Admit your mistakes, offer remuneration; be forgiven. That’s the lesson emerging from a new malpractice claims management policy in Michigan published in the Annals of Internal Medicine August 17 issue. In the study, claims and compensation requests for errors from 1995 to 2007 filed against the University of Michigan Health System were reviewed. Because the [...]
Nothing to Hide: The Surprising Way to Reduce Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
August 25, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
Never-Ending Debate? The Latest on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
August 25, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
The never-ending debate will end on August 24. But we won’t know the final rule until November. Every year the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes its proposed updated Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. This year, though, is especially momentous. That’s because key provisions of the so-called health “reform” (a.k.a. Patient Protection and Affordable [...]
Physician Health Care News Alert: What is Happening with the Medicare Rate Cut?
August 19, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
I know, I know. Who would have thought there was still room to cut Medicare reimbursement rates? Well, regardless of where you stand on that question – the federal government keeps trying… and then delaying. There is a recurring potential 21.3% rate cut for Medicare and TRICARE physician reimbursements that went into effect June 1. [...]
Do Dollars Get in the Way of Sense? Financial Relationships and Patient Care: AAMC Report
August 9, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
The Association of American Medical Colleges recently released a new report focusing on identifying potential conflicts of interest in the academic medical clinic care world. While academic medical center partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry are necessary for innovation that ultimately benefits patients, the financial implications can create “real or perceived” conflicts of interest when it [...]
Top Doc iPhone App Released
August 2, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
Be a top doc for just $14.99. Top Doc is a new iPhone app that gives medical residents, students, and even junior faculty the ability to practice their skills and improve their knowledge. It’s one thing to read a textbook—it’s another to visually diagnose a patient. And this virtual doctor’s office gives students the chance [...]
Physician Shortages: Fact or Fiction?
July 30, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
Is There A Physician Shortage Headlines scream that we’d better watch out—there’s a physician shortage on the horizon. Is it a lot of hype? Or is it real? The short answer is yes, it’s real all right. As reported at the American Medical Association meeting in Chicago in June 2010, 22 states have reported physician [...]
Hospital Ownership Law Changes this Year
July 9, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
The deadline is looming. December 31, 2010 is fast approaching! After that date, there will be no more new physician-owned hospitals in the US. Thanks to health care “reform” legislation, the exception to the Stark Law that allowed physician ownership of hospitals in some cases will cease to exist. If you already have an ownership [...]
Physician’s Wealth Investment Management Advisory: Urgent Care Center the Practice of the Future?
July 1, 2010 By Jen Gilbert
It’s been about 15 years of growth for urgent care centers in the United States, fueled by the ever-increasing use of the facilities by patients. In a practical sense, the rise of urgent care centers takes the burden off of primary care physicians and overcrowded emergency centers, and reduces out-of-pocket costs for patients who truly [...]
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