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By Eric A. Shore, J.D. and Pia Horton

Everyday your patients trust you to care for their health. Many of your patients find themselves unemployed and therefore, uninsured. While some will find work eventually, those with physical and/or mental limitations may not. This is especially true for those approaching retirement age (50-65 years). You can help.

Patients who are unable to sustain work due to their health may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits, therefore making them eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Although treating your patients …

By Erika Stewart

Health care reform will make huge changes in the way insurance companies do business, but most of that will not go into effect right away. Provisions that will help most Americans in 2012 affect policies that were purchased after March 13, 2010.

Under the new laws, health insurance companies cannot:

Refuse to cover children under age 19 who have a pre-existing condition
Impose a lifetime limit
Cancel a policy unless they can prove fraudulent information was given
Fail to provide an appeal process for denied claims

New insurance policies must now include reasonable preventive …

By Jen Abraczinskas and Jeffrey Brenner, MD

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There is a lot of buzz about reducing hospital readmissions.  But what does a readmission look like?  And what will it take to provide the care needed to avoid readmissions?

We arrived at the ICU to find our patient sedated and intubated. Yet only 10 days earlier Mrs. P was strong enough to navigate the halls in her wheel chair, had her diabetes and COPD under control and was taking her medications for bipolar disorder. Mrs. P was discharged with …

By  Louis J. Goodman and Timothy B. Norbeck 

This year promises to be a watershed year for healthcare in general, and for patients and physicians, in particular.  No matter how the U.S. Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), 2012 will be a crucial turning point in the delivery of healthcare.

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During the Congressional passage of the PPACA, White House advisors acknowledged that the economic forces in the legislation would accelerate physician employment by hospitals and larger physician …

By Mark Crockett, MD

In the era of accountable care, you’ll notice that many hospitals and health systems are already driving towards more collaborative workflow. The integrated delivery network (IDN) is changing significantly, and for the better. But in high-acuity care areas, like the emergency department (ED), the challenge of treating patients more holistically in what is already a fast-paced environment is concerning for physicians evaluating the pay-for-performance model.

In today’s ED, patients may enter with a chronic condition that could be better managed by a primary care physician (PCP), but because …

By Katie Matlack

Over on the Software Advice blog, we discussed ways doctors can use social media for a variety of purposes. A recent study reported over half of all doctors use social media because of the benefit it can add for marketing and business development purposes. Beyond this marketing utility, however, some research has shown that getting information from a doctor after an in-person consultation can make patients more likely to take medicine properly and follow their physician’s instructions.

If you’re ready to get social–social networking, that is–you should prioritize knowing …

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By Michael Kline, CPA

As the year draws to a close, it is time for medical practices and medical professionals to review the current year’s financial activity and determine if any tax planning opportunities are available to help reduce their overall tax burden. Below are some tax planning tips that can be utilized before year-end that can greatly reduce your tax burden.

Depreciation

The biggest and easiest 2011 tax-saving opportunity is the accelerated depreciation available until the end of 2011. For many physicians, the purchasing of new …

By Deborah B. Miller, Esq.
From a personal perspective, prenuptial agreements are not very appealing, but from a common sense and legal point of view, they can be essential.

Getting married is the biggest financial decision in most people’s lives, but many do not consider the financial entanglements that marriage creates.  Just ask anyone who has lost a house or retirement plan in a divorce.

Despite reading articles about the importance of using a prenuptial agreement as a tool for planning, plenty of people feel uncomfortable with prenuptial agreements.  Luckily, there are secondary …

By Patricia A. Costante

Every time I speak with physicians, I get the sense that they are feeling a loss of control and even a loss of status. Physicians in small practices don’t see a long-term solution for continuing to function in their current structure, and many are considering selling to hospitals or giving up their practices. More often than not, physicians indicate that they do not recommend their sons and daughters to follow their footsteps into a medical career. Clearly, this is an anxious time for physicians, filled with much …

By Nicholas Gaudiosi

I’ve thought for months about how to write this article and actually get my point across without sounding like a psychic, because I certainly don’t possess an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses. The fact is, I’m not a psychic and I don’t have a crystal ball; if I did, I wouldn’t be working for a medical malpractice insurance company. But, since I’m just a regular guy and I work for HPIX, I feel it is my obligation to raise awareness among physicians and their …