Practice Management

New Jersey, Ohio, and Oklahoma have recently passed medical liability legislative reforms.

Outside experts can focus on office tasks, while physicians, staff focuson patient care

Louis Potters, MD has been appointed to the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification Groups,or APC Panel.

Without it, employees can sue you for negligence, causing large damageawards

Reduced reimbursement for chemo will cause urologists to make drasticchanges, AUA says

Documents in 'Word,' other formats may contain hidden data not intendedfor recipients

Here's some important advice for urologists while we await final detailson new payment system

Recognizing specific conditions or personality traits may help reduceyour exposure

Consider making an outright contribution or transferring stock to a charitabletrust

If you're looking for articles about urologic surgery in this issue ofUrology Times, you may be disappointed. The "leading newsmagazine forurologists" is still just that-an important source of news and informationfor individuals who practice what has always been a surgical specialty.But the articles in this issue's special "State of Urology" seriesclearly show that surgery-especially traditional open surgery-continuesto give way to drug therapy and minimally invasive procedures for managingmost common urologic conditions.

Events around San Francisco in May

ASCO pushes Congress to enact new legislation; hopes dim for medicalliability reform

Fax-to-e-mail and e-mail-to-fax services can save you time and moneywhen traveling

Amounts paid into Health Savings Accounts can be used to reimburse medicalexpenses

You may want to consider initial use of basic, tried and true asset protectionstrategies

Current lack of support may stem from misinterpretation of OIG guidelines

In the new millennium, we are confronted with rising overhead and decreasing reimbursements, which translates into loss of income. Many will try to recapture this loss by increasing patient volume.

When the first meeting of the Society of Women in Urology was held over breakfast at a single table during the 1980 AUA meeting in San Francisco, all five members were present.

MGMA report identifies practices of successful medical groups.

Focus will likely shift to access issues and away from caps on damages,senators say

Before investing in new technology for your practice, take these stepsto determine ROI

Error rate of 5.3% is below national average compared with other majorspecialties

Use a cost accounting system and map your workflow to reduce unnecessaryexpenses

Q In order to have more money available for my own personal investments,I first need to improve on our collections in the practice. Any suggestions?

The American Medical Association has developed a kit that provides physicians and their office staff with a step-by-step approach to uncovering and appealing claims that have been inappropriately denied or underpaid by health plans.

Las Vegas--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services istaking steps to lessen the burden that its policies create for physicians,according to two West Coast representatives of the agency. Physicians alsohave more influence on shaping health care policy, including the value ofservices, than they realize, said the officials, both physicians themselves.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has adopted the National Provider Identifier (NPI) as the standard unique health identifier for health care providers to use in filing and processing health care claims and other transactions.

Q I am in a multiple-physician urology practice. One of our physiciansbelieves that billing 52332 with 52352 or 52353 with a ­59 modifiershould be paid, and that billing 52005 with 52332 with the ­59 modifiershould be paid (ie, 52005-59). When is it appropriate to use the ­59modifier?

The American Medical Association has issued a temporary code for reimbursement of online consultations between physicians and patients, Health Data Management reports.

Washington--The new Medicare reform bill, which for the first time providesa prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients, comes with a hiddencost for physicians who administer chemotherapy drugs in their offices-andperhaps their patients.