Lifestyle

While there is a growing demand for “interoperability” between hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and physician practice information systems, the cost often exceeds the potential benefits. In this session, participants learned how to make participation in a health information exchange (HIE) financially viable.

In addition to identifying the Three Big Mistakes, the authors discuss simple tools that doctors can use to avoid unnecessary costs which come with poor planning.

Negotiating fees with health plans is not difficult to do, and yet, according to managed care expert John Schmitt, it's a practice that is often ignored.

When your medical office is damaged by disaster, you face many of the same expenses that a homeowner does, but with additional business costs that homeowners don't experience.

While an academic at Indiana University, I was enrolled in TIAA-CREF, considered a low cost plan for those in the academic, medical, cultural, and research fields. In the past it has questioned corporate governance and executive compensation in an effort to protect its participants Lately, however, I’ve been wrestling with how well I’m been served. My conclusion: not well enough.

During one of the worst bear markets in history, Wall Street marketers created the “absolute return” fund. As with any scheme that sounds too good to be true, this one probably is.

For a doctor opening a solo practice, trying to find out what rates other practicing physicians charge is an exercise in futility. Why? Legal and ethical ramifications for doing so. In some cases, other docs are in the same boat as you...they just don't know.

Worry over large-scale stock sell offs by retiring baby boomers looking to convert to equities into fixed-income assets is probably misplaced, say some stock market analysts.

Though the IRS instituted income limits that prevented wealthy earners from making Roth contributions and converting existing IRAs to Roths, changes in 2010 allow any taxpayer to convert exiting tax-deffered accounts into Roth IRAs, regardless of income.

Holiday shoppers looking for discounts may either have to settle for something smaller or wait longer than last year as retailers have cleared out inventory, giving them more room to maintain prices.

Faced with a storm of criticism from lawmakers, several banks have announced that they would eliminate overdraft fees in certain cases and limit the number of overdraft fees that can be incurred in a single day.

A simple thought experiment demonstrates the long-term yield of commodities. Purchase shares of an S&P index fund, a long-term bond, and a piece of wood, and lock them away for 25 years. Which will be worth more when you finally open the safe?

Shady brokers suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority can reappear as insurance agents, mortgage brokers, or financial planners. You can check a broker's record through FINRA's BrokerCheck or your state securities regulatory agency.

Researchers identified a link between metabolic syndrome and elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase, a liver enzyme associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. However, among non-Hispanic males, the two were associated with each other independent of obesity, suggesting that unknown factors may be at work.

The S&P is probing a resistance in the 1052/1053 area which marks congestion and approximates a trendline off the September highs. Broad-based buying has lifted stocks to a strong start. Healthcare has joined the other major sectors in positive territory, but it continues to lag on a relative basis.

Zombies aren't just popular in Hollywood, they are alive and well on Wall Street too. Several million shares of moribund companies like Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers are being swapped every day.

The spectacular rejection of the public option earlier this week should be a huge victory for the plan's opponents. So why do I feel like everybody somehow lost?

More than three million people used their cell phones to do their banking last year, but is it truly safe?

When thinking of your medical organization affiliations, the pertinent question should be the value proposition. Is the act of paying dues spending money to make money, or throwing good money after bad?

Checked-baggage revenue has tripled in the past year, the Bloomberg Airline Index has beaten the S&P 500 2-to-1 since March lows, and airline execs say passengers aren't complaining that much about all the new for-fee services.

Tuesday's trade concluded in lackluster fashion as an absence of leadership left stocks to drift during the afternoon, unable to reclaim their initial gains.

Stop-loss orders can help your stock portfolio from sliding back to the lows of last March, preventing you from taking losses and locking in profits.

Low inflation is the consumer’s friend, but can also cause some problems including static tax brackets and no cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security checks.

Jim Quinn argues that to remove itself from the current morass, the United States must sacrifice, exercise self discipline, live within its means, exhibit humbleness in foreign policy, and follow the instruction of the Constitution.

The transition between quarters is typically a propitious period, however, if selling activity continues, there will be growing concern that the market has hit the wall.

Holders of secret Swiss accounts have an opportunity to come forward under a limited-amnesty program that will require them to pay back taxes, interest, and a special fine, but avoid harsher penalties.

Asset allocation is still the only scientifically-validated method to win the investment game. For more on reports of its death, see: Mark Twain.

Physician burnout does not just have an effect on our families and work error rates; it has a tremendous effect on the bottom line and is far more common than docs want to talk about. The solution, simplified: work smarter, not harder.

Last year's fourth quarter was one of the worst ever for wine sales, leaving a glut on shelves and in warehouses. That's a bonanza for wine lovers as retailers and distributors slash prices on high-end inventory.

A crippled economy and tropical storms in gas-producing areas have contributed to a steep drop in the price of natural gas, a more than 80% drop from July 2008 highs.