Finance

Good tech support staff is crucial to achieving successful EHR implementation and other priorities like interoperability. Here’s how to find the health IT support you need.

As many third-party payers tighten their belts even further with restraints for prescription drug coverage, radiology services, specialty referrals, etc., we physicians are left at the end of the day spending even more time with filling out more forms, seeing less patients, and seeing our total costs increase even more as our overall efficiency decreases.

Opting for an in-house pharmacy or office dispensing can enable your practice to maintain higher profit margins, but before you jump onboard examine all the costs first.

With a new year comes a new set of initiatives taking effect under the Affordable Care Act and we move another year closer towards other undefined initiatives. But if there is one current theme among the majority of reform initiatives it is teamwork to improve care, a goal that may be as challenging as making reform a reality.

The Affordable Care Act added a new Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. Contrary to patient and physician expectations, it is not a physical exam.

Is private-office healthcare in its death throes? Was the just-passed health reform legislation the final thrust to push out independent physicians? Find out what editorial director Bob Keaveney has to say.

Why spend hours on the phone with payers when you can check online in minutes?

The old order is fading and a new order is starting to take its place. That new environment will reshape medical practice in ways that can be only glimpsed at present. But here are a few predictions for 2011.

The toughest payers to collect from are your own patients. Don't despair, there are things you can do to get paid.

The future of the direct-pay practice model is bright. Here's how it works, the affect on patients, and where it fits with models promoted by healthcare reform.

Insurance companies are unlikely to have much more impact on spending growth than they’ve had for the past few decades. The real question about insurers’ role in health care is why they’ll be needed if providers can form organizations that are accountable for the cost and quality of care.

Today's practice managers must plan proactively for the new year - finding new ways to cut costs and improve efficiencies.

When patients demur over paying for care, don't be a soft touch - there are things you can do to collect

Consultant Greg Mertz feels there is a robust future for private practice, even though practice models will have to change.

A staggering 40 percent of physicians say they plan to leave patient care within the next three years, according to a recent poll by the Physicians Foundation. That spells big trouble for healthcare reform and for medicine in general. If even half of that number of doctors retire, find administrative positions, or leave healthcare entirely, we’re going to have medical assistants taking care of patients and the remaining doctors tearing out their hair in frustration.

Medical coding guidance on prevention planning; the ICD-10 transition; ABN advice; and more.

While the ACO concept gained momentum as a result of the healthcare reform legislation, the idea is nothing new. The Clinton health initiative included similar networks of providers, Accountable Health Partnerships, a proposal that went nowhere. So why should we worry about the current ACO model?

Hospitals need not control ACOs. There are clinically integrated IPAs and PHOs that could easily become ACOs, and 50 to 75 other physician-led organizations are on the same path. Among these entities is the Beacon IPA of Manhasset, NY. Formed last summer, the IPA already has about 200 physician members, and the IPA’s long-term goal is to become clinically integrated and ready for whatever healthcare reform brings, including ACOs.

At the American Medical Association's recent policy-making meeting in San Diego, the association weighed in on the structure of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and professionalism when utilizing social media.

The cost of staffing can consume as much as 30 percent of operating expenses for a medical practice. However, don't be tempted to cut staff. Instead, invest in your staff so you get and keep highly motivated, productive people on your team.

The AMA’s new policy on accountable care organizations (ACO) will undoubtedly please many physicians, but it doesn’t recognize the reality of the market or of healthcare reform. Once again, it shows how unprepared the leaders of medicine - and many of their followers - are for the massive changes that lie just ahead.

In a recent interview with Physicians Practice, American Medical Association President Cecil B. Wilson puts aside the notion that the group is no longer relevant and when asked if it still represents the majority of U.S. physicians, adds a confident "You betcha."

The deadline for conversion from the present electronic claims transaction standard to Version 5010 is fast approaching. Make sure both your practice and systems vendor are ready for the change.

Medical practices face two significant deadlines that require planning and testing in 2011. The first is the new 5010 electronic claims transmission standard, the second ICD-10.

Doctors will continue to duke it out over reimbursement while pushing for a larger pot that will fund quality incentives. The problem is, the money available to pay physicians isn’t going to keep growing because we can’t afford to keeping paying more for healthcare. So physicians must accept the hard reality that they have hit their limit and will likely see reimbursement shrink in coming years.

According to our 2010 Physician Compensation Survey, group size can be a big factor in how much you earn. Find out how your income stacks up to that of your peers.

Litigation can cost time, money, and even reputations for healthcare providers and their partners. At this year's MGMA annual conference, Michelle M. Skipper of the American Arbitration Association pointed out another solution: alternative dispute resolution.

Thinking of selling your practice and getting a job with a hospital? Here's some advice for doing it right from experts who negotiate the deals.

Healthcare reform has passed, and many provisions are being implemented. But future milestones in the legislation are still very much up in the air. So what should you be doing now? And what will happen to the reform after the November elections? Two MGMA experts offer some guidance.

Panelists from the "Perspectives on Healthcare Reform" general session at MGMA 2010 discuss their concerns about the Affordable Care Act, accountable care organizations, and the Medicare sustained growth rate (SGR) formula.