Coding: Because You Asked
Coding expert Bill Dacey answers some of the questions he hears most.

Contracts: Who Works for Whom?
Evaluating a payer contract requires more than a working knowledge of the fee schedule. If you want to negotiate a better deal when it's renewal time, you need to know how each payer does business.

Growth Strategies: Psst … Buddy — Want to Sell Some Drugs?
A small but growing number of physicians are selling and dispensing medications right from their offices — boosting revenue while adding a convenience for patients. And new technologies are making it easier. Can it work for you?

Managing Staff: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
When differences between partners are irreconcilable, break-ups are inevitable. And leaving a practice is a lot like divorcing a spouse — rife with painful emotions and battles over money. Here's how to separate amicably.

Medicare: When the Auditor Comes Calling
Yes, you can survive a Medicare audit, as long as you know what to do. Here's how to get through it — and better yet, avoid it altogether.

PayerView: How Do Your Payers Measure Up?
Fed up with payers who deny claims unreasonably, inexplicably lose them, or just take too long to pay? It's high time you did something about it. And now — finally — you have the information you need to act. Welcome to PayerView, the first-ever data-driven payer ranking based on how easy — or difficult — they are to work with.

Physicians Practice Pearls: Taking No for an Answer
Another selection from our popular weekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: dealing with cancellations.

Politics and Your Practice: Drop that Mug, Doc
More scrutiny than ever is being placed on the relationships between drug companies and physicians, especially when it comes to big pharma's largesse. Is it fair?

Practice Management Lab: You Call That a Payment?
Underpayments and "zero-pays" are a growing problem. Here's some advice to help you handle them.

Technology: Privacy ... In Reality
The government is enforcing HIPAA's privacy and security rules only lightly, but complying with them makes good business sense regardless. Here are some tips for safeguarding your patients in the real world.

The Bigger Picture: Are Stories Dead?
Are EMRs destroying the narrative elements of medicine — taking histories, talking to patients, understanding their stories?

The Tech Doctor: The Fed’s Seal of Approval
Perhaps more physicians would be comfortable purchasing EMRs if a respected organization tested and certified the systems that meet specific levels of capability. Such a process is on the way.

Your Money: Office Politics, Inertia Cost You Money
How to handle uncooperative partners.