Legal

Electronic health records (EHR) use has steadily increased among office-based physicians since the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, but new studies indicate that the number of physicians who don’t or plan to participate is substantial.

According to a new study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, only 53% of surveyed physicians use prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs). Fewer than three-fourths of physicians knew about their state’s PMP.

The ability to share patient health information among providers has been a key government goal since passage of the Health Information Technology for Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act the following year. Partly as a result of those pieces of legislation, by 2013 about two-thirds of U.S. hospitals and half of physician practices were using some form of health information exchange (HIE) with other organizations. So far, however, there is little conclusive evidence demonstrating that HIE benefits individual patients or the healthcare system generally.

HHS’ announcement that, by the end of 2016, it aims to link 30% of Medicare reimbursements to the "quality of value" is the latest sign that, after years of talking about the importance of quality and outcomes in medicine, payers are getting serious about making them part of their reimbursement formulas.

Follow these tips to improve patient management and adherence of asthma treatments

You need to be specific in your ICD-9 coding for asthma because there are several codes available.

Even the most experienced physicians and practice managers face a daunting dilemma on the financial front: Should they handle billing and collections internally or hand over these tasks to an external vendor? There are strategies that physicians can use to evaluate potential vendors and make the best decision for their practice.

Ask these 10 questions before you choose a RCM vendor

Being sued for malpractice, especially for the first time, can be an unsettling and frustrating experience. The consequences of a lost case can range from an increase in future insurance premiums to a health department investigation which could affect your license. So it is imperative that you immediately report a malpractice claim to your professional liability insurance carrier and retain an attorney specializing in the defense of medical malpractice cases in order to protect your interests.

Treating chronic diseases such as diabetes requires a strong and open relationship between physician and patient.

Chronic care management can become an additional revenue stream for practices, but it requires understanding how to use the codes.

Rising costs can affect treatment adherence and lead to negative outcomes for patients. But physicians can take some small steps to help their patients overcome this challenge.

Despite changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that dramatically affect the risk profile of medical practices, many have yet to establish a full arsenal of defenses against data breaches. The simple fact is that failure to update your protections can multiply your vulnerabilities and fines if a breach occurs.

Physicians who leave independent private practice to join a large group or a hospital system have different considerations when it comes to medical professional liability (MPL) insurance.

There are many ways to have a medical career. Choosing whether to take employment, buy a practice, or start from scratch involves assessing your personal and professional values, and the specific location you are targeting. The bottom line: Choose what will make you personally and professionally happy.

A physician’s roadmap to performance improvement must include best practices to reduce and reverse unpaid claims

Will employing mid-level providers put physicians at risk?

The provider that accepts a large number of Medicaid patients and makes it work for his or her practice is much like the fabled unicorn: there are rumors that they exist, but no one has actually seen them.

Regardless of how well physicians or their coders understand the new coding system, practices will not fare well on reimbursement unless their providers can document encounters in sufficient detail to support the new codes.

A monumental data breach at one of the nation’s largest insurance providers has spurred a bipartisan effort to reexamine the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The success rate for physicians attesting to meaningful use for electronic health records is improving, but remains dismal: More than three-quarters of eligible professionals (EPs) so far have not attested to any stage of the meaningful use program.

The Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) is aiming for better national interoperability by 2017.

Five primary care facilities will test a new initiative that will allow patients to not only view, but add to their physicians’ visit notes in their electronic health records (EHR) systems

Becoming a PCMH is more than just a change in the way a practice is reimbursed. It is a change in the medical culture.

Accelerated by the Affordable Care Act, high-deductible health plans have emerged as a major trend in healthcare. Placing more financial responsibility on patients for medical services has a direct impact on physician practices.

How to weigh the risk and the benefits to your practice of these care delivery and payment models

Tips on taking on a leadership position for younger physicians

Answers to physician questions about preventative services in a primary care setting

Thirty-six states have “apology laws” that prohibit certain statements or expressions of sympathy by a physician from being admissible in a lawsuit. Experts in the field say that while the laws may help some physicians feel more comfortable about expressing empathy, they aren’t really necessary to avoid lawsuits. Instead, good patient-physician relationships and open disclosure are the keys to responding successfully to a bad outcome.

Board will no longer require several elements of certification process; president admits “we got it wrong”