23rd Annual International Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer® East
July 19-20, 2024
Register Now!
15th Annual International Symposium on Ovarian Cancer and Other Gynecologic Malignancies™
May 11, 2024
View More
Community Practice Connections™: 14th Annual International Symposium on Ovarian Cancer and Other Gynecologic Malignancies
View More
4th Annual International Congress on the Future of Women’s Health™
View More
Patient, Provider, and Caregiver Connection™: Exploring Unmet Needs In Postpartum Depression – Making the Case for Early Detection and Novel Treatments
View More
Identifying Health Care Inequities in Screening, Diagnosis, and Trial Access for Breast Cancer Care: Taking Action With Evidence-Based Solutions
View More
Florida lawmakers back protection for physicians
August 1st 2006Florida lawmakers have been busy lately trying to ensure tort reform in medical malpractice cases, according to Medical Liability Monitor (5/2006). Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, for one, signed into law a bill that would require physicians and businesses to pay only the amount of damages according to their level of responsibility-not their financial ability to pay.
Read More
Bar-coding is not a panacea for halting patient mix-ups
July 1st 2006At least that's what Clement J. McDonald, MD, emphasized in an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine (4/4/06). Presenting an actual case, in which two patients were misidentified when a mix-up occurred with their bar-coded identification wristbands, McDonald drew several conclusions to improve risk management
Read More
From physician to legislator: how one ob/gyn advocated forstate-level tort reform
May 1st 2006Watching his state's medical care system crumble and many of hispartners shutter their practices spurred one Mississippi ob/gyn totake a personal stand on tort reform. His run for elected officewas successful-in more ways than one.
Read More
Adolescent patients and their confidentiality: Staying within legal bounds
May 1st 2006What right does a teenager have to confidential health care? What influence does HIPAA have on that right? How you apply the answers in your practice could determine whether an adolescent seeks health services-or forgoes necessary care.
Read More
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT "IN THE TRENCHES": PART 2 - Thriving in a managed-care world
April 1st 2006How do you get the best terms on an HMO or PPO contract? Should you merge with another practice to gain more negotiating clout? Do you need a specialty lawyer or consultant? These are just a few of the questions answered in Part 2 of our series.
Read More
Contraceptive insurance coverage gets boost in two states
March 1st 2006New Jersey is now the 24th state to pass a law providing contraceptive insurance equity. The new law, A.B. 292, requires most insurers in the state to provide coverage of prescription contraceptive drugs and devices. The law provides an exemption for qualifying religious employers if contraceptive coverage conflicts with the employer's "bona fide religious beliefs and practices," according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Government Relations Newsletter, 1/13/2006).
Read More
President Bush highlights liability crisis in ob/gyn
March 1st 2006President Bush used his State of the Union address to once again urge Congress to pass medical liability reform, specifically citing the crisis in obstetrics and gynecology. He said, "And because lawsuits are driving many good doctors out of practice?leaving women in nearly 1,500 American counties without a single ob/gyn?I ask the Congress to pass medical liability this year."
Read More
Contraceptive insurance coverage gets boost in two states
March 1st 2006New Jersey is now the 24th state to pass a law providing contraceptive insurance equity. The new law, A.B. 292, requires most insurers in the state to provide coverage of prescription contraceptive drugs and devices. The law provides an exemption for qualifying religious employers if contraceptive coverage conflicts with the employer's "bona fide religious beliefs and practices," according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Government Relations Newsletter, 1/13/2006).
Read More
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT "IN THE TRENCHES": PART 1 - Fundamentals of practice finance
February 1st 2006You may not have been trained as a CEO, but unless you sharpen your business skills, your clinical skills may be all for naught. In the first of our 3-part series, a seasoned physician executive outlines the tools needed to manage people, profits, and policies.
Read More
Health plans offer free technology to MDs: What's the catch?
February 1st 2006More and more health plans are taking up the onus of getting information technology into physicians' practices. They are offering free or subsidized e-prescribing or electronic medical record (EMR) systems to physicians in the hopes that the effort will ultimately save money and improve quality of care.
Read More
Are you using a PDA in your practice?
December 1st 2005If so, you are not alone. More than 50% of doctors younger than 35 in developed countries use a personal digital assistant, according to a review in The Lancet (10/1/05). The review stated that physicians used PDAs in daily clinical practice most often for drug reference (80%). They also used it for scheduling (67%), medical calculations (61%), prescription writing (8%), and billing (4%).
Read More
Malpractice payouts not to blame for premium hikes?
August 1st 2005A recent study on closed malpractice claims in Texas found that "insurance market dynamics"—not increasing payouts in lawsuits—were to blame for rising insurance premiums, according to Medical Liability Monitor (April 2005). The study, authored by three law professors, was promptly criticized by medical groups and insurers.
Read More
Editorial: Who will follow in our footsteps?
June 1st 2005As I write this I am post-call, which may account for the tone of my meandering discourse. At my age, the problem is not so much taking call but surviving the next day. While tackling clinical challenges can be exciting, what I find most stimulating is the chance to teach and learn from my residents.
Read More
New coalition offers solution to rising medical liability costs
May 1st 2005A coalition of patients, attorneys, physicians, and hospital administrators is promoting an alternative way to control medical liability costs, in lieu of tort reform. And all it requires is an apology and an offer of fair compensation to the patient if a medical error occurred.
Read More
Case Studies in Coding: Coding for colpopexy
May 1st 2005Each year CPT introduces new codes and makes revisions to existingcodes to better reflect current medical practices. CPT 2005 is nodifferent. This month, we'll look at changes in coding for vaginalcolpopexy. The 2005 CPT codes reflect the expansion and improvementof surgical techniques in the area of female reconstructive surgery
Read More