SEPTEMBER 1999

‘Good enough’ is no longer good enough. For today's family practice, it's improve it or lose it.

Medical practices should remember the Boy Scout motto and be prepared for a day when the unexpected happens.

The physicians in this practice didn't think disaster would strike. Learn from their experience and don't get caught unprepared.

The authors' success can be a lesson to physician groups as well as residency clinics.

The more you learn about them now, the better prepared you'll be when they hit.

While I suppose a good cover story shouldn't elicit a groan from readers, we think the documentation guidelines are important enough to you that they merit cover-story prominence. If the final guidelines look anything like the draft version available now, the good news is that…

This FP's letter to a health care plan crystallizes feelings you may share.

These three documentation tips may help you avoid a Medicare claim denial.

Two physicians, one admission | Two physicians, one delivery | Coding a limited well-woman exam | Re-established patient | Minor procedures without their own codes | Vitamin B-12 injection | X-ray code components

Accountability, measurement can increase performance | Patients value coordination of care, not ‘gatekeeping’ | Fraud-fighters suspected of fraud | Y2K Update: HCFA urges providers to test claims processing | New vaccine requirements | Market for primary care physicians cools a…

This month's Diary is a bit of a departure from the normal format. I've patterned it after Wallace Stevens' poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” in an attempt to demonstrate how a single disease can take on many faces.

Research points to two techniques that can prevent your patients from saying, ‘My doctor didn't spend enough time with me.’

These easy-to-learn skills will help you make the most of your word processing software and your time.

Patient-discharge letter | Assignment agreements | Stark regulations

Caring for yourself will enable you to take better care of your patients.