A Cast of Coders
Advice from Georgette Gustin, president of the national advisory board of the AAPC

Bring in the Business
If your business depends on referrals, you need to make sure you get as many as possible. The best way? Forging strong relationships. Here are some tips for making your lifeline more secure.

Coding: Just Do It
Most physicians relate to coding on a more personal level. It's a burdensome responsibility, yes - but accurate coding brings increased reimbursement, period. Not only do physicians' revenue streams depend on accurate coding, it is expensive to hand off tasks that are better done in "real time" by the provider on record.

Crash Course
It's been said that death and taxes are the only sure things in life. But in this age of technology, a computer crash is something else you can bet will happen to you, at least once. The good news is that by taking simple steps, physicians (and their office managers) can rest assured that, whatever problem crops up, the bulk of their data will be safe.

Credentialing Made Easy
Whether you are adding a new doctor, or are a solo physician opening a practice, you need to start the credentialing process far in advance. If you or your physicians want to get paid you must be credentialed; to get credentialed you need to plan ahead.

Discover The Power Of Positive Coding
When it comes to coding, knowledge is power. Learn what mistakes you're likely to make - and how to avoid them. Coding can work to your advantage, instead of dogging you at every turn.

Getting Off the Paper Trail
This family practice — a mother-daughter team — loves their electronic medical record. Find out how they made it work for their practice.

Incident-to Rules Eased
New changes to an old rule could allow your practice to make a little more money and improve patient satisfaction. But, as always, you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls.

Letters of the Law
Today, many physicians are finding that the general partnership - once an old organizational standby for medical practices - doesn't provide the liability protection and tax advantages of some other options. Now there are several types of structures suitable for physician groups and, while the specifics vary by state, there are some general characteristics of each that can provide a big picture and help guide your decision

Marketing Power
There are simple ways to develop a creative and strategic marketing plan designed to retain patients, obtain new ones, improve the overall patient experience, and increase your visibility in the community.

Pampered Patients, Loyal Patients
Want to distinguish your practice in the minds of patients? Offer facials or other pampering treatments to the services your practice provides. These practices made it work.

Pay Up, Self-Payer
Self-payers are a mixed blessing in the world of billing and collections. On the one hand, there are few worries about lost claims or unfair reimbursement levels — just tell the patient your fee and collect it, right? Well, not exactly. With more patients paying out-of-pocket for their medical care — and the trend showing no signs of slowing — physicians need to develop processes for collecting self-pay fees up-front as often as possible, and for implementing a backup plan when patients can't pay in full.