If you’re an internist who receives $100 for a 99214 office visit, expect to pocket only $41 in profit. The rest of the money goes for overhead such as malpractice insurance ($3.50), equipment and its repair and maintenance (another $3.50), supplies such as tongue depressors and copy paper ($6), rent and utilities ($7), general operating expenses such as telephones, accounting fees, advertising, medical journals, licenses, and taxes ($11), and employee salary and benefits ($28).
This analysis, produced by Medical Economics, appeared in the July cover story of Readers Digest titled “41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share” by Cynthia Dermody and Patricia Curtis. The overhead breakdown is based on 2005 income and expense data for general internists compiled by the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants and the Academy of Dental CPAs. Reader’s Digest erroneously linked the overhead numbers to those of a family physician.
In the Reader’s Digest article, doctors sound off about everything from patients who answer cell phone calls in the exam room to the fear of malpractice suits. “It makes me give patients a lot of unnecessary tests that are potentially harmful, just so I don’t miss an injury or problem that comes back to haunt me in the form of a lawsuit,” one nervous ER doctor is quoted as saying.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on fees ...
If you’re prone to scream at nurses in the operating room, you may want to lower your voice come January 2009. That’s when the Joint Commission will implement a new standard on curbing disruptive behavior.
“Safety and quality thrive in a work environment that supports team work and respect for other people, regardless of their position in the organization,” states a prepublication standard from the Joint Commission. “Disruptive behavior that intimidates staff, and affects morale or staff turnover can also harm care. Leaders must address disruptive behavior of individuals working at all levels of the organization, including management, clinical and administrative staff, licensed independent practitioners, and governing body members.”
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on MedBlogger news ...
The federal government wants to build a national network for health data, but Google already has a nascent network in place in the form of its free personal health record called Google Health. Last week this private-sector network got a little bigger when Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts announced that its members will be able to import claims data into a Google Health account beginning this fall. The Bay State Blues is the first insurer to integrate electronically with Google, and it joins a growing list of other healthcare organizations—ranging from Walgreens Pharmacy to the Cleveland Clinic—that feed patient data into the Google PHR.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on EHR ...
A partisan battle over changes to Medicare stalled a bill that would prevent a 10.6% doctor pay cut and trim Medicare Advantage, private insurer’s version of Medicare, reports The Wall Street Journal’s blog on health.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on Medicare/Medicaid ...
Everyone these days seems interested in improving quality of care, a major focus of both government and private pay-for-performance initiatives. But, as physicians know all too well, quality improvement is a collaborative effort, a partnership between patient and provider. Here’s a brief news story that talks about what patients can do to help make that concept work.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on patient relations ...
No one has to remind you that Medicare fees are set to automatically decline by 10.6 percent on July 1. In a move to stave off the big cut, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced legislation late Friday afternoon, legislation that could set the stage for a clash with the White House and Senate Republicans.
Read more.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on Medicare/Medicaid ...
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched Time to Talk, a campaign to encourage patients and their physicians to discuss healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine, such as herbal supplements, meditation, naturopathy, and acupuncture. According to a national survey conducted by NCCAM and AARP, almost two-thirds of people age 50 or older are using some form of CAM, yet less than one-third of these CAM users talk about it with their doctors. The most common reasons survey respondents cited were:
- The physician never asked.
- They did not know they should discuss CAM.
- There was not enough time during the office visit.
The Time to Talk campaign is aimed at addressing the need for this dialogue to help ensure safe, coordinated care. Talking not only allows integrated care, it also minimizes risks of interactions with a patient’s conventional treatments. NCCAM offered these tips for discussing CAM with patients:
- Include a question about CAM use on medical history forms.
- Ask your patients to bring a list of all therapies they use, including prescription, over-the-counter, herbal therapies, and other CAM practices.
- Have your medical staff initiate the conversation.
Click here to read the NIH bulletin.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on alternative medicine ...
A group of physicians in North Carolina is opposing the state medical board’s plan to post doctors’ malpractice information on its website. As noted in an article in Fierce Healthcare, a newsletter for healthcare executives, “While the North Carolina Medical Board says the move would be a public service, the North Carolina Medical Society says the site would be misleading. The Medical Society hopes to see the proposal defeated at an upcoming hearing in late June.”
Read the entire article.
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on malpractice ...
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