Physicians News Health news for doctors and patients.

Here are two ideas for generating additional revenue for your practice when working with contract issues and health plans. One concerns the relevancy of your fee schedule and its applicability when contracting with a health plan. The second concerns adherence to clinical guidelines as an unconventional contracting strategy.

HCFA has attempted to broaden the in-office ancillary services exception through the liberalization of the supervision requirements, easing the criteria for qualifying as a group practice, and permitting separate cost centers within a group.

With the general principle of "scalability" in mind, physicians and physician groups can take initial steps toward compliance with the new Privacy Standards.

In addition to the clinical challenges, the first year of practice is most likely the physician's initial exposure to the "business" of medicine. This article provides insights for smoothly navigating the transition from resident or fellow to successful first-year primary care practitioner.

It is important to have full knowledge and understanding of your disability contract and of all issues in order to protect your rights and entitlements. It is equally important to know the process of a claim and receive guidance in negotiating the potential problems and issues that may occur.

The cornerstone of any response to the malpractice crisis must either be in the nature of group lobbying activities or individual decisions that may be preceded or followed by limited forms of coordinated activities. Physicians of the same specialty must be cognizant at all times of the need not to reach agreements that limit each other's individual economic actions, but they can take advantage of the opportunity to coordinate a response to individual actions that is consistent with good professional practice.

Procrastination favors only the IRS. The way to begin planning is to have open and honest discussions with your family about finances, personal goals and mortality.

It is time to throw away some of those past management habits and move into the future. Here’s how to begin.

The focus on providing more comprehensive medical services or restructuring the delivery of care is a dramatic and positive improvement over previous generations of business ventures.

Patients know that communication matters, and it is often poor communication in the face of a bad outcome that initiates legal action by the patient turned plaintiff.