APRIL 2004

Do you know what it costs your practice to provide an adult physical, a well-child exam or an office procedure? A “unit cost analysis” will tell you that and more.

Find out how to properly code and bill for the preventive services you provide.

Where do you begin the enormous task of retooling family medicine and reforming health care? Family medicine’s leaders offer a road map.

Are you ready for the rebirth of family medicine?

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the editor

Putting your expectations in writing helps encourage patients to pay at the time of service.

Coding translator time | Blood-pressure checks | Tracheostomy tube | Patient representative | Cerumen removal | Office spirometry | ICD-9 “omit code”

Aetna, CIGNA settlements promise improved claims processing, better relations with physicians | PRACTICE PEARLS from here and there | Longer waits for non-HIPAA-compliant claims | Physicians take steps to boost incomes | DoctorsKnow.us no longer

This simple strategy will help you and your staff reduce errors and provide better follow-up care.

I was just finishing up with a patient, a retired social worker named Paul, when I noticed he was looking at the plaques on my wall. “Your certificates say you’re a family physician,” he said. “What’s the difference between that and a general practitioner?”

Charging for missed appointments | Financial arrangements for new physicians | Compensation formulas | Malpractice insurance policies

Find out what it takes to communicate successfully with patients online – and get reimbursed for it.

This family physician learned from personal experience that kindness is at the core of healing.