Physician Practice Newsletters

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Issue 9, September 14, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• MIPS: The next frontier in health information technology

  Health information technology is a troublesome area for many physicians, but not to the degree it...

• Study shows few Medicare patients use online portals

  A new study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that nearly nine in 10...

• Physicians do an about-face on pain medications

  Treating patients with chronic pain is an ongoing problem for physicians in an era where millions...

• Physicians need to tread carefully into mergers

  Selling a practice or merging with another practice can be a good strategic move for a physician...

• Survey: MIPS is top regulatory concern of physicians

  Challenges related to Medicare’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) top the list of...

Issue 8, July 24, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Physicians want change in prior authorization policies

  The growing demands of administrative work are a major pain point for most physician practices...

• AMA pushes for prior authorization changes

  The AMA has unveiled a new position statement and a list of 21 suggested guidelines for how prior...

• Details are key in negotiating better rates with payers

  Negotiating reimbursement rates with payers can be an uphill battle for small practices that have...

• Study says physician rating websites not useful to consumers

  A new study has found that physician rating websites are popular with consumers but offer little...

• Yelp plugs gaps in rating websites

  Websites that provide patient ratings of physicians and hospitals are often criticized for not...

Issue 7, July 17, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Physician burnout rates not getting any better

  Though physician burnout rates appear to be leveling off, the percentage of physicians reporting...

• Physician burnout studies show more of the same

  Several recent studies have found that physician burnout is linked to multiple causes, with...

• Reaching difficult patients requires finding middle ground

  Physicians have been dealing with noncompliant patients for centuries. Even Hippocrates took note...

• ICD-10 coding not being put to optimal use

  In nearly two years since practices adopted the ICD-10 code set, billing and coding experts say the...

Issue 6, June 8, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Patient-centered medical homes generate results but can increase costs

  Physician practices that transition to patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) are reaping benefits...

• Studies of medical homes find results tough to measure

  Two new studies have found that while patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) do help improve patient...

• Use technology when patient has delay in scheduling specialist appointment

  Referring patients to specialists is fairly routine for most primary care practices, but it can be...

• Online referral programs expand specialties, locations

  Following the rollout of a successful online consult program for primary care physicians and...

• Practices may miss opportunities with direct messaging technology

  Direct messaging between physicians and patients has become more common in the past few years...

Issue 5, May 19, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Reducing long wait times a challenge

  Keeping wait times for appointments to a minimum is a cardinal rule for medical practices, but one...

• Study: Physician visit wait times increase

  The time it takes for a new patient to see a physician is on the rise, according to a study...

• Retail clinics redefine their roles

  As retail clinics expand in number and in scope of services, they could emerge as a threat to some...

• Retail clinics expanding their footprint

  The number of retail health clinics in the U.S. continues to increase at a rapid clip along with...

• More states expanding roles of NPs and PAs

  Lawmakers in a half-dozen states are considering bills that would expand the scope of practice for...

• Study says NP care equal to that of physicians

  A new study suggests that care provided by nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA...

Issue 4, April 5, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Telemedicine still struggles to gain traction

  Telemedicine is still a niche business for physician practices and one that’s been slow to...

• Study says telemedicine increases health costs

  While proponents promote telemedicine as a way to reduce costs, a new study suggests telemedicine...

• Outsourcing work now a norm for physician practices

  The rapid pace of change in healthcare has made it difficult for many practices to keep up with...

• Marketing a practice requires a mix of old and new

  Promoting a medical practice used to be a matter of posting an ad in the Yellow Pages® and...

Issue 3, March 2, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Engaging patients online raises new issues

  Physicians say communicating with patients online is still a challenge but that patients are...

• ACI standards streamlined but still a challenge

  Physician practices are working with a new set of rules when it comes to engaging patients online...

• Concierge medicine model continues to grow

  Concierge medicine is still a niche industry, but in an era of decreasing reimbursements and...

• For some physicians, consolidation has its perks

  The number of solo and small practices continues to dwindle in the U.S., and the pace of...

Issue 2, February 6, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New report says e-cigarettes not a remedy for smoking cessation

  For years, physicians have had little clear guidance for patients with questions about...

• California adopts tough restrictions on e-cigarettes

  Nearly a dozen states in the U.S. have approved laws that treat e-cigarettes the same way as...

• ACA repeal would put more pressure on practices

  While most analysts agree that any substantial changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are...

• MIPS revised rules retain some old problems

  The start of 2017 marked the beginning of a transitional period for the Merit-Based Incentive...

• Interoperability of EHRs still an issue for CHIME

  Healthcare information technology (IT) associations have endorsed some aspects of the federal...

Issue 1, January 6, 2017 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• States take action against MOC rules

  At least two U.S. states are considering laws that would modify Maintenance of Certification (MOC...

• Oklahoma MOC law evolved under the radar

  With Senate Bill (SB) 1148 now in effect in Oklahoma, the state has become a testing ground for...

• Physicians optimistic about digital health

  Physicians are showing more of an interest in digital health technologies, but they are still on...

• MACRA final rules draw mixed response

  The release of the final rules for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015...

• Study shows physician practices consolidating

  A new survey from Merritt Hawkins shows that while more physicians are joining practices owned by...