Legal

A reader disagrees with the results of a study on the links between fears of malpractice and defensive medicine practices.

Ordering tests and diagnostic procedures can be a dilemma for physicians, who must navigate issues of patient care, liability and cost

Despite the reimbursement challenges primary care physicians will continue to face in 2015, new initiatives will provide primary care physicians with opportunities to grow and better manage patient health.

A majority of Americans now have a favorable view of the ACA's provision that employers with at least 50 employees provide healthcare coverage. But a great deal of misinformation about the ACA remains.

The new year brings changes to many evaluation and management codes physicians use, including chronic care management and advanced planning

Nearly 90% qualify for premium subsidies

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is working to continue some form of payment bonus to primary care physicians in light of the expiration in 2015 of the existing 10% payment boost included in the Affordable Care Act

Efforts are underway to find technology solutions to the efficiency problems physicians experience with prior authorizations

Without an act of Congress, Medicaid parity will expire on December 31, 2014

The American Academy of Family Physicians is calling out the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for failing to provide details about several primary care codes in its 2015 Medicare physician fee schedule.

Medicare now reimburses physicians and other healthcare professionals for time spent managing patients' transition from inpatient to community settings. Here is the information you need to bill for these services.

Is tort reform capable of achieving gains for physicians when it comes to medical liability? The jury is out.

Beginning January 1, 2015, medical practices can, for the first time, bill Medicare for the non face-to-face time spent managing care for patients with multiple chronic diseases. But doing so may prove challenging for many practices, at least at first.

Little difference found in outcomes from care provided by doctors required to recertify and those not

The non-medical tasks physicians now have to perform have removed much of the enjoyment that comes with practicing medicine, a reader says.

A reader writes that maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements have not been shown to improve quality of care, and are damaging medicine's feeling of collegiality.

The growing national scrutiny of facility fees charged by hospitals is placing many physicians in the difficult position of factoring costs into treatment decisions, and prompting a debate on whether physicians have a responsibility to engage patients on the financial side-effects of recommended treatments.

Medical societies are dismayed that some of physicians’ top concerns were not addressed during Congress’ lame duck session.

The number of Americans eligible for Medicaid is growing, but so is the problem of finding a doctor who will treat them

AHIMA-sponsored Twitter rally reaps more than 5,000 tweets to stop another ICD-10 delay

The Ebola outbreak in Africa still needs trained providers and health professionals to care for patients and contain the disease

The AMA, along with many regional medical societies, is urging Congress to include another ICD-10 implementation delay to a stalled appropriations bill during the current lame duck session.

A new study compares the health and access to care of America's senior citizens with those of other industrialized nations

A reader says more, not fewer, of his patients are uninsured since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.