Log In

21 articles were found on your search of:
Issue Date: March 2003

Strategies Aim to Reduce Harm to Patients
This article discusses the collaborative efforts of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Premier Inc. to reduce medical errors. This article focuses on efforts adverse events related to medications.

IOM Outlines Priorities for Improving the Health System
This editorial discusses a report from the Institute of Medicine that identifies 20 areas in the health care system that need improvement. Implementing the report's recommendations, the editorial argues, will require sweeping reform, consolidation,and rethinking by many in the health care system.

Author Faults Process Complexity
This article discusses the views of author and medical economist J.D. Kleinke. It focuses on his books The Bleeding Edge, and Oxymorons: The Myth of a U.S. Health System, as well as the evolution of his thinking about managed care between the publication of the two books.

Medicare Quality Improves, Says CMS
This article discusses the results of a study by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that show improvements in several areas related to inpatient and outpatient care. However, the report also points out that the gap between care delivered and the care that could be delivered remains wide.

Physicians Can Help Employers Boost Productivity, Says Expert
In this interview, Sean Sullivan, co-founder, president, and CEO of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management, discusses his organization and its efforts "to make the case that employees' health is not a business expense, but rather an investment in their performance."

Is Your Practice Ready for the New HIPAA Privacy Rule?
This article discusses physician compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's privacy rule. It offers practical steps physicians can take to comply with the act, as well as tips for securing electronic data.

Physicians Overwhelmed by Regulatory Activities
This editorial outlines the issues confronting physicians today, pointing out that the issue of immediate concern to most doctors is compliance with the privacy standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Feds Devoting More Attention to Coding Than in Prior Years
This article discusses the areas related to physician coding that are being targeted for investigation by the Office of the Inspector General based on the General Work Plan for fiscal year 2003. It suggests steps physicians can take to avoid coding errors that could lead to allegations of fraud in the event of an audit.

How Will the Fee-Schedule Delay Affect Our Payments?
This section responds to three readers' questions about coding: should providers use the new CPT codes despite delayed publication of the MPFS; what codes to use in order to be paid for an office visit and a separate consult that both occurred during the same visit; and how to code for E&M services provided at an assisted-living facility.

Crisis Leads Physicians to Drop Insurance
This article discusses the repercussions of the increasing costs of malpractice insurance on physicians, including the decision by some doctors to "go bare."