Physicians Practice and Lancaster General Collaborate to Improve Patient Care

Baltimore, Maryland — September 11, 2008 — Physicians Practice and Lancaster General have joined forces to help provide area physicians and their staff more time to devote to patient care. This new collaboration is a unique program designed to help Lancaster-area doctors better handle the cumbersome and time-consuming issues of managing a busy practice. Through this new collaboration, Lancaster General will use Physicians Practice’s extensive resources to deliver essential practice management tools to help local physicians manage the business aspects of medicine more efficiently and effectively.

Physicians’ need for practice management information is an ever-increasing one. According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, every hour a physician spends with a patient results in 36 minutes of paperwork. Additionally, the cost of running a medical practice has increased and now consumes much as 62 percent of their revenue (2007 Medical Group Management Association Cost Survey), while reimbursement continues to decline from year to year (2006 and 2007 Physicians Practice Fee Schedule Surveys).

Under their new collaboration, Lancaster General will sponsor Physicians Practice®, America's Leading Practice Management Journal, for approximately 2,500 local doctors from multiple specialties in the greater Lancaster area. Beginning in September, Physicians Practice will be mailed monthly and will serve to help physicians and their office staff address the numerous challenges faced by today’s medical practices. The magazine also will feature a section sponsored and written by Lancaster General highlighting news in clinical and scientific research occurring at the hospital.

“As part of Lancaster General’s continuing commitment to quality outcomes and customer service, we are constantly seeking new methods to communicate our messages to physicians and their office staffs. Physicians Practice is another tool in our ongoing effort to create an extraordinary healthcare experience … every time,” says Dr. Lee M. Duke, II, MD, Sr. VP and Chief Physician Executive for Lancaster General.

"It is great to be able to work with Lancaster General to bring practice management information and resources directly to Lancaster physicians,” says Kenneth Karpay, vice-president and group publisher of Physicians Practice. “Our expertise in practice management and technology will help Lancaster’s medical practices to spend less time on business and more time with patients.”

For more information on the benefits of working with Physicians Practice to improve patient care, visit www.PhysiciansPractice.com, and select For Hospitals.

About Physicians Practice
For more than 18 years, healthcare executives have turned to Physicians Practice to help them cultivate physician relationships. Physicians Practice journal maintains approximately 60 hospital partnerships and is distributed to more than 265,000 practicing physicians. We create award-winning content and multimedia services to help community-based doctors in the United States and Canada strengthen their practice operations, which ultimately improves patient care. Physicians Practice is owned by CMP Healthcare Media, a division of United Business Media. Visit www.PhysiciansPractice.com for additional information about our acclaimed healthcare business education solutions.

About Lancaster General
Lancaster General is a not-for-profit healthcare system of more than two dozen providers including Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster General Health Campus, Lancaster General Women & Babies Hospital and Lancaster General Medical Group. A Magnet hospital for clinical excellence and one of America’s 100 Top Hospitals, Lancaster General Hospital is the keystone of the health system. Its mission is to advance the health and well-being of the communities of Lancaster. For more information about Lancaster General visit our Web site at www.LancasterGeneral.org.

Hospital program contact:

Steve Gottshall
Associate Publisher
847-242-9552
Steven.gottshall@cmpmedica.com

Media contact for Physicians Practice:

Amy Tubman
Senior Marketing Manager
410-818-2705
Amy.tubman@cmpmedica.com

Media Contact for Lancaster General:

Kim A. Payne
Manager, Public Relations
Public Relations and Corporate Communications
Lancaster General
V: 717-544-5044
F: 717-544-7771
kapayne@lancastergeneral.org
www.lancastergeneral.org