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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in late August plans to award $598 million in grants to open as many as 70 regional offices next year to help practices adopt electronic health record systems.

Can I bill for a preoperative visit, and if so, what CPT code should be used?

Unfortunately, even though there are CPT codes for simpler procedures, there is currently no code for ring removal or entrapment.

A better future for primary care is right in front of us if we have the courage to change, and indeed we must change.

If patient information is stolen, practices must notify the affected patients and, in some cases, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and local media, according to new regulations that go into effect on September 23.

Nearly half of physicians believe that various off-label uses of prescription drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a national survey.

Efforts to thwart the increasing costs of healthcare cannot succeed without addressing the question of how much care to provide the terminally ill.

What statistics do I really need to track in my practice?

Our physicians don't want to report code 90465 when children under 8 years of age are vaccinated, because they do not provide any counseling.

Recent changes in credit card laws will likely affect everyone in ways both positive and negative.

In a letter sent to executives, two top lawmakers demanded compensation information, for each year from 2003 to 2008, on health insurance company employees earning more than $500,000, including their bonuses, stock options, and other incentives.

A general rule when deciding between paying down debt or savings is to estimate the difference between the interest rate of the debt and potential return on investment.

The Dow is up; more public corporations have been reporting positive quarterly earnings-but which companies are really performing well?

A little-known fact about credit scores is that generally automobile financing uses a unique set of scores.

A look at state legislation affecting primary care doctors.

Charging an administrative fee is reasonable and fair, according to one reader.

A rough year for the U.S. economy had little negative impact on the income of physicians, according to the results of Medical Economics' 2009 Exclusive Survey.

What statistics do I really need to track in my practice?

Exercise stress testing is helpful in evaluating chest pain in selected patients and is a cost-effective strategy for triaging patients with chest pain in the primary care setting.

Now that the H1N1 vaccine has been approved, primary care physicians are waiting to hear whether 1 or 2 shots will be required for adult patients.

Patients suffering from depression who participated in online cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions were nearly 2.5 times more likely to recover from depression than their standard care counterparts.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released a new fact sheet outlining the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition.

Details of a $694-million program that will create a national extension service to help office-based physicians set up their health information technology have been announced by federal officials.

Medical students view electronic-health-record technology as an important component of their medical education and a critical factor when choosing where they will practice medicine, according to results of a recent survey.

The new program could demonstrate that a low-cost, rigorous survey method can produce ratings and reports on most doctors in the United States.

Insurers are signing on to support new chronic care patient education delivery systems that incorporate web-based and electronic technologies.

Consider a referral to a mental health provider for patients who remain nonadherent to therapy or lifestyle changes even after extensive patient education efforts.

A look at state legislation affecting primary care doctors.

An estimated 47 million Americans have double the average risk of heart disease because they are affected by a complex constellation of interrelated conditions, including obesity, impaired glucose metabolism, hypertension, and lipid disorders.

The art of medicine can be as pivotal as the science of medicine when it comes to managing the treatment regimens of patients with cardiometabolic disorders.