Practice Management

While reading a manual on EMR navigation code lingo for knowing which button to push on a computer to properly use an electronic medical record (EMR), I was watching the recently popular animated movie featuring Wall-E and EVA.

If your practice hasn't jumped on the eco-friendly bus already, maybe it's time to catch a ride. 'Going green' can make good business sense. Savvy dermatology practices recognize that consumers gravitate to businesses they perceive as socially conscious. In addition to attracting patients and helping the environment, being environmentally friendly may also help you reduce costs.

With increasing frequency, I have noticed that many audience members at medical meetings are dividing their attention between the speakers and their Blackberries and laptops. Some audience members keep both their Blackberries and laptops running throughout the meeting, and are not engaged at all in the meeting - but I am sure they will claim CME credit for "being there."

The full-body skin exam is the perfect opportunity to talk with patients about all their skin concerns, including cosmetic. One expert explains how dermatologists can turn medical and Medicare patients into cosmetic patients.

Miami - Being proactive is the best way to minimize the impact of the turbulent economy on a dermatology practice, experts say.

National report - In a troubled economy, the following prescriptions can help practices attract and retain patients, dermatologists say.

National report - When patients request discounts, dermatologists generally acquiesce - though they might later regret it, sources say.

National report - The precarious U.S. economy has slashed patient spending on Aesthetic treatments, and some dermatologists say medical bookings also have declined since the stock market plummeted in the closing months of 2008.

We recently hired a dermatopathologist to join our group. There are six dermatologists in our practice, and the dermatopathologist will be reading the slides for all the specimens generated from our group.

Is the constant din of ringing telephones frustrating and annoying everyone in your practice? Maybe it's time to turn your telephones into tools that work for your dermatology practice instead of against it.

Medical technology changes so often that sometimes it seems as if one hardly gets something new in the office before it's outdated and another bit of technology is on the horizon.

Photography plays a valuable role in dermatology for improving patient care, but the usefulness of archived images depends on how they are stored.

First impressions have a strong influence on our perceptions and, ultimately, our loyalty to a service, a company or a physician.

The Internet provides a forum for disgruntled patients, employees or competitors to defame a doctor's reputation. One company helps doctors protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits.

Treating lesions of the vulva, anus and penis is common practice in dermatology, yet many dermatologists misrepresent the CPT code(s), as they are not aware that there are specific codes for some of these areas that have significantly higher allowables.

Industry experts estimate that as many as 20 percent of all claims for services are returned to physicians without payment.

While the full promise of EHR systems has yet to become reality, an expert offers shopping tips for finding the best available system for your practice.

In the absence of industrywide standards for electronic medical records, an expert advises carefully matching system costs, benefits and capabilities with the distinctive needs of one's practice.

National standards for ranking physicians may be on the horizon, but many dermatologists doubt that they can be implemented fairly and accurately. Insurance companies have proposed ranking physicians in tiers that could be used to determine levels of reimbursement or the amount of co-pays for patients to see the physician of their choosing.

Incorporating cosmetic dermatology into a medical dermatology practice is made easier if clinicians offer the cosmetic procedures to their existing patients. Internal marketing and a pleasant support staff ensure the success of expansion to cosmetic dermatology.

The iPLEDGE program is excellent for protecting the prescriber, so that he or she can continue to practice medicine and responsibly care for patients with severe acne, one dermatologist says. However, the issue of compliance remains a major hurdle.

Economists debate whether the United States has reached a full-fledged recession or is simply teetering on the brink, waiting for some sign it will either topple or be pulled back. Meanwhile, as the debate rages, people are dealing with the effects of soaring energy costs, rising unemployment and inflation.

Surviving lean times demands that dermatologists use a hard line with finances and a soft touch with patients, sources say.

Despite concerns about the U.S. economy, a March 2008 survey by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) showed that nearly one-fourth of the survey's 562 respondents were experiencing increased bookings for existing aesthetic patients versus fall 2007.

While dermatologists offer mixed assessments of the impact of the sluggish U.S. economy on their specialty, they say today's tighter market clearly is intensifying the trend toward noninvasive procedures.

The subprime mortgage crunch is rippling through our economy in a variety of different ways. Many homeowners are postponing plans to sell until the market stabilizes; others, with hopes for trading up to a bigger home, are opting to stay put, turning instead to remodeling or enlarging.

You don't need to read another article telling you how terrible the malpractice crisis is. You already know that lawsuits are on the rise, jury awards are out of control, malpractice premiums are escalating to the point of being unaffordable, and the practice of medicine as we know it is severely threatened.

With constraints on healthcare human resources in some geographic areas in Canada, teledermatology offers advantages, such as increasing access to dermatological expertise. The use of store-and-forward technology avoids the logistical challenges associated with real-time teledermatology.

When I enrolled in medical school - what seems like a lifetime ago - I wanted to be akin to the sage and compassionate Marcus Welby, M.D. I wanted to be a pediatrician who takes care of and cures sick children.

At Nova Medical, the largest primary care practice in Loudoun County, Va., "The process of going green is ongoing," says Jennifer Stokols, M.S., a registered dietitian who heads Nova Medical's green team.