Blog
Selecting and Obtaining the Best Office Space for your Practice
Posted on April 25th, 2012By Cathy Hill: Valeo Magazine
Relocating or expanding your medical office space is a complex process. That is why you need to start the planning process at least one year in advance, according to Evan Tarbis, senior advisor with Duncan Commercial Real Estate, and an expert in medical office leasing and acquisition. “You don’t want to rush such an important decision,” Evan says.
Allowing adequate time gives you the flexibility you need to acquire or lease the right space at the right time and at the right price.
Office Relocation Tips
Success of Health Reform Hinges on Hiring 30,000 Primary Care Doctors by 2015
Posted on April 20th, 2012Reprinted with permission from The Washington Post. Sarah Kliff wrote this article with the assistance of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, which is administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, a program of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
On a chilly afternoon at a community clinic in Southeast Washington, D.C., three young doctors are busily laying the foundation for the health care law’s success.
3 Reasons Why Concierge Medicine Will Be Part of the Healthcare’s Future
Posted on April 20th, 2012By Jason Seraphine: Regional Director, Guardian MD
Healthcare as we know it is definitely going to change over the next several years. One of the biggest changes may be how much choice is afforded to patients. An area that offers patients the ability to be more proactive in their healthcare is concierge medicine. The dynamics of the system seem to prove that concierge medicine will be a viable option of the future.
PHYSICIAN SHORTAGE
All In The Family: The Kellys - Triathletes
Posted on April 18th, 2012By Cathy Hill, Valeo Magazine
Drs. Larry and Emily Kelly’s shared devotion to family and athletic competition recently culminated in a thrilling family trip to Kona, Hawaii, in October, 2011, where Emily competed in the Ironman World Championship. As Emily says, “We took the whole family including, all of the kids and my mom and dad to Kona for the week leading up to the race.”
Emily finished the competition, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycling event and a 26.2 mile run, in 10 hours 15 minutes.
Family
Patients directed to online tools don’t necessarily use them
Posted on April 18th, 2012
By Pamela Lewis Dolan, admed news
Even as patient reliance on the Internet for health information grows, physicians might want to hold on to their patient education pamphlets.
Researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia compared the efficacy of paper-based colorectal screening intervention information to Web-based intervention material. The study showed that 42% of patients given paper-based resources reviewed them, while only 24.6% of patients given access to Web-based information reviewed it. The study was published online Jan. 4 in theJournal of Health Communication(www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10810730.2011.571338).
8 Tips for Improving Your Dental Practice’s Bottom Line
Posted on March 22nd, 2012By Marcia Lewis, Blue & Co. CPAs and Advisors
2011 is in the books. It is time to implement changes for 2012 to help grow your bottom line. Here are some tips for real changes you can make in 2012.
Financial
1. Plan for slow growth in 2012. Dentists across the country have been greatly affected by the recession with 2009 being one of the most difficult financial years the profession has seen in decades. While 2010 and 2011 saw modest gains, don’t expect much from 2012. Most economists are predicting flat line or limited growth in national GDP, an increasing public debt and a ‘do-nothing congress’ that will do even less in an election year. Still, most dentists are optimistic about their personal and local economic conditions. Plan and manage for slow growth in 2012 with an eye on the future.
Proposed 60 Day Rule Increases Burden On Providers to Report and Return Medicare Overpayments
Posted on March 21st, 2012by Kristen Holt, Esq., Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP 
On February 16, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a “Proposed Rule” addressing the statutory requirement that Medicare overpayments must be reported and repaid within 60 days after the date the overpayment is “identified,” or else such overpayments would be re-characterized as false claims.
While still subject to a comment period, the Proposed Rule creates a burdensome standard for providers in an already highly regulated industry by applying a 10 year “lookback” period, a short and unclear 60 day repayment timeframe, and additional reporting requirements. We recommend that all interested parties submit comments to CMS. Comments are due by April 16th, 2012.
Docs On Bikes
Posted on March 21st, 2012by Kirk Kandle, Valeo Magazine
As a small boy in his native Argentina, Sergio Cardinali shared the dream of children around the world – a gleaming new bicycle. After his family moved to Louisville’s Fern Creek area when Sergio was 12, he continued to settle for riding on other kids’ bikes until, finally, he recalls, “I scraped together $10 and bought a pile of rust from a guy in the neighborhood. I took it apart, re-packed all the bearings with fresh grease, sanded it all down, and spray painted it gold. It wasn’t much, but it was mine and I loved it.”
Is There A Looming Doctor Shortage?
Posted on March 20th, 2012By Catherine Hill, Valeo Magazine
Demand for medical and care is increasing dramatically. The question is, can the supply of doctors keep up with the increased demand, both now and in the future?
Increasing Demand for Medical Services
Increasing demand for medical care is being driven by a number of factors, including a growing and aging population, and rising rates of obesity and related chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and heart disease.
The oldest members of the huge Baby Boom population (those born between 1946 and 1964) turn 66 this year, and these days people are living longer thanks to advances in public health and in health care.
The New Stimulus - ICD-10
Posted on January 16th, 2012By Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPMA, CEMC, COBCG, CPCD, CCS-P: Blue & Co., LLC, Senior Manager
Many physician groups, including the American Medical Association, have declared that ICD-10 will be an “onerous burden” to the industry and will cost thousands of dollars to implement during a time when physicians are facing reimbursement cuts and other changes. To the contrary, ICD-10 has many advantages for the healthcare industry and the first step in realizing these advantages is to begin the transition.
The ICD-10 mandate was finalized January 1, 2009 which gives organizations until October 1, 2013 to transition.
