AMA Practice Management
Study highlights how health information exchange can cut costs
Giving physicians timely access to the patient information they need at the point of care proved to be financially beneficial to 12 hospitals in the Memphis area. The May issue of the Journal of the American Medical Information Association includes a study of the members of the MidSouth eHealth Alliance in Memphis. During a 13-month..
read more →Stage 2 meaningful use rules sharply criticized by physicians
Washington Physicians are objecting to proposed Medicare and Medicaid guidelines for demonstrating the next stage of electronic health record meaningful use, saying the new standards would be too burdensome and may discourage practices from adopting the technology. The American Medical Association and other organized medicine groups want federal officials to survey physicians on EHR stage..
read more →FDA weighs prescriptions without medical visits
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a move that would allow patients to obtain prescription medications without ever seeing a doctor. Instead, patients would use technology to evaluate their needs. The new model of drug distribution being considered by the FDA would allow some drugs for chronic conditions, such as asthma and allergies,..
read more →The best ways to market your practice at local events
For some medical practices, exhibiting at a summer festival, health fair or business expo can be a chance to say hello to the community and get new patients. The key, medical marketing experts say, is to choose the right event, think about how to engage attendees and set realistic expectations about what benefits will..
read more →Physician interest in online CME is strong
There is a demand among physicians for continuing medical education training that can be accessed on the go. A survey by ON24 and MedData Group found that 84% of physicians would prefer attending CME events online. Among the benefits physicians expect from Web-based CME is the ability to view the content on demand while avoiding..
read more →JAMA unveils network linking 10 AMA journals
The Journal of the American Medical Association and its specialty Archives journals on May 14 launched a new Web platform that makes it easier and faster for readers to navigate content from all 10 publications at once. Instead of each existing within its own virtual silo, The JAMA Network integrates the journals online. It features..
read more →Doctors’ love-hate relationship with EHRs
As with anything new, most physicians go into implementation of an electronic health record system with certain expectations. Sometimes those expectations are exceeded, sometimes they are not met for better or worse. Many likes and dislikes about EHRs are consistent in the physician community. Implementation will, no doubt, change a practice. But knowing what..
read more →How to oversee practice staff’s appearance — legally
A physician practice needs to tread carefully when regulating the look of its employees. Policies delineating what is acceptable about hygiene, visible body modifications, hair and clothing will rarely get a practice into trouble if there is some flexibility. Rules governing physique are more likely to land a practice in hot water. Some businesses have..
read more →Patients want to use social media tools to manage health care
Some patients have moved beyond wanting social media content they can follow or like. They want social media to be something that helps them coordinate care and navigate the health care system, and they think physicians are the best people to deliver it. A survey of 1,060 U.S. adults by the PwC Health Research Institute..
read more →3 steps to EHR training for new staff members
Physician practices generally have a detailed training map that is laid out for all its doctors and staff as they implement an electronic health record system. But practices cant lose the map once the system is up and running. At some point, new physicians and employees will join the practice, and they will need the..
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