Study: Hospitalist care raises Medicare costs
September 10th 2011Patients treated by hospitalists spend less time in the hospital and incur lower costs than those treated by primary care physicians, but they are more likely to be readmitted and visit the emergency department, according to a new study.
Leave off white coat on hospital rounds; it could harbor dangerous bacteria
September 7th 2011You may want to take off the white coat when you make hospital rounds each morning to avoid bringing more than your expertise to hospitalized patients. Some 60% of the time, traditional doctors? garb harbor dangerous bacteria, a recent study says. If you can?t bear to leave the coat behind, here are some tips on making it safer.
Is your practice keeping up with midlevel provider pay increases?
September 7th 2011Compensation for ?physician extenders? continues to rise as practices scramble to expand capacity and maintain already slim operating margins. Find out what pay packages are being offered and if your practice is staying competitive.
AAFP: Repeal SGR, give PCPs 3% raise
September 7th 2011The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is urging a new congressional ?supercommittee? to repeal the despised Sustainable Growth Rate formula and stipulate a reimbursement system for the next 3 to 5 years that will give primary care physicians a 3% higher payment rate. Read on to find out why AAFP argues that spending more healthcare dollars on primary care will likely save money in the long run.
Malpractice reform helps bottom line even if you don't get sued
September 7th 2011Does medical liability reform help you financially, regardless of whether or not you?re ever sued? The experience in Texas suggests that the answer is Yes. Since tort reform was passed in 2003, insurance rates have dropped an average of 27% for all physicians. Read more to find out about other ways physicians have benefitted.
Rural physicians eligible for EHR adoption funds
August 31st 2011Remote locations make adopting electronic health records a unique challenge for rural physician practices. The government has recognized that and is earmarking specific funds for those initiatives. See if you qualify for those grants and loans.
Office visits, revenues drop in ailing economy
August 31st 2011One reason for an empty waiting room is the ailing economy, according to a recent report. Monthly indices compiled by Standard & Poor suggest that office-based physicians may see a drop in patient visits, if they haven't already. Economic analysts also found that revenues for treating Medicare patients were at their lowest annual growth rate since at least 2005. Keep reading to find out what is likely to turn the trend around.
You get flu vaccinations. What about your staff?
August 31st 2011Annual influenza vaccination rates for physicians often are significantly higher than for their office staff members, even nurses, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. That could be a problem when your waiting room is filled with sick patients this winter. CDC offers four easy-to-implement recommendations to get your practice employees to line up for the vaccine, without your actually having to require it.
Illinois reinstitutes in-depth physician profiles online
August 31st 2011Should selecting a physician really be more like online banking or searching for real estate on the Internet? The Illinois legislature apparently thinks so. See what this new law requires to be included in all physician and surgeon profiles for online public inspection.
Rising PCP hospital employment may be increasing healthcare costs
August 31st 2011Hospitals and primary care physicians (PCPs) may benefit from the growing numbers of PCPs employed in hospital-owned practices, but patients and third-party payers may be harmed by the trend, at least in the short term, according to a recent study.
Will new bundling initiative resolve PCP concerns?
August 31st 2011The government?s new flexible bundled payment initiative allows practices to largely define their own terms of participation. But will the array of models resolve issues with undervaluing evaluation and management work and negotiating fair payment rates with hospitals? Find out how the definition of ?episodes of care? might make a difference.