• FEATURES

    Think Twice Before Assuming Risk for Pharmacy Costs

    David A. Smith

    With drug costs likely to increase significantly in the next decade, it's more important than ever to know when to say ‘no’ to risk contracts.

    A Part-Time Practice Success Story

    Brandi White

    By working together, these part-time physicians are meeting their patients' needs — and their own.

    Developing a Successful Medical Group

    H. Jeffrey Wilkins, Richard J. Pierotti, Robert J. Motley, Hal D. Cohan, James L. Conrad, R. Lawrence Derstine, Peter Mertzanis, A. Douglas Bender

    Among the key ingredients are physician ownership, a strong strategic direction and a commitment to high-quality patient care.

    The FPM Authors Guide

    Robert L. Edsall

    We try to make writing for FPM as easy and as rewarding as possible.

    Putting ‘Life’ Back Into Your Professional Life

    John-Henry Pfifferling, Kay Gilley

    Here are ideas you can use to replace your burnout with the joy you once felt for practicing family medicine.

    EDITOR'S PAGE

    Do You Smell Smoke?

    Robert L. Edsall

    Suppose for a moment that your diagnostic toolbox had one more tool in it — some kind of pyrometer designed for measuring emotional temperature, with dial markings ranging from “Life is cool” to “Warning! Burnout imminent” and a red zone way over at the right marked ...

    EDITORIAL

    Big Business and Bad Medicine

    Thomas S. Duncan

    P.D.Q. Bach put it best: “Loud is good, fast is better, loud and fast is best.” The push for bigger, fancier, higher-tech clinics (or cars or houses or anything else) seems inherent in the human constitution. “Best” and “quality” are rather slippery words that tend to mean...

    LETTERS

    Favorite covers

    Jane Zendarski

    Locum tenens

    Robert S. Thompson

    Voice recognition software

    Kerry K. Swindle

    Beeper paging systems

    GETTING PAID

    Improve Your Bottom Line With Patient Account Reps

    Jack Valancy

    What may seem an extra expense at first glance could actually save you money in the long run.

    CODING & DOCUMENTATION

    Coding and Documentation

    Kent J. Moore

    Finding the right fracture code ... | ... and determining what it covers | Home health care paperwork | Coding for emergency services | Codes for a family-member visit | Separate same-day services | Coding for blood glucose testing

    MONITOR

    Monitor

    Collective bargaining advances in Texas, Illinois | Public confidence in medicine continues to rise | Seniors not receiving covered preventive services | Opposition to use of hospitalists grows | MedPartners continues exit from PPM business | FDA seeks to reduce accidental...

    PRACTICE DIARY

    Practice Diary

    Sanford J. Brown

    The disgruntled patient | Staying visible | No-shows | An ED alternative

    IMPROVING PATIENT CARE

    Improve Quality by Understanding Your Care Process

    Louis G. Pol, Amy Risch Rodie, Benjamin F. Crabtree

    The quality of your care is linked to the quality of your care process. A practice ‘blueprint’ can show you ways to improve.

    COMPUTERS

    Is Your Performance Data Online Yet?

    David C. Kibbe

    You may be surprised to know that “report cards” on you or your practice soon could be available to the public via the World Wide Web. But given the increasingly pervasive reach of the Internet, it really was only a matter of time.

    Surveys Find More Physicians Online

    Amy Handelman Bennett

    More and more doctors are using the Internet to improve efficiency, gain quick access to information and communicate with patients and colleagues.

    ASK FPM

    Ask FPM

    Dale A. Rothenberg, Daniel R. McCune, Olivia Maresh

    Getting paid for administrative work | Confidentiality of diagnoses | Office manager salaries

    SALARIED FP

    Evaluating Bonuses and Incentives: The Basics

    Kent J. Moore

    Physicians need to learn to read between the lines of compensation plans to determine their true value.

    BALANCING ACT

    Still in Harmony: Karl Singer, MD

    Jennifer Bush

    He's happier now than he was when he started practicing medicine 28 years ago. His secret? Play the hand you're dealt.



    Disclosure

    All editors and editorial advisory board members in a position to control content for this activity, FPM journal, are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships. View disclosures.



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