Articles

24	24	NEGOTIATION SKILLS You Can't Always Get What You Want ... But Sometimes You Can If you've ever signed a bad contract or paid sticker price for a new car, these negotiation principles may save you from another rotten deal. James M. Giovino, MD
	36	PRACTICE SALES Disintegration: How Employed Doctors Are Landing on Their Feet As integrated organizations come apart, family physicians are finding a variety of ways to bail out. Martha C. Collins
41	30	QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Using Standardized Admit Orders to Improve Inpatient Care At 2 a.m., would you know the correct dose of acetylcysteine for an acetaminophen overdose? Brandi White
	33	PATIENT SATISFACTION What Does Walt Disney Know About Patient Satisfaction? Retaining patients and attracting new ones can be a walk in the park if you concentrate on the two areas patients say matter most: your front-office staff and your office environment. Marc G. Mertz

Featured Departments

11	11	GETTING PAID When to Bill for a Consultation These tips will help you understand Medicare's rules for reimbursement, allowing you to better influence your income. Kent J. Moore
	12	Identifying Patterns of Over- and Undercoding Recent research shows the common situations under which family physicians tend to code too high and too low. George E. Kikano, MD, Jason Chao, MD, Robin S. Gotler, MA, Kurt C. Stange, MD, PhD
47	14	CODING AND DOCUMENTATION Answers to Your Questions Kent J. Moore
	16	MONITOR HCFA delays making ICD-9 changes • E/M documentation guidelines still on HCFA's back burner • Y2K Update: Medicare contractors, providers still generally unprepared • Physicians working harder to maintain income levels • AMA union won't support strikes • Teens seeking STD services place importance on provider traits • Americans don't know what 'managed care' means • Patients, physicians support e-mail communication
	43	IMPROVING PATIENT CARE Building a Patient Registry From the Ground Up By identifying your patients by condition, you can be more proactive in getting them the care they need. Brandi White
	46	PRACTICE DIARY Patient compliance • A picture is worth ... • The doctor-patient relationship Sanford J. Brown, MD
	47	COMPUTERS Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Selecting an EMR System Sure the demo version is wonderful, but how can you tell what the program is really like? Brian Stello, MD, and Eileen M. Charlton
	49	ASK FPM Compensation plans, the IRS and Stark laws • The physician-patient relationship • Transcribing encounter notes
	51	SALARIED FP A Team Approach to Reducing a Financial Deficit Leaders in this multispecialty group enlisted physicians to help find solutions to their institution's financial problems. Glen R. Couchman, MD, Don B. Cauthen, MD, Samuel N. Forjuoh, MD, DrPH, and Janine C. Edwards, PhD
	68	BALANCING ACT Do the Holidays Leave You Feeling Snowed Under? We've got seven tips that will help you take some stress out of the season. Pamela J. Vaccaro, MA
		Other Departments
	8	EDITOR'S PAGE
	10	LETTERS
	55	FPM QUIZ (EARN 3HOURS OF CME CREDIT)
	59	CLASSIFIEDS
	61	ANNUAL INDEX
	67	AUTHORS GUIDE

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Cover Illustration © 1999 Tristan Elwell
Copyright © 1999 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
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