Pamela Moore, PhD

Your practice’s biggest expense-and best asset-is your staff. Here’s how to ensure you’ve got the right staff in the right roles working as efficiently as possible.

An EMR purchase is a business decision like any other. It’s an expensive decision, true, and it requires change. But it’s still just a business decision. What questions should you really be asking yourself?

What are physicians like you doing when it comes to purchasing new office technologies? Our Fifth Annual Technology Survey cuts through the hype and gives it to you straight.

President Obama has promised as much as $44,000 to physicians using EHRs as part of the stimulus package he signed this year. Payments start in 2011. But there’s a catch.

The best measure of physician productivity is the “relative value unit,” or RVU. But many new physicians don’t know where to start, or even what an RVU is. Here’s help.

The customer is always right, until he is wrong. In an age of consumerism, how do you say no without losing patients?

There are plenty of reasons to be cynical about health reform, but maybe it’s time for a little optimism.

The best measure of physician productivity is the “relative value unit,” or RVU. But a physician trying to figure out how much she’ll be paid under this system doesn’t know where to start, or even what an RVU is. Here’s help.

The EHR stimulus has physicians and vendors alike buzzing. But are they asking the right questions, or just looking for a handout?

Medicare hopes to save millions with tougher billing rules and aggressive audits - changes that could cost your practice money. But if you bill right and on time, you can keep that Medicare check coming.

One partner wants to retire; the other two want to buy him out. The only problem: They can’t agree on the terms, and things are getting heated.

How is the recession likely to affect your practice? And what can you do to soften the blow?

Surgeries to Two Fingers; Initial Hospital Visits; Coding for Medical Clearance Exam

The Obama administration is putting serious money behind its determination to make all medical records electronic. Has the time finally come to get that EMR?

A physician uses her drug samples to help out needy patients, but worries she’s putting herself at risk. Who gets her goodies?

A settlement has at last been reached in a long-fought lawsuit between physicians and insurers. But the outcome of the so-called Love case is at best a modest win for doctors.

What do you do when your claims keep getting denied by the same payer, seemingly without explanation?

Get answers on coding for Incomplete procedures; film review; figuring out medicare denials; coding for workers' compensation forms, and more.

Yes, there is a way to make more money; by providing better care - and you needn’t wait for some P4P program or “medical home” experiment to get started.

The results of our annual fee schedule survey tell you how much to expect from payers. The news isn’t good, but we have plenty of advice for making the most of difficult times.

A soon-to-be partner wonders who should pay for an office makeover necessitated by his promotion.

Here is medical coding guidance on Zostavax; E&M for wart removal; a wellness visit with multiple diagnoses; same-day in-hospital visits; and more.

Each issue we offer advice on a real physician’s vexing problem. This month: A newbie gets help on scoring that dream partnership offer.

Tips from our e-mail newsletter. This issue: How to code combined wellness and problem-focused visits; coordination of care advice; coding for tetanus.

Patients are looking for ways to cut expenses, just like you. Here’s how to help them balance their health needs with their financial challenges.

Pamela Moore, PhD, CPC, editorial director for Physicians Practice, answers your top practice management questions.

Many physicians, sadly, are not as happy with their professional lives as they have a right to be. That’s where Your Best Practice comes in. Read our take on call coverage, professional service agreements, and preventive maintenance for your imaging equipment.

Is your practice deluged with faxed refill reminders from pharmacies and last-minute calls for new scripts from frantic parents? That’s life in pediatrics. Here’s what you can do to better manage the flow, save time and money, and improve patient safety.

With most tech-savvy practices now equipped with EMRs, the market must learn to appeal to smaller practices. But is it even worth the trouble?

More payers - and even some employers - are hiring third parties to conduct chart audits on their behalf. Is this legal? What should you do if you receive such a request?