Is it possible for technology to minimize your risk of medical malpractice lawsuits against you or your medical practice? Can EHR’s reduce your risk? If a claim of negligence has been brought against you, if you have excellent documentation in patient records, you have a much better chance of fighting those allegations. According to a 2008 study (from the Archives of Internal Medicine), “Using an EHR may also reduce paid malpractice settlements for physicians.”

As a physician, how do you deal with burn-out issues? As a practice manager, how do you help your physicians to deal with burn-out? This is a very good article from Physicians Practice that deals with this subject and helps practice managers assist their physicians during this stressful time and how they can cultivate a [...]

Do you think frivolous malpractice lawsuits are the major issue physicians should be concerned about? What about the increase in compliance issues and government regulations on physicians?

Are you happy with the staff at your practice or do you think you could use some new help? Are your employees on Facebook more often than the billing program? Do you hear more chatting going on than productive work, like checking in and scheduling patients?

Why did you become a physician or enter into the healthcare field? Please feel free to share your story. Also, if you’re interested, you can comment on the survey below.

Do you know how many prescriptions the average adult fills every year? They fill a dozen. By the time each adult reaches the age of 65, the amount of prescriptions he or she fills increases to 30 annually. So what does this have to health care today? Many times, people see their local pharmacists more often than their own physician. This creates a good rapport between the pharmacist and the patient. They have been “expanding their role from drug dispenser to drug educator and chronic disease coach.

As physicians, what are your opinions on healthcare reform and how the government is wrestling its way in our lives? Does the government have a right to impose new healthcare regulations upon the people in the name of imparting universal health care to all its citizens? Throughout this long debate on healthcare, physicians have been on one side of the fence or the other.

The right way to have a medical malpractice case reviewed is by another physician who is a neutral party and has only the goal of improved quality medical care and the safety of the patient in mind. This is peer review with a noble cause. Sham peer review is when a physician reviews a medical malpractice case with bad intentions to cause damage to the defendant physician’s character and this peer reviewer does not have improved quality of medical care in mind.

Unscrupulous physicians can utilize sham peer review to try to remove good, quality physicians (whom they deem as competition) from their own way towards advancement. Hospitals are even striking out against diligent physicians who are “whistleblowers” (uncovering the truth about medical malpractice) and using sham peer review to end their medical careers.

How smoothly does your practice run? Are you pleased with your practice’s efficiency quotient? There is usually room for improvement, but do you know what ways you can improve? It takes an in-depth look into your current status to collect data and measure progress; this will help in creating ideas to improve your practice’s efficiency.

In Pennsylvania, did you know that if you file a disciplinary complaint against your former attorney, you are prohibited from telling anyone else about it according to PA Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement 209 and 402? You are free to discuss the facts of the case and the reasons why you are dissatisfied with your attorney; and of course, you can tell your new attorney that you filed that complaint…just no one else.

Primary Care is a medical field that is very appealing to medical students, but will financial issues keep them from progressing into this field? Check out this article for more information on this trend in the medical field. Primary Care More Appealing but Debt Keeps Docs Out

Will you still be practicing medicine by the time the healthcare Reform Bill takes effect? Many physicians are unsure where they will be by the time 2014 rolls around. Where will you be? What will the state of your medical practice be in?

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March 2010. This act provides physicians with a “year-by-year series of initiatives impacting their patients and their practice.” Do you know what these initiatives are and how prepared are you for them?

The Pennsylvania Court System released statistics on Wednesday that medical malpractice lawsuits in the state are becoming less frequent. According to their statistics, statewide, in 2010, there were 1,491 lawsuits and this number is down from the amount of lawsuits, 1,533 in 2009. This decrease is only 3% less than last year. Is this supposed [...]

Communicating is challenging for those who are living with aphasia, autism and other similar conditions which affect communication ability. There is a new app (server system) offered for the iPhone and Android, called My Voice, which gives “the users with these conditions a voice by simply tapping words and pictures on a screen.”

What’s your opinion on vaccinations? It’s a hot issue for many parents. Some are strongly adamant against getting their children vaccinated while others are eager to have it done.

Doctor’s story—what’s your story?  Dr. Jennifer Frank shares her “unexpected” and “important role” as an “intermediary.”  Are you curious yet… Check out her story from this Physicians Practice article My Unexpected, Important Role: Intermediary  

What is your best defense against malpractice suits?  Are you prepared for the possibility of a suit being filed against you?  Keith Martin from Physicians Practice gives some advice on arming yourself against malpractice. Arm Yourself Against Malpractice If you’d like more information on our services, please feel free to ask us for a brochure.  [...]

Have you figured out the way to deal with physician burnout?  Do you have the right motivation to keep going and practicing medicine? Check out Dr. Kevin Radbill’s story on how he stays passionate about practicing medicine.  Am I Too Young to Burnout?

Hospitals everywhere are feeling the squeeze of the down economy and reimbursement cuts. There have been job layoffs, closed facilities, so that’s why some people are questioning why hospitals are spending so much money on marketing and advertising. “NY healthcare institutions spent $80 million in advertising this year, up from $69.3 million last year, according [...]

Some critics argue that Medicaid is a worse option for patients than them having no insurance. According to four leading health policy experts, those critics are “misusing the research studies they use to make their case.” What’s your opinion on this issue?

E.R. and psychiatric wards of hospitals are usually a place where hospital employees need to be vigilant and brace for some dangerous situations. However, according to news reports, a disturbing trend of violence in hospitals is on the rise. “Nearly 40 % of emergency room employees in California have been physically assaulted on the job, [...]

Any physician who has been sued frivolously understands that once a lawsuit is filed, the damage is done. From hours spent out of the office in depositions and court to irreparable damage to hard-earned reputations to unrecoverable income loss, frivolous lawsuits cause tremendous personal anguish.