Coding: Your Top Coding Problems Solved
Tips from our twice-a-month e-mail newsletter. This issue: documenting minor office procedures.

Make Your Payers Pay
We know you don’t like insurance companies. They’re bureaucratic, inefficient, faceless. But to get paid better and faster, you’ll have to learn to work together. And they have a few ideas on how to make that happen.

My Best Idea: How I Designed a Stylish Office Inexpensively
You’ve been asking us for a forum that lets readers share their best practice-management ideas with the rest of the class. So here it is. Arlene Lewis, MD, gets us started with advice on designing a beautiful, patient-friendly office without breaking the bank.

Operations: Tales From the Front
Front-desk staff know more than you think about running a successful practice. All you have to do is ask. So we did.

Patient Relations: Introducing Nonphysician Providers
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other nonphysician providers — don’t call ’em midlevels — are becoming commonplace in today’s practices. But if you want them to succeed, you have to be careful when introducing them to your office.

Physicians Practice Pearls: Deadbeat Serious
Another selection from our weekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: dealing with deadbeat patients.

Publisher’s Note: Coming Soon: Health Reform (Really)
Corporate America wants action on exploding costs.

Scheduling: Open Sesame
Do your patients wait weeks, or even months, for appointments? With open-access scheduling, they can come in — today.

Second Opinion: ‘Pay for Performance?’ Thanks, I’ll Pass.
Ready for pay-for-performance? This West Virginia internist says, “No thanks.”

Starting Out: Wet Behind the Ears
If you’re a new physician, you have seemingly boundless choices when it comes to practice models and styles — too many for your own good, perhaps. How to decide? We’re here to help.

Strategy: Adding Ancillaries
With reimbursements declining, many practices are turning to ancillary services as a way to make extra cash. And while there’s no shortage of options, they’re not a financial cure-all. Here’s how to weigh the pros and cons.

Technology: Yours for a Fraction of the Price
The federal government is changing its interpretation of the Stark law that has long prevented hospitals from helping practices access electronic health records. Our expert explains how it will affect you.

The Administrator’s Desk: How to Get the Training You Need
Our monthly column just for administrators. This issue: how to get ongoing job training for yourself and your staff.

The Bigger Picture: How Much Is Too Much?
You didn’t cause America’s poverty problem. So why are you being asked to fix it?

The Great Practice Makeover: Done Simple, Done Right
Mary Kay Balluff’s plan to run a bare-bones, cash-only psychiatric practice from a home office sure is idealistic. But is it naive?

The Tech Doctor: E-mailing Patients
Most patients would love to communicate with you via e-mail. But only a fraction of you allow this. What gives?

Your Money: Steer Clear of General Partnerships
Have you been thinking of forming a “general partnership?” Do yourself a favor: think again.