Practice Management

Achieving meaningful use and avoiding common mistakes in implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system require careful planning and learning from others' experiences, said Michael Doyle, chairman of Medsphere Systems Corporation, at the 70th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Physicians' relationships with industry have long been an ethical tug of war, yet they remain commonplace. And with government's increasing focus on transparency - augmented with the U.S. Supreme Court upholding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - consulting, research and other relationships with pharmaceutical and medical device companies will become even more visible.

Recently, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine surveyed their third- and fourth-year residents and found that even though it is not on the official curriculum, the residents are learning defensive medicine. Whether it's an attending mentioning that a particular biopsy isn't necessary or deciding not to offer a patient a particular medication because it of a potential lawsuit, the residents are seeing defensive medicine in practice.

Dermatologists who strongly oppose key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in late June, continue to turn their attention to Congress in the hopes of obtaining some relief.

Social media allow for efficient networking with patients and colleagues, but using these tools successfully with patients requires setting limits and delegating authority.

We medical professionals are confronted with our own assortment of believe-it-or-nots and oddities on a daily basis. Unfortunately, they are often more upsetting or frustrating than astounding. I started keeping a list a few years ago, initially as a coping mechanism. But gradually, the list evolved into a collection.

Dr. Skin hired several people to improve the marketing of his practice. In order to make things simple, he provided them with all of his patients' records to allow them easy access to patient demographic information. Dr. Skin is assured by colleagues that although the involved activity may represent a HIPAA violation, no penalties have been assessed to small practices such as his. Is this true?

Social media consulting firm Maximize Social Media has launched a specialized marketing program that provides support to dermatology practices in need of social media management and local business listing optimization services.

As drug costs and medicolegal scrutiny increase, the future of many drugs appears murky, said Stephen E. Wolverton, M.D., at the 70th annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dermatologists have the highest level of job satisfaction of 25 medical specialties, according to a national survey conducted by Medscape titled Physician Compensation Report 2012. Dermatologists also are among the better compensated, particularly when their more-varied pattern of hours worked are taken into consideration.

I can't tell you how many wonderful things I've heard from medical administrators and non-physician consultants that will result from the adoption of the electronic medical record (EMR). But like most of us, I've been taught to believe that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Dermatologist Rashmi Sarkar, M.D., doesn't see the more than 7,000 miles separating her home country from the United States as a networking obstacle. In fact, she has taken a special interest in bringing the worlds of dermatology in India and America together.

Your employees are your practice's single most significant expense category, but they are also one of its greatest assets. A highly productive workforce is essential to ensure your dermatology practice runs effectively. That said, there may still be ways to decrease - or at least keep the lid on - staffing costs without reducing efficiency or service quality.

An acute shortage of dermatologists has prompted Malaysia’s health ministry to call for the country’s medical schools to increase training in the specialty.

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and its member boards have established limits to the number of years that can elapse between a physician’s completion of residency training and achievement of board certification.

The medical world is changing; this is fact. Exactly how these changes will translate into practice and affect dermatology is unclear. So unclear, in fact, that many are scrambling to address issues that may or may not be relevant as the model for healthcare delivery is debated on national, state and local levels. This leaves dermatology at the apex of a trisection between science, art and policy that warrants further inquiry.

Healthcare issues are heating up. Take, for example, recovery audit contractors (RACs), Z-Picks (bounty hunters for the commercial carriers), Obamacare being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) "hit list" targeting providers for overpayments, fraud and abuse allegations, and 5010 playing havoc with our claims processing system. What else can go wrong?

Motivation, opportunity and rationalization. This may sound like the title of a new James Bond film, but in reality, it's the triad of factors that provides fertile ground for the internal fraud that is an all-too-common occurrence in dermatologists' offices. A recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) revealed that 82.8 percent of managers had worked in a practice that experienced embezzlement.

Dermatology Times welcomes Albert C. Yan, M.D., as the newest member to its Editorial Advisory Council. Dr. Yan is the chief of pediatric dermatology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he is also an associate professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The estate of a deceased patient has sued Dr. Mole for not making a melanoma diagnosis earlier. The plaintiff's attorney has offered a settlement agreement for $1 million. He is concerned about the settlement being listed in the National Data Practitioner Data Bank. His attorney assures Dr. Mole that as this late point in his career this will do little to no impact on his reputation.

On Call asked dermatologists around the country what they, or their practices are planning this year as they await a determination of what healthcare delivery will look like. Are they making any major changes, expanding or downsizing their practices?

Accurately coding for evaluation and management (E&M) services billed to Medicare requires mastering subtleties that aren't always spelled out in coding instructions, said Allan S. Wirtzer, M.D., medical director, Mid Valley Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery Center, Sherman Oaks, Calif., at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Physicians with the most satisfied patients aren't necessarily the ones who spend the most time with patients. Sometimes, even getting the highest-quality goods or services doesn't make up for a poor interaction.

In my early years in dermatology, there were many distinguished and acknowledged experts whose published findings became part of the core of the discipline. When they presented their findings at medical meetings or in print, one assumed that the data was valid and accurate, and it was often translated into specific management options for our patients.

On March 22, the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), established by the new healthcare law now being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court, and intended to provide a mechanism to control increasing Medicare costs. That, of course, has been sought by large numbers of physicians groups, including the American Academy of Dermatology Association.

Teledermatology just got a boost: A new study shows that "remote viewing" by skincare specialists improves the accuracy of dermatologic diagnoses in the primary care setting by almost 70 percent.

Experts estimate it takes six months to a year to convert a traditional dermatology practice with paper charts to one with an electronic medical record (EMR).

William Lascheid, M.D., was in his early 70s when he and his wife, Nancy, retired from four decades of dermatology practice. The couple lived in the lap of retirement luxury in Naples, Fla., and had dreamed about the days when they’d be free to sleep in and spend sunny afternoons by the pool.

The American Board of Dermatology has warned residents that the practice of using so-called “airplane notes” to cheat on certification exams is illegal, the board’s executive director says.

National report - Many mid-level providers get their dermatology training on the job, but continuing education and advanced training opportunities also are available.