Billing: Consultation or Referral — Knowing the Difference
When asked to a see a patient by another physician, does it really matter if you bill an E&M visit as a consult or a referral? It sure does — and using these terms interchangeably can cost your practice thousands. We help sort out the differences.

Coding: Your Top Coding Concerns Solved
Tips from our biweekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: billing for and administering medications.

Human Resources: When You Must Fire a Physician
Dismissing an employee is always an unpleasant event. But when that employee is a physician, it’s also complicated and potentially legally risky. Here’s how to avoid the pitfalls.

Management: Is It Time for a Checkup?
It’s almost the end of the year. But before you break out the party hats, take some time to give your practice its annual exam. What do you need to do before Baby New Year arrives?

Operations: Learning From the Best
What do the best-performing practices all have in common? What do they know that you don’t? We dig deep to find the answers. Hint: It’s not as complicated as you might think.

Patient Relations: Five Easy Patient Pleasers
Keeping your patients happy is crucial to a thriving practice. And you can do it without breaking the bank. Check out these five low-cost, creative ways to keep them happy and coming back to see you.

Physicians Practice Pearls: Prepare for the Worst
Another selection from our weekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: Preparing for natural (and unnatural) disasters.

Publisher’s Note: The Brand’s the Thing
Branding is a lot more than just creating a new logo or Web site. It’s a process that you can use to define the essence of your practice.

Technology: Data Security for Non-Techies
You don’t have to be a computer scientist to keep your patient data away from prying eyes. Here are some simple, non-nerd-friendly ways to keep your information secure.

The Administrator’s Desk: Rolling With the Changes
Change is hard on everyone, but sometimes it’s for the best. Here’s how to help staff accept it — and embrace it.

The Bigger Picture: Pay for What?
Pay-for-performance may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean the current programs are working well.

The Great Practice Makeover: Sweeter the Second Time
We were worried about Roy Gondo, the likeable but disorganized family physician we told you about last year. He was up to his neck in incomplete charts and saddled with staffing difficulties. You’ll be surprised with what we found when we checked in again — and with what you can learn.

The IdeaLab: The Seven Year Switch
Michael J. McLaughlin, MD, on the hardest, and best, decision of his career: quitting clinical practice.

The Law: Apology Accepted?
OK, so you’ve made a medical mistake. You know it. And the patient knows it. It happens. In polite society, the proper thing to do is to apologize. But are you opening yourself to a slam-dunk lawsuit if you say you’re sorry?

The Tech Doctor: Low-Cost EMRs
Price may be the biggest stumbling block to EMR adoption: The darn things just cost too much. Or do they? Expert Rosemarie Nelson looks at some less expensive options.