Practice Management

The looming health-care crisis will bring about a sea change in the practice of medicine, predicts this expert. He assesses whether specialized teams or a return to capitation will likely win out and gives tips on preparing your ob/gyn practice for an uncertain future.

Here's how new regulations will affect ob/gyns.

Sick of high premiums? If you're willing to control risk in your practice and be involved in decisions, this non-traditional liability insurance option may be for you.

Dr. Carrie Klima discusses the value of educating patients in a group setting, rather than one on one.

The practice of medicine has become too complex for ob/gyns to rely solely on their memories to keep patients safe. A mishap during the test flight of the B17 bomber taught its designers the value of a preflight checklist, and clinicians can likewise benefit from preprocedure checklists.

As the burden of uncompensated care mounts, some companies are offering credit histories to help screen prospective patients and collect overdue bills.

Fear of litigation, damage to reputation, and ostracism by peers have been responsible for a "code of silence." The wiser course in most circumstances is to reveal one's mistakes, and have a well thought out protocol for providing full disclosure.

The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology stopped issuing their usual certificates in 2008 and have switched to a "maintenance of certification" protocol that requires all ob/gyns to walk through a more demanding 6-year process involving CME offerings, a written examination, and chart reviews.

State medical societies are conducting economic impact studies to show that physician practices pump billions of dollars into local and state economies through payrolls and purchases of local goods and services, so that local businesses and government assist physician practices with small business loans, etc.

Department of Health and Human Services refuses to release data on grounds that doing so would infringe on physicians' privacy rights.

The Joint Commission announced that it will revise and develop accreditation standards for culturally competent patient care in hospitals.

It's still possible-with a solid banking relationship, a sharp business plan, and ample collateral.

To maintain a financially healthy practice, obgyns may want to think about alternative malpractice insurance, ancillary services, and astute retirement planning.

Malpractice insurance: Experts give pros and cons of alternatives to traditional liability insurance: risk retention groups and captives.

Wise investments, optimal stock allocation, an understanding of the social security system, and expert financial advice can help physicians achieve a comfortable lifestyle.

The launch of the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN), a new online network to notify physicians of drug safety alerts, was recently announced.

According to an insurer "report card" released by the AMA, insurers' claim payments are often late and inaccurate.

A nurse employed by a clinic was charged for allegedly wrongfully disclosing a patient's protected health information and using it for personal gain and malicious intent.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist urge support of ACOG's "Health Care for Women, Health Care for All" campaign.

Majority of physicians do not use EHRs.

Recommendations to help audit-proof your ultrasound practice.

Some doctors are doing it successfully, but costs and logistics can be a challenge.

ACOG has launched a new program designed to help more physicians send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically.

Medical malpractice insurance premiums may fall in the near future.

This year, physicians can expect to find it easier to get medical malpractice insurance and to pay lower rates for it than in the past.

Number of disciplinary actions against doctors fell for the third straight year in 2007.

Clinicians surveyed 1,039 women who delivered at Robert Wood Johnson University, ob/gyn division regarding what women want from an ob/gyn practice.

Contemporary OBGYN offers several practical tools to help solve everyday problems, including a a more evidence-based search engine, a coding counselor, and a guide to pay for performance programs.