features

18 Discussing End-of-Life Care With Your Patients (PDF available)

Jerry L. Old, MD

The conversation may not be easy, but your patients will be grateful.

25 Stark III: Refinement Not Revolution (Part 1) (PDF available)

Alice G. Gosfield, JD

Find out how the latest round of self-referral regulations affects your practice.

29 Beyond EHRs: How Technology Can Help You Treat Chronic Illness (PDF available)

Paul J. Heinzelmann, MD, MPH, Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, and David C. Kibbe, MD, MBA

New tools may soon connect you to your patients at home.

35 Have You Really Addressed Your Patient’s Concerns? (PDF available)

Ronald M. Epstein, MD, Larry Mauksch, MEd, Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH, and Carlos Roberto Jaén, MD, PhD

These simple strategies will help you structure the medical encounter to ensure that you and your patient are on the same page.

DEPARTMENTS

5 FRom the editor

Changes Coming to FPM Online

Robert L. Edsall

The FPM Web site will soon be redesigned in more ways than one.

6 opinion

e-Nirvana: Are We There Yet?

Christine A. Sinsky, MD

Health information technology may revolutionize care ... someday.

12 Letters

Do we need Medicare? • Baumol’s disease

13 news & trends

United Healthcare to pay same-day E/M claims retroactive to Aug. 27 • Californians can complain online about insurers • One key NPI deadline passes, another approaches

15 CME QUIZ

Earn 3.5 CME credits.

41 Coding & Documentation

Cindy Hughes, CPC

Coding a brief service for urinalysis • Preoperative testing • Teaching patients to administer injections • Chronic venous stasis ulcers

42 practice pearls

Charging Medicare for a missed appointment • Encourage patient payments at time of visit • Use online tools to identify drug seekers • Simplify refill requests

48 the last word

Looking Out for Others

William E. Cayley Jr., MD, MDiv

What do you do when serving others becomes drudgery?

14 Contact us

45 Classifieds