move for her, or if her broker is just looking for another commission.

Lawmakers infuriated doctors groups Friday after once again failing to act on the 21 percent Medicare pay cut for physicians, slated to take effect June 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified physicians it will delay processing claims for two weeks.

Many physicians plan to transition out of clinical practice into non-clinical careers, including education, administration, consulting and communications. Here are my Top 10 tips for surviving the transition successfully.

Though home prices have nudged higher in recent months, many physicians are holding off on selling real estate as they wait for values to ratchet up. But with many challenges looming, the direction of the housing market is still anybody's guess.

The Gulf of Mexico undersea oil disaster has spawned a growing tide of investment scams from con artists who claim to be profiting from cleanup operations. Here's how to spot an oil-spill stock scam, and what to do if you suspect you're a victim.

Shopping for a car takes lot of time -- something few physicians can afford. Haggling with dealers over price also makes many buyers queasy. Now, shoppers can sidestep the whole aggravating process by hiring "concierge" car-buying services.

Credit-card companies are slashing their rewards programs, leaving many cardholders in danger of losing their hard-won points. Using your credit card to make purchases in your practice may help.

The ferocity of the recent Wall Street sell-off caught many by surprise, and may be a signal that the market is moving into a more bearish phase. Michael warns self-directed investors to tread cautiously.

The nation's top earners are facing a juggernaut of new taxes and tax increases over the next few years. By making these strategic money moves now, doctors can shield some of their income from the assault.

Real estate is a popular investment among physicians, but many owners expose themselves to unnecessary lawsuit risks and end up paying far too much in taxes. Here are three smart strategies for lessening those risks and minimizing your tax burden.

Physicians may be able to save time, money and a lot of hassle by adopting a more modular approach to incorporating electronic health records into their practices. It may also help tame the frustration of meeting onerous EHR "meaningful use" requirements to qualify for federal funds.

Joachim Klement delves into role memory plays in why financial crises keep recurring over time in his working paper "The Flaws of Our Financial Memory." The chief investment officer of Zurich's Wellershoff & Partners Ltd., believes the problem can be traced to flaws in memory that he calls the "seven sins."

This year, savers can convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs no matter how much they earn -– though high-income healthcare professionals don't seem in a big rush to do it. Now, some financial advisors are suggesting a unique Roth conversion tactic that may be worth a look.

A reader asks for help in finding a lawyer qualified to investigate an investment broker's suspected misuse of his account. There are several government Web sites and association directories that can help find an expert securities lawyer -- but investors need to act fast.

Dr. Jon Bertman of the EHR company Amazing Charts answers questions about EHRs that weren't answered in the live HCPLive webinar debate Small vs. Large EHR Vendors: What's Best for Your Practice, held in April.

In medicine, efforts, results, and knowledge are not equal. Further, society values and incentivizes us differently. Is it "fair?" That's probably unanswerable, and we need to realize that and just grow up.

Replacing a computer is easy enough, but retrieving the lost data that was stored there can be expensive and incomplete. Here are a few ways you can ensure you've got a paddle left once you end up the creek.

This isn't the first time that Twitter has been in the news due to its ability to disseminate less-than-reliable information about an important health topic. So what can you do about patients who look to Twitter for medical advice?