Melissa Young, MD

If I can make it to the office in bad weather, and patients can make it, when do I require staff to also show up vs. stay home?

Patient no-shows: Most medical practices want to avoid them, but sometimes I hope they happen in the best interests of my office.

A recent discussion with my medical practice staff regarding working Christmas Eve has left me feeling less like Santa and more like Scrooge.

When a patient needs expensive translation services, is there an alternative to paying for them and taking a revenue loss?

From getting prior authorizations to requesting refills, physicians often struggle with what to handle and what to assign.

Changes to health insurance plans are hard to keep up with - for patients and even for physicians.

When you can access information about anything at any time, it's hard to separate good and bad medical information. That's where doctors should come in.

Patients are asking how Obamacare will affect my practice. Here's what's happened so far and what could happen in the near future for my staff and patients.

Physicians in private practice are healers, educators, and clinicians. But, they are also businessmen as well.

The hospital chart is a method of documenting care and a means of communication between providers … not a weapon against another provider.

A lot of my patients don't have, or don't understand the value of, a primary-care physician. It's time for both to start happening.

When you run a medical practice, some months you may have extra funds …and some months there are big bills to pay.

I don't mind when patients call for issues related to what I see them for. I have no time, however, for issues better addressed by their other physicians.

Medical practices are like any service-based profession, so there are bound to be unhappy, uneducated, or just plain strange customers.

I feel compassion toward a patient who has a mental illness and want to help, but I also fear for the safety of myself, my staff, and my other patients.

My practice's medical assistant recently went on vacation and it was only in her absence that I realized the true impact she has for me and my patients.

As a physician, you likely enjoy science and discovery. So put that interest to use to make additional income for you and your practice.

What's the legal responsibility of healthcare professionals unable to officially make clinical decisions, when the person who can make the decision refuses?

From dropping Medicare to open access slots for patients, I've received a lot of suggestions on how to help my medical practice. Here's what I think.

I love having a full schedule each day, but it's starting to affect appointments. How do I relieve a little pressure without too much negative impact?

It disheartens me when I see healthcare dollars going down the toilet, but like most physicians, I don't know how to prevent it.

As a physician and a parent, you do the best you can at work, and the best you can at home, and you try to stay sane.

While we spend most of our days seeing patients, reaching out to teach others of all ages can very fulfilling for physicians.

From mysterious leaks to stink bugs and even clogged toilets, running a medical practice has its unexpected surprises almost daily.

As a physician, I cannot condone pharmaceutical reps bad-mouthing each other - or flat-out lying - for the sake of a few prescriptions.

Every medical practice wants the latest upgrade to their EHR to eliminate bugs, but sometimes, fixes cause other things to break or not work properly.

I may not be able to follow my initial path to retirement, but having a financial plan for me and my practice staff puts us all in the right direction.

Medical practice staff absences hurt, but I'm not sure what I'd do if the other physician at my practice suddenly fell ill and couldn't work.

When it comes to handling patient flow at my medical practice, I'm debating hiring either a nurse practitioner or a new physician.

While the president's push is to simply permit physicians to talk with patients about gun safety, my fear is that in the not too distant future, it becomes a mandate.