Articles
The Integrated Summary: A Documentation Tool to Improve Patient Care
This easy-to-use template enables you to see the full context of a patient’s health on a single page.
Making Family Practice Doable in Everyday Life
Having trouble coping with the demands of your profession? Self-examination can make your work more meaningful and manageable.
Evaluating Health Plans: Finding the Keepers
Dropping certain health plan contracts can boost your bottom line and reduce hassles. The author’s spreadsheet will enable you to choose carefully.
From the Editor
A Request for Further Guidance
Some time ago in this space, I asked you to let me know what was on your mind – what problems in your practice were attracting your attention, what you had done to solve them, and where we might be able to help (“A Piece of Your Mind,” November/December 2002, page 8). The…
Opinion
The Challenge of Urban Family Medicine
After an eye-opening move to a new community, one physician discovers she is more than just a doctor to her patients.
Letters
Getting Paid
Anatomy of the Medicare Appeals Process
Recent changes speed up the process and make additional levels of appeal more accessible.
Coding & Documentation
CODING & DOCUMENTATION
Night admission | New or established patient? | Allergy injections
Monitor
MONITOR
Malpractice crisis spreads; legislation pending | Physicians, patients have differing views on disclosing errors | PRACTICE PEARLS from here and there | PRACTICE PEARLS from here and there | How low can you go? | Medicare spending vs. private spending | Backlog reduction 101…
Improving Patient Care
Making Paper Charts More Efficient
Simple interventions, such as using self-inking stamps to document lab results, can make your charts more legible, consistent and complete in less time.
Practice Diary
Ask FPM
ASK FPM
PDAs and HIPAA | Using RVUs in compensation formulas | Paper for paperless systems?
Balancing Act
Keeping the Human Touch
The more high-tech we get, the more we need the healing power of the human touch.