Practice Management

Keeping patient data private has never been more important, and requires medical practices to navigate a web of mandates, analyses, and agreements.

The number of practices employing non-physician providers has increased in the past 15 years, and for many, it’s boosting the bottom line, according to a recent report from the Medical Group Management Association.

Primary care shortages lead many states to reform laws that restrict midlevels

Health plans focus on reduced drug copays eases patients’ financial burden

Medicare’s payment data dump to physicians raises serious concerns about the accuracy and the ease in which payment data can be misinterpreted, according to the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.

The continued pressures of working in the healthcare industry may be causing more than 100,000 of the nation's physicians, nurses, and other practitioners to develop substance abuse problems.

Implementation costs, alert fatigue cited as obstacles for practices

Shortly after announcing the enrollment of 7.5 million people in ACA health insurance exchanges, Kathleen Sebelius resigned as secretary of the of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Patients with private insurance have a better chance of scheduling appointments with doctors than those with Medicaid, according to a new study.

Fear of litigation is driving up the cost of healthcare, and it should be the catalyst to fix a broken medical liability system, according to a position paper released by the American College of Physicians during its annual meeting in Orlando.

During a keynote address at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine 2014 conference in Orlando, Florida, Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD, a healthcare reporter for the New York Times, discussed healthcare costs and their burden on patients.

Develop a project plan that includes understanding the coding changes, plan for payment delays and team training, and then assemble your team to start gathering resources and information.

A new study finds a link between visits to primary care providers and the likelihood of following prescription regimens

The nation’s physicians contribute a lot more than health and wellness to their communities-their activity generates $1.6 trillion for the national economy, according to the American Medical Association.

A reader writes that maintenance of certification has never been proven to improve the quality of care doctors provide, so it should not be required of them.

MOC requirements are destroying the trust needed between doctors and patients.

A recent American College of Physicians clinical practice guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for screening, monitoring, and treatment of early-stage chronic kidney disease.

Helping patients change lifestyle factors can go far to help reduce the impact of circulatory disorders and cut healthcare costs.

The first people to enroll in the health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act were more likely to be sicker or suffering from a chronic disease than the average patient, according to a new study that analyzed prescription drug use.

Medicare’s release of thousands of physician pay records could expose fee-for-service models that reimburse subspecialists at a higher rate than primary care physicians.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) places primary care physicians front and center in the mission to improve the health of Americans, and lower overall healthcare costs. But new ACA-derived payment models that reward value, not volume, are driving skepticism and uncertainty among physicians.

How can physician investors guard against overreacting to large swings in the stock market? Here are strategies to setting asset allocation and rebalancing your portfolio.

Creating an incentive plan for midlevels can go a long way toward increasing their productivity.

While healthcare organizations have decreased the number of breaches of patient data and improved their ability to control the costs associated with data breaches, healthcare reform has increased the risk to patient privacy, according to a study.

Microsoft stopped providing support for its popular operating system Windows XP this month, and continued use of this non-supported operating system is exposing the practice’s protected health information to risk. Take these steps to ensure that patient information is protected.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing review program to measure billing problems and improper payments, and identify common problems.

When shopping for a medical malpractice liability insurance policy, most physicians focus on premium costs. But physicians shopping for a malpractice policy should also focus on getting the right coverage limits.

Requests for locum tenens physicians are up, but increased use of temporary doctors might be a warning sign of impending shortages and greater turnover in the clinician workforce. Demand is up particularly for primary care physicians-the group predicted to face the worst shortages in coming years.

Electronic health record (EHR) systems are built to help physicians improve their practices. But EHRs may also come between a physician and a patient during an encounter. Voice recognition software and scribes may help optimize your documentation.

In recent months, close to 50 electronic health record (EHR) systems have been certified to meet meaningful use 2 criteria for complete EHR systems, bringing the total number of certified vendors to 81 as of early March 2014. Download a copy of the list.