Search Results for * -- AAFP

How to properly code for a Pap smear -- FPM

Screening for cervical cancer is often included in the physical exam portion of a preventive medicine service. Follow this advice to see when you can bill separately for a Pap smear.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/pap_smear.html

The accurate valuation of office visits: one thing you can do -- FPM

The relative value of office-based E/M codes is being reviewed. To help inform that review, family physicians can take this one critical step.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/ruc_survey.html

New reports look at family medicine office visit billing -- FPM

Here's what to do with that Medicare comparative billing report you may have received analyzing how you bill family medicine office visits.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/comparative_billing_reports.html

Two simple ways to improve patient satisfaction with visit length -- FPM

How do you prevent the patient complaint My doctor didn’t spend enough time with me, especially if you can’t increase visit length? Research points to two techniques that can help patients feel more satisfied with the amount of time you spend with them.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/visit_length.html

Three myths about HIPAA -- FPM

Although HIPAA has existed for more than 20 years, many organizations still struggle to interpret the law correctly. When their interpretations are too strict, it can make physician and staff jobs harder than they need to be. Here are three common myths about HIPAA.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/hipaa_myths.html

Time to check your 2019 MIPS eligibility status -- FPM

If you are unclear whether the Merit-based Incentive Payment System applies to you in 2019, use this tool to check your eligibility.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/2019_MIPS_eligibility.html

A checklist for better dementia care plans -- FPM

Physicians may not be able to control many facets of dementia care, but this checklist can help you tackle the cognitive, functional, and behavioral losses that most matter to patients and their families.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/dementia_care.html

Why did that idea flop? -- FPM

Are you committing one of three key mistakes that can prevent sustainable change from taking hold in your practice?

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/idea_flop.html

How to find joy in medicine, one day at a time -- FPM

A Grand Rapids, Mich., physician discusses what her team does every day to remember why they're in medicine.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/joyful_medicine.html

High-maintenance patients: protecting yourself and your practice -- FPM

Every physician has a patient or two (or more) who make frequent and unreasonable demands for treatment, tests, or referrals, treat staff poorly, and drain the physician’s time and energy. Rather than allow these patients’ bad behavior to affect yours, follow this simple advice.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/high_maintenance.html

How to avoid payment denials on two common diagnostic tests -- FPM

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is advising physician practices on how to avoid billing errors for two common diagnostic tests.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/diagnostic_test_denials.html

Three tips for better risk-adjustment coding -- FPM

Your payment is increasingly tied to the severity of your patients’ conditions. These three guidelines will help you make sure you’re using the codes that best reflect their level of risk.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/risk_adjustment.html

How to calculate the value of team documentation -- FPM

Having a medical assistant or nurse handle the paperwork related to patient visits can help you be more efficient and increase revenue. Here’s how to calculate the value.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/team_documentation_savings.html

Tools for Better Dementia Care -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Quality measures and clinical tools can bring focus and clarity to caring for patients with cognitive impairment and supporting their caregivers.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p11.html

Using Empowered CMAs and Nursing Staff to Improve Team-based Care -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Highly trained workers can perform more visit-related tasks, boosting care quality and reducing physician burnout.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p17.html

The 2019 Medicare Documentation, Coding, and Payment Update -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - This year’s changes include some welcome documentation relief, new codes for portal and telephone encounters, and much more.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p23.html

Protecting Adolescent Patient Privacy: Four Key Questions -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - When an adolescent patient requests confidential services, here’s what you need to know about their rights and your responsibilities.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p7.html

Coding & Documentation - Jan-Feb 2019 -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Prescription drug management and E/M code selection | Review of systems: How many systems are too many? | Documenting exams by medical students | Coding for removal of skin lesions: biopsy or no?

Family Practice Management : Coding & Documentation

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p30.html

High-Maintenance Patients -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Don't let their bad behavior make you a bad doctor.

Family Practice Management : The Last Word

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p36.html

Practice Pearls - Jan-Feb 2019 -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Simplify the checkout process | Ensure your safety during patient visits | Keep your empathy for difficult patients

Family Practice Management : Practice Pearls

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p32.html

Changes of Note for the New Year -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - Coding updates are just the tip of the iceberg as we begin 2019.

Family Practice Management : From the Editor

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p4.html

Thank You, FPM Peer Reviewers (2018) -- FPM

Feb 1, 2019 - We would like to thank the following peer reviewers for their valuable contributions to FPM during 2018.

Family Practice Management : From the Editor

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0100/p6.html

Communication checkup: How many of these skills do you practice? -- FPM

Good communication is the bedrock of good care. In the busyness of day-to-day practice, don’t neglect these seven basic skills.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/communication_checkup.html

Teen privacy: four rules -- FPM

When an adolescent patient requests confidential services, balancing the patient’s rights with the parent’s rights can be complicated. Keep these rules in mind.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/teen_privacy.html

The No. 1 question about team documentation -- FPM

To ease physicians’ administrative burdens, many practices are adopting team documentation, which involves increasing the MA-to-physician ratio and delegating more tasks to MAs. How do you convince your practice to try it?

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/team_documentation_question.html

UHC moves from denial to downcoding of E/M claims -- FPM

Physicians and their coding staff need to be aware of a change in how United Healthcare approaches and pays claims with problematic documentation.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/UHC_downcoding.html

Seven tips for encouraging your patients to exercise -- FPM

These seven steps can help you develop personalized physical activity plans for your patients.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/exercise_prescriptions.html

How to determine what's really urgent -- FPM

Three questions to help you determine if a task truly needs your immediate attention and response or can be delayed or even delegated elsewhere.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/time_management.html

A tool to smooth out your checkout process -- FPM

A New Mexico family physician uses checkout sheets to highlight what needs to happen before a patient leaves the office.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/checkout_process.html

More than half of Medicare claims use new ID cards -- FPM

Physicians are showing early success using the new identification cards that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services supplied to Medicare beneficiaries over the last year.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/Medicare_claims_new_MBI.html

Four apps to help patients better manage anxiety and depression -- FPM

Here are four mobile apps to help patients better manage anxiety and depression.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/mental_health_apps.html

Tasks your nurse could be doing to boost practice productivity -- FPM

How to expand the roles of your care team registered nurses to help the practice serve more patients and increase revenue.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/team_care_RNs.html

Six tips for a better CV -- FPM

Whether you are looking for your first job out of residency or making a career change, getting your curriculum vitae noticed by potential employers is your goal.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/curriculum_vitae.html

Ring in the New Year by submitting your 2018 MIPS data -- FPM

CMS has officially opened the data submission period for MIPS eligible clinicians who participated in Year 2 (2018) of the Quality Payment Program.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/How_to_submit_2018_MIPS_data.html

How to structure the patient visit for better communication -- FPM

Patient visits tend to go better if you and your patient are on the same page. To accomplish this, try structuring your patient visits to start with a brief moment of collaborative agenda-setting.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/visit_structure.html

EHRs occupy 24 percent of doctors’ time, says survey -- FPM

Family physicians spend 51 hours in practice each week, with 24 percent of that time spent interacting with the electronic health record (EHR). What can physicians do to make their EHR work less frustrating?

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/ehr_time_spent.html

Four mistakes to avoid when talking with patients about risk -- FPM

Helping patients understand their risk of developing a certain disease or the risks associated with a screening test can be complicated. Don’t make these four mistakes.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/risk_communication_mistakes.html

New Medicare card lookup tool gets update -- FPM

Even if your Medicare patients haven't yet received their new ID cards, you can lookup their beneficiary identifier online.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/New_Medicare_card_tool_update.html

Five ways to avoid problems with patient satisfaction scores -- FPM

Patient satisfaction scores are being used to grade physician performance and even dictate salary. Here are ways to make sure the scores are correctly generated and used.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/patient_satisfaction_scores.html

Coming soon: Medicare payment for virtual encounters -- FPM

Among the new codes going into effect in 2019 are several that reimburse physicians for various types of virtual encounters.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/Medicare_coding_virtual_encounters.html

Help patients remember to get their flu shot -- FPM

Here's a method for helping your patients remember to get a flu shot in case they forget or don't know you have immunizations available.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/flu_shot_reminders.html

Johnston Memorial Hospital wins 2018 FPM Award for Practice Improvement -- FPM

The family medicine residency program and family physician-led hospitalist team at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Va., have won this year’s FPM Award for Practice Improvement.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/Johnston_Memorial_2018_Practice_Improvement.html

How to check if you are MIPS-eligible in 2018 -- FPM

CMS has taken a second look at whether physicians are eligible for MIPS in 2018. Find out if you have to report - and if your 2020 payments are at risk.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/2018_MIPS_eligibility_status.html

Violence in the office: six questions to help you prepare -- FPM

To prepare for potential violent incidents, every practice should develop an Emergency Operations Plan that answers these questions.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/violent_patient_encounter.html

How to properly code for a pre-op examination -- FPM

Family physicians are often asked to preform pre-surgical evaluations for patients undergoing procedures. This requires selecting the correct codes.

Family Practice Management : Getting Paid : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/gettingpaid/entry/coding_preop_exams.html

Two mobile apps to help patients lose weight -- FPM

To supplement your normal advice to patients about healthy eating and exercise, you can also recommend these two mobile apps to help patients gain more control.

Family Practice Management : Quick Tips : FPM Home

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/mobile_apps_lose_weight.html

Six Mobile Apps to Make Prescribing Easier -- FPM

Dec 1, 2018 - These apps can help you more effectively make medication decisions on the go.

Family Practice Management : SPPACES: App Reviews

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2018/1100/p11.html

Five Ways to Communicate Risks So That Patients Understand -- FPM

Dec 1, 2018 - When discussing a patient’s risk of developing a disease or the risks associated with a screening test, these simple techniques can ensure clarity.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2018/1100/p28.html

Coding & Documentation - Nov-Dec 2018 -- FPM

Dec 1, 2018 - When the chief complaint is medication refill | 99221 for second hospital encounter? | Staph infection of a wound

Family Practice Management : Coding & Documentation

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2018/1100/p32.html

How to Prepare for and Survive a Violent Patient Encounter -- FPM

Dec 1, 2018 - When the unthinkable happens, having a plan that you have practiced regularly can make all the difference.

Family Practice Management : Articles

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2018/1100/p5.html