Articles
ICD-9 Changes: New Codes of Note
On Oct. 1, 142 new codes take effect, many of them five-digit codes that allow for more specific reporting.
The Ideal Medical Practice Model: Improving Efficiency, Quality and the Doctor-Patient Relationship
When you redesign a practice around these principles, you can step off the productivity treadmill and focus on excellent patient care.
Seven Strategies for Creating a More Efficient Practice
Simple, low-cost technologies and strategic outsourcing have helped this solo physician practice efficiently, even without any staff.
Quick Ways to Maximize Your Office Space
Try these strategies today that have worked for TransforMED practices.
The Medical Home: An Idea Whose Time Has Come … Again
Physicians, employers, legislators and payers think medical homes may be the key to health system reform.
From the Editor
Is Family Medicine Ready for the Home?
The “medical home” seems to hold out great hope, but getting there may not be easy.
Letters
Coding & Documentation
CODING & DOCUMENTATION
Reporting a vaccine-only visit | Group visits and Medicare | Applying dressing to a burn | Shared visits as consultations? | Polyp removal during a colonoscopy
News & Trends
NEWS & TRENDS
Supply of free antibiotics grows | Officials challenge insurers' ratings of doctors | Medical groups' profits surge in West
Practice Pearls
PRACTICE PEARLS
Encourage employees to increase flu shot numbers | Start a farmer's market at your office | Prepare for patient visits with a “cheat sheet” | Use birthdays for preventive services reminders | Store high-risk medication samples in red boxes | Help your patients organize multiple…
The Last Word
Rewarding Failure
High-tech, high-cost procedures may get all the glory in health care, but they signal our failure to reward prevention.