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If you want your practice to reap benefits from electronic health records (EHRs), computerized provider order entry, and clinical decision-support systems, it?ll take strong leadership and staff ?buy-in.? So conclude researchers from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) after reviewing 154 recent studies on the topic.

You and your patients have a new non-government resource for information related to the Affordable Care Act, thanks to a new Web site launched by a coalition that includes the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, and five other organizations.

As a physician practicing family, or internal medicine, you are more likely than your colleagues in pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, or other medical specialties to quality for Medicare- or Medicaid-related incentives for achieving ?meaningful use? of electronic health records (EHRs). That?s the finding of an analysis of federal survey data by Brian K. Bruen, lead research scientist in the Department of Health Policy in the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, and colleagues.

If your patient population is similar to the pool of those responding to a recent survey, you?ll want to consider adding a secure online communication tool to your practice to allow patients to obtain lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with your offices?if you haven?t done so already.

If your practice is on the small side and plans to implement an electronic health record (EHR) system soon, an analysis of 26 primary care practices?each ranging from two to 12 physicians?in the Dallas, Texas, area may provide some insights into the financial and nonfinancial costs you?ll incur.

Several months ago, we issued a rallying cry for the profession to come together to share innovative ideas and strategies in light of something that is becoming more and more apparent: Primary care is at a crossroads.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services levied more than $5 million in fines and penalties on a major hospital and a medical group for alleged violations of HIPAA.

Understand your rights regarding patients who refuse to pay their deductible expenses.

The president's fiscal year 2012 budget proposal sets the stage for stabilizing the Medicare physician payment system and building up the primary care physician workforce.

Six health plans in New York's Hudson Valley paid $1.5 million to 236 primary care physicians in 11 practices that achieved patient-centered medical home recognition from a national nonprofit organization.

Seventy-three percent of Americans surveyed would use a secure online communication service to make it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with their doctors' offices.

This article on how to keep your practice running smoothly focuses on billing, collection, filing and other functions.

Know whether your disability insurance policy will cover you while working abroad.

Q: What are some of the pros and cons of establishing custodial accounts for children?

Many doctors would like to manage their own investments but lack the time, energy or expertise to do so. Instead, often they seek out an investment adviser they think they can trust to handle their money.

Half of Americans oppose the "individual mandate" clause in the healthcare reform law that requires all Americans to purchase health insurance but 71% agree that healthy people should buy insurance to help pay costs for those that are sick.

To effectively build your practice, it's important to look at a growth plan in the context of the factors you encounter every day.

Learn how to handle the decision to buy an electronic health records system.

In today's world of medical marvels, it's easy to forget the basics and be seduced away from the fundamentals of patient care.

As a primary care physician, you're also a business person, with at least some responsibility for managing the practice's finances, and all the responsibility for managing your own.

Are you ready to deal with the vast amount of information available to your patients in just seconds, thanks to technology?

The five largest publicly traded health insurance companies reported combined profits of $11.7 billion in 2010.

Learn about the telehealth services that Medicare added for 2011.

Author recalls the "go-live" day for his practice's electronic health records system.

The author reflects on his role as patient advocate even when it comes to death certificate forms.

Letters discuss the relationship between primary care physicians and specialists, electronic health records, solo practice and patient perspective on physicians.

Learn whether you can avoid penalties if you withdraw early from your IRA.

Only 14% of patients get their medical records electronically from their physician?s offices, and 30% don?t know why they would need to do so, finds a new report by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Health Research Institute. The finding has implications for you and your peers in practices and organizations that hope to reap federal stimulus payments.

One community planned a 1-day screening event for the 14,000 homeless who live on the streets and in shelters in Houston, Texas.

The author's first step into beginning the journey into the new world of the electronic health record was to buy Windows for Dummies.