• FEATURES

    Prescription Writing to Maximize Patient Safety

    Peter G. Teichman, Anne E. Caffee

    These tips can help you avoid two important causes of prescription error.

    Reducing Risks for Patients Receiving Warfarin

    Jennifer Bush

    These practices built safety into their systems for managing oral anticoagulation therapy.

    Four Principles for Better Test-Result Tracking

    Brandi White

    Lost or misfiled test results can delay needed care. Here’s how to prevent this common error in office-based practice.

    EDITOR’S PAGE

    What’s Wrong With This Practice?

    Robert L. Edsall

    The practice shown on our cover has enough problems that you might need a key to identify them. Especially since none of the major problems show in the picture.

    EDITORIAL

    Can We Avoid Errors in Family Practice?

    Marc L. Rivo

    Primum non nocere, “first do no harm,” is one of our profession’s guiding principles. First and foremost, we want to avoid mistakes. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, focused the spotlight on medical mistakes...

    GETTING PAID

    An Easy Way to Analyze E/M Coding for Group Practices

    Reed Tinsley

    This simple spreadsheet can help you identify problems in your coding performance.

    CODING & DOCUMENTATION

    CODING & DOCUMENTATION

    Kent J. Moore

    ER procedures and admission | Billing for nursing home work | Removing a nuchal lipoma

    MONITOR

    MONITOR

    AAFP establishes patient safety center | Two patient safety bills introduced in Congress | DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINES: A THING OF THE PAST? | Reducing medication errors in seconds | New drugs are nothing new | Free compensation calculator

    IMPROVING PATIENT CARE

    The Power of Two: Improving Patient Safety Through Better Physician-Patient Communication

    Gregg S. Meyer, Louise Arnheim

    Helping patients become more informed and involved in their care could be your best strategy for reducing medical errors.

    Information From Your Family Doctor

    20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors

    Download in PDF format.

    PRACTICE DIARY

    PRACTICE DIARY

    Sanford J. Brown

    If it walks like a duck … | Statements and stickers

    ASK FPM

    ASK FPM

    David C. Kibbe, F. Michael Arnow, Alice G. Gosfield

    When patients request their records | Reasonable bad debt | Including the correct diagnosis on a claim

    BALANCING ACT

    When Medical Errors Hit Home

    Deborah S. McPherson

    Her father’s illness brought this FP face-to-face with the potential price of medical mistakes.



    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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