Practice Management

Contemporary financial challenges call for creative thinking on the part of the physician-cum-small business operator. One idea that is gaining popularity is in-office dispensing of medications.

Physicians and managers are accustomed to dealing with staff members who aren't happy at work and can't seem to get along, but what do you do when it's the physicians and management who are at odds?

There is no code for a radical cystectomy. You will have to use the code for a "total" cystectomy.

"I am optimistic about urology, regardless of what the president does."

Declining reimbursement remains urologists' number one concern, ahead of increasing overhead, increasing government regulations, and other issues, according to the 2008 Urology Times State of the Specialty Survey

Here are some smart steps physicians and managers can take to make performance reviews easier to conduct and more effective, ultimately paving the way for higher productivity.

The 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule was recently published, containing many important changes in reimbursement for urologists.

All successful physicians listen to their patients. Do you?

This article shows you how to make the most of referral sources that often get little attention: friends, family, and community connections.

We review a sampling of software and hardware for the office-based practice that can improve the way you practice, increase your efficiency, and enhance your communication with patients.

Being denied payment for PSA tests.

Procedural coding: How to make the process work

Here are a few strategies to help urologists and staff members reduce the potential for patients to become outrageous.

What are the differences between the various types of charitable trusts?

Maintaining balance between personal and professional lives presents a challenge for many physicians.

Thepractice of physicians generating revenue from imaging services to which they refer their patients has come under federal scrutiny.

If you determine that the life insurance you bought years ago is no longer needed to provide for a surviving family, it can be canceled or given to your favorite charitable not-for-profit entity.

Here are steps and suggestions for getting your book idea to a publisher and seeing your work in print and on the bookshelves.

You can update a past medical, family, and social history (PFS) and ROS without having to rewrite it each time.

Medicolegal issues in urology, discusses the impact of medical errors on the health care system and lists several goals designed to ensure your patients' safety.

Successfully orienting and retaining a new physician in your practice.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a report offering evidence that the recovery audit contractors (RACs) pilot program is successfully identifying improper payments. The findings will help the agency improve the program as it expands nationwide within 2 years, officials say.

For any practice, employee drug abuse can lead to a substantial decrease in productivity and an increase in accidents, both on and off the job.

The bottom line is that if the physician or other qualified provider, such as a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner, is not in the office when a service is provided, the service cannot be charged to Medicare

Another Medicare physicians' pay cut, this one an estimated 5.4%, is in the offing for 2009 as well as rule changes affecting the ability of urologists to provide diagnostic tests for their patients without running afoul of federal physician self-referral and anti-markup prohibitions.

In its 103rd installment, the AUA annual meeting introduced urologists to interesting research about relationships between urologic conditions and other significant health issues. The annual take-home messages are presented here.

The cumulative effect of annual efforts to slash Medicare payment rates, the resulting miniscule fee payment updates, and continuously increasing costs is taking its toll. What happens if Congress fails to come to the rescue and that 10.6% cut takes effect?

Physicians often fall short in patient interactions: asking questions, listening carefully, or observing. Often, this can affect their ability to solve clinical puzzles.

Some urology practices have the edge over their colleagues when it comes to getting paid for what they do.

I read that CMS changed the rules for 'incident to' services. Is this correct, and, if so, what changes have ccurred?