Legal

With the Affordable Care Act, Americans thought they were getting a socialized safety net, but instead we have gotten a system that has been sold to private corporate interests.

Progress on repealing the sustainable growth rate formula has stalled in Congress due to disagreement over how to pay for it.

Many states are encountering problems in getting the higher Medicaid reimbursements to providers due to them under the Affordable Care Act.

Our coding expert explains the dos and dont's of billing Medicare for telehealth services.

Despite complaints about Medicare's shortcomings, the vast majority of office-based physicians continue to accept new patients covered by Medicare. Similarly, most Medicare beneficiaries are satisfied with their access to medical care.

Burnout and dissatisfaction are all-too-common among primary care physicians, but some practices have found ways to make medicine enjoyable again.

A new policy paper from a research group affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians suggests that more NPs and PAs may not be ready to step in for primary care physicians to relieve the shortage. The reason? Just like doctors, NPs and PAs may increasingly be seeking subspecialty careers that come with better pay and less hassle.

CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD's very public transformation into a proponent of medical marijuana has done more than just inspire late-night talk show hosts to joke that his employer should change its name to the "Cannabis News Network."

A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that Americans’ functional measures of health are improving, and more so the further away from death the person is.

When it comes to primary care, the U.S. medical education system isn't getting the job done. The founder of primary care education advocacy group Primary Care Progress shares his ideas on how to change that.

A new study from consumer watchdog group Public Citizen finds that the number and dollar amount of malpractice awards has fallen steadily in recent years, while overall healthcare costs have continued to sore.

A reader argues in favor of removing the prohibition on balance billing,

Group Editor Daniel Verdon says tort reform is just one part of a complex problem encompassing providers, payers, physicians, and the justice system.

New payment models are not only challenging physicians financially, they are confusing. This article will clarify the most popular concepts coming into vogue and will also address some of the key contractual issues these models can generate.

Although a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives has drawn widespread support for repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, groups representing primary care physicians have raised some concerns.

Although estimates for how much is spent on defensive medicine vary widely, experts agree that the dolllar amount is large.

Malpractice litigation’s most profound effect on the healthcare system doesn’t arise from malpractice insurance claims, case settlements, or court awards for damages, but from the defensive medicine it encourages.

New rules make it more important than ever to be proactive in ensuring compliance

With the starting date for stage 2 of the meaningful use program fast approaching, two major provider groups are asking for more flexibility in the program's requirements

The study's findings suggest that, to reduce defensive medicine, it may be more effective to focus on physicians' perceptions of legal risk and the factors driving those perceptions, rather than tort reform. Prior studies have shown physicians "greatly overestimate their risk of being sued," according to the study.

A series of 3-year studies of PCMHs in Pennsylvania conducted by Independence Blue Cross (IBC) found “significant reductions in medical costs for patients with chronic conditions treated in primary care practices that have transformed into medical homes."

Medical services that are billed at physician reimbursement levels but are performed by nonphysicians are drawing extra scrutiny from the federal government because they may be vulnerable to overutlization and expose patients to subpar care.

Older physicians break down technology adoption barriers, study says

For physicians who struggle to balance empathy with analytic thinking during patient visits, neuroscience researcher and brain-imaging expert Anthony Jack, PhD, has a somewhat comforting explanation: It's not your fault, it's your brain's.

Comparing data from 2000 to 2010, researchers found that over that time physicians prescribed more narcotics, made more referrals to other physicians and used more imaging procedures such as CT and MRI for patient visits involving routine back pain.