Practice Management News

The past 3 years were marked by historic accomplishments that put HHS in a strong position to tackle the challenges that lie ahead, HHS Secretary Alex Azar II said at a speech to his employees Thursday.

The Idaho House of Representatives passed legislation Feb. 6 designed to update Idaho’s Optometric Physician Licensing Act to better reflect current practice, licensing and duties of the State Board of Optometry, the Idaho Optometric Physician Association stated in a publicly available informational sheet.

KOLOA, Hawaii — At Hawaiian Eye 2020, Frank X. Venzara III, MD, discusses how the use of AdvancedMD and Integrity EMR software has helped his practice reduce the amount of time spent looking at the computer, thereby allowing more time with patients. “If you’re looking to switch EMRs, take a close look at Integrity and AdvancedMD,” he said.

Two CMS codes for advanced care planning — 99497 and 99498 — were used less than 20 times at a tertiary care center in Iowa during in a nearly 3-year period, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Additionally, the center was successfully reimbursed only about one-quarter of the time, potentially resulting in lost revenues.

KOLOA, Hawaii — At Hawaiian Eye 2020, Noah England, MBA, CMPE, practice administrator at the Eye & Laser Center in Lancaster, South Carolina, discusses utilizing emotional intelligence for effective leadership.

In this guest editorial, Wayne B. Jonas, MD, the executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs and a former director of the NIH’s Office of Alternative Medicine, discusses how to adapt your practice to a health care system that is quickly shifting away from the fee-for-service model and toward value-based care. He offers tips on billing in the new payment models, which require physicians to offer care to patients that extends beyond their immediate illness.

The hot topic of discussion in health care reform this winter revolves around patient access to their medical information.

KOLOA, Hawaii — Step therapy, an insurance protocol requiring patients to try and fail certain drugs before allowing access to other therapies, creates unnecessary collateral damage for practices and patients, according to a speaker here.

Electronic health records promised to save time but instead, findings show that primary care physicians spend almost 6 hours a day on them.

KOLOA, Hawaii — Special guest speaker Alison Levine’s climb to the summit of Mt. Everest helped her achieve her “adventure grand slam,” but if you ask her how it made her feel, she will tell you, “It just wasn’t that big of a deal.”