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Healthcare Reform Affects Medicare Patients and the Under 65 Set Differently
How to Answer Questions from Your Patients
If you’re a physician, chances are you have already fielded a bevy of questions from patients about healthcare reform. Rest assured, the questions will keep coming. Experts say that doctors need to be up to speed, and fast, about how reform will affect their patients’ healthcare and their insurance options in the future.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
There’s an App for That!
Medical Applications for Mobile Technology are Burgeoning
With mobile technologies advancing, so too are medical uses of those technologies – and the ride has just begun, predicts one expert.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Stark Reality
Multi-Specialty Practices Anxiously Await MedPac Recommendations for Imaging
Over the past few years, there has been a gradual chipping away of allowed reimbursements for imaging. Tightening Stark regulations have largely been driven by concern over the rising costs of advanced diagnostic imaging and soaring utilization rates.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Conversation with Madelyn Butler, MD
Incoming FMA President Discusses Challenges, Goals
When Madelyn Butler, MD, takes office next month as president of the Florida Medical Association (FMA), the OB-GYN from Tampa will take over as the association's second female, second of Cuban descent, and youngest leader during arguably the most tumultuous time in organized medicine in the United States.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Pain Clinic Crackdown Comes Amid New Law
A Massive Sting Involving Prescription Drugs Highlights the Problem for State Leaders
The Orlando-area received a wake-up call last month that it has a serious prescription drug abuse problem when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced June 3 it had arrested 172 people in "Operation Pain Killer."
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Choosing a Retirement Community Seriously
The decision to move to a retirement community may be one of the most difficult decisions you make in your aging years; however, it will also be one of the most important. While you realize the lifestyle at a retirement community will most likely be better – and easier – for you, you may still struggle with the idea of moving from what's familiar to begin a new chapter of your life. You have habits and routines that are familiar to you. You have neighbors you trust. Your memories and placement of material possessions is hard to leave.
JULIE FERNANDEZ - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Advancements in Ultrasound
As the owner of a diagnostic ultrasound facility and as a sonographer myself, I am constantly amazed by the advancements in technology and the evolution in our field. Although diagnostic ultrasound became available in the 1950's, it wasn't often used and then mainly used in obstetrics. And its use in obstetrics was limited, primarily for diagnosing multiple pregnancies or fetal abnormalities. That is definitely not the case anymore.
CHAD HALL, RDMS, RDCS, RVT - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How to Not Confuse Students with Actual Employees
Most medical offices enjoy having students come to learn how their office operates during an internship. It's helpful to have that extra body to confirm appointments, stock the rooms, assist in procedures, do the filing, etc. It can be a big help to have a student available when an employee calls in sick or needs to take an extended leave of absence because you are not as short staffed as you normally would be with one person out. Some students are fast learners and eager to be part of the activity going on at the facility. A caring student understands that any internship is a potential position if they follow work instructions and have a pleasant attitude. After all, some physicians have one employee they cannot live without, and that star employee was once a student. We all have to start somewhere.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
High Nurse Attrition Despite Recession
Higher-than-Expected Rates of New Hires Not Enough to Stem Nursing Shortage
Two recent nursing workforce studies by the Florida Center for Nursing at the University of Central Florida show that, even during a recession, retaining nurses is still a huge problem.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Florida Hospital DeLand Adds Facilities to Serve Growing Community
These are busy times for Florida Hospital DeLand where two construction projects are underway to serve the growing community. The Victoria Medical Park, a free-standing outpatient facility, is scheduled to open on Oct. 1, and the hospital's existing Cancer Center began a three-phase renovation on July 1.
LYNN LOFTON - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Beware of "Anotodynia"
"When physicians listen to and communicate effectively with patients, the standard of medical practice can be raised and better treatment afforded to their patients."
This conclusion was reached decades ago by Victoria Lewin-Fetter, MD, who coined the term "Anotodynia" (Greek: absence of ears for pain) to refer to the condition when a physician has difficulty listening.
TIMOTHY R. BONE - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Madelyn E. Butler, MD
Incoming President, Florida Medical Association; OB-GYN, Founder, The Woman's Group
During her formative years, Madelyn Butler, MD, was influenced by strong female role models—an aunt who was a pharmacist and died at 100; another aunt who, in her eighties, remains a practicing pharmacist in Miami; and the 93-year-old aunt that was a family practitioner in Cuba, and ushered the family into their new home in the United States.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
HEALTHCARE LEADER: Terry Owen, JD, FACHE
Senior Vice President, Florida Hospital Orlando
Terry Owen learned the value of education at his daddy's knees, by helping him as a bricklayer at an age so young he couldn't recall the first time on a job site. Even after learning the trade and working on job sites to pay his way through West Liberty State College (now West Liberty University) near Wheeling, W.V., just across the border from his native western Pennsylvania, and earning a master's of health administration degree from Loma Linda University, and then beginning a career in healthcare administration in 1983, Owen continued to pursue higher education.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Innovative 3D Imaging Technologies for Breast Cancer Detection
Modern imaging has produced new and innovative imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), targeting the early detection of breast cancer, with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. In fact, there are few centers in Florida equipped with integrated 3D Breast MRI and 3D Breast Ultrasound, in combination with Computer Aided Detection (CAD) Technology, for early breast cancer detection.
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm |
Surging Forward: UCF COM Wraps Banner First Year
Medical students in the charter class of the University of Central Florida (UCF ) College of Medicine definitely made a difference to the community—local and international—during their first year of school.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Healthcare Reform Boosts Primary Care
Reimbursement Incentives Offered to Ease the Strain
Well, it’s done, and depending on your perspective, the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that sets about reforming America’s health system could be a boon or it could be a bust. For most stakeholders, reality is somewhere in the middle.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Fostering an Epidemic of Skin Cancer
Dermatologists Take Aim at Indoor Tanning
On an average day in America, more than 1 million people visit an indoor tanning salon. That’s why dermatologists nationwide have declared war on the practice, which research overwhelmingly has shown causes cancer.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Playing Well With Others
Building Strong Relationships in an Evolving Environment
In theory, hospital administrators, physicians and nurses are all on the same team with the same ultimate goal — delivering the highest quality of patient care possible. In practice, those relationships are easily strained as fiscal realities, misaligned objectives and strong personalities are factored into the equation.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Hospitals Opposed Cap on Inmate Charges
Florida Hospital and Orlando Health Have Agreements with Local Counties
Just as the expense of healthcare services are crippling the rest of the American economy, so too have counties felt the pinch – arguably more so – when paying the hospital bills for jail inmates.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Insurers Push Back Against Medical Loss Requirements
Attempting to Redefine Quality Improvement, Insurers Hope to Loosen New Spending Rules
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said he would ask the federal government for a waiver or a reasonable definition of medical expenses before it imposes a minimum medical loss ratio requirement on health insurers beginning next year.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Straight Talk About selecting Medical/Dental Office Space
Locating your professional office is an important step in determining the success of your practice. Rather than sending you out on the road to LWDA (Look while driving around), let me quickly guide you through some important site selection criteria.
FRANK RICCI - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Treating Advanced Benign Gynecologic Conditions
AMISGS Teaches Advanced Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgical Techniques
A new program at Florida Hospital Orlando teaches advanced minimally invasive gynecologic surgical techniques for the treatment of advanced benign gynecologic conditions to medical students, residents and fellows.
JULIO GONZALEZ, MD, with LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Medical Missionaries
Four first-year medical students from the UCF College of Medicine traveled to Haiti over spring break in April to help provide medical care to residents of the island nation devastated by the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
MedWAR Adventures
UCF College of Medicine students competed in the 10th annual Southeast Regional MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race) held earlier this year in Fort Gordan, Ga.
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Pressure Mounts to Reduce Infections
Creator of Program to End BSIs Says Providers Should be Doing More
More than 30,000 Americans die each year from completely preventable blood stream infections acquired at hospitals. In Florida, 22 intensive care units have reduced the incidents of those infections to zero, according to the Florida Hospital Association.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How Not to Let a Patient's Deductible Deduct from your Pocketbook
When a patient comes to your office for service and is fortunate enough to have insurance, there usually is a deductible that must be met before the insurance company starts paying for submitted claims.
The patient is responsible for this deductible. This amount is extremely high in some cases.
Therefore, some patients are going to do what they can to get around paying their deductible while seeking medical care.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
To Roth or Not to Roth, That is the Question
New Roth conversion calculators are showing up every day since income limitations have been lifted for high earners this year with a “one time special offer” to spread the tax bite of conversion out over two years. If you use one of these, don’t say I didn’t warn you about how misleading the results might be. Like any program, the output is only as good as the input, and some of those inputs are the assumptions the program uses in the analysis. These assumptions about the future (which is of course uncertain) can wildly skew the answer and make the Roth look artificially attractive.
AUDREY WEHR JONES, CFP® - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Kissimmee – St. Cloud Region: Osceola Regional Medical Center: A Comprehensive Medical Resource for Central Florida
Since the opening of its new building in 1997, Osceola Regional Medical Center has come into its own. After a subsequent $55+ million expansion in 2004, the Joint Commission accredited facility further expanded its service lines and invested in state-of–the-art technology never before available in Osceola County. It's all part of a plan to create a comprehensive, cutting edge medical facility for this growing region. The following highlights illustrate the hospital's commitment to serving Central Florida.
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Practice Manager, Who’s On Your Team?
Now that healthcare reform is hitting your practice squarely in the eyes, it is important to realize as a practice administrator or manager the importance of everyone in your medical circle. In other words, now is the time to call upon all resources within and around your practice to promote teamwork for success. This requires that you become aware of the existing team of resources you have available to you and your practice and utilize them.
REBECCA MOREHEAD - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Miniaturized Probe Helps Provide More Critical Cardiac Function
ImaCor, Inc. (Uniondale, NY) has recently introduced a new device that will assist in the management of hemodynamically unstable patients in the ICU and perioperative situations. The ClariTEE™ probe is a miniaturized, disposable transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) monitoring probe that can be used in the assessment and management of cardiac function, intravascular volume status, and the presence of tamponade.
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Michael Alan Karr, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon, Orthopaedic Associates-Osceola
KISSIMMEE—Michael Karr, MD, had planned to have a military career like his Marine dad, Lloyd, but hit a snag during the application process to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 pm |
Compassionate Mission
Florida Hospital Launches Central Florida’s Only Heart Transplant Program
It was a natural next step.
Florida Hospital already had the well-renowned Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute in place, a 40-year old establishment with more than 100 Florida Hospital cardiologists treating nearly 35,000 patients suffering from chest pain annually. Cardiovascular surgeons perform some 1,600 cardiac procedures every year.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
What’s Next for Physician Group Managers?
Central Florida MGMA President Barbara Forgione Talks about How Healthcare Reform will Impact Group Practices
No matter what they think of the bill Congress passed to reform healthcare, physicians face enormous challenges in the decade to come.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Orlando Physicians Split on Reform
President Obama may have signed the healthcare reform bill into law, but the Florida Medical Association is not letting up in its opposition, and neither are many Orlando-area physicians.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Running Strong
Orange County Healthcare Professional and Advocate Pete Clarke Running for Commissioner Seat
Growing up in the Conway area, Pete Clarke did odd jobs to finance his hobbies—and college education—mowing yards, pressure-washing roofs, working the Sears’ holiday lay-away, pin-setting machines at the local bowling alley, unloading box cars, and even installing acoustical tiles.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Following Their Heart
World-Class Physicians Relocate to Orlando to Initiate Florida Hospital’s Heart Transplant Program
The paths of the two world-class physicians that Florida Hospital recruited to lead the heart transplant program at the Florida Hospital Transplant Center had never crossed. Their backgrounds were decidedly different. But it didn’t take long for cardiologist Barbara Czerska, MD, and transplant surgeon Lawrence McBride, MD, to collaborate seamlessly in their common goal to launch Central Florida’s only heart transplant program.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Michael Messieh, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon, Messieh Orthopedics
CLERMONT—When Michael Messieh, MD, was growing up in New Brunswick, Canada, a fishing village of 1,500 residents located on the Atlantic coastline, the small-town boy dreamed of becoming a doctor and practicing medicine in a much warmer climate.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Breaking Through the OR Glass Ceiling
Women Making Strides in Pursuit of Surgery
When interviewing for postgraduate residency positions soon after giving birth to her third child, Sharona Ross, MD, was very hesitant to bring up the subject of children. She was concerned that divulging having an infant and two small children at home would hinder her chances for a career in surgery.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Before the Breathin' Air is Gone
Luring Physicians "Out in the Country"
Grady, S.C., was one of the lucky rural communities. Unfortunately, it was fictional.
In the 1991 film "Doc Hollywood" with Michael J. Fox, the Porsche Speedster of hotshot plastic surgeon Benjamin Stone breaks down in Grady, and the charms of the community, its people and one woman in particular entice the young physician to hang his family-practice shingle in the rural Southeast.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Breast Cancer – Best Chances for Cure
May is Women’s Health month and serves as a reminder for screening, prevention, and early detection of breast cancer, which is the most common type of cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, followed only by lung cancer.
Posted: Monday, May 17, 2010 2:07 pm |
Marketing Your Practice: "So, what’s your story?"
I ask you this most crucial question because marketing your practice is all about telling your story to the general public and to those all-important referring physicians. Is your current marketing effectively telling your story well enough to drive traffic through your front door?
ERIN SOMERS - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:34 am |
Orange County Punch
Commissioner Candidate Jennifer Thompson Spies Potential for Medical Economy
When Jennifer Thompson was growing up, she could have easily made a misstep that would have dramatically altered her career path.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Survival Guide to Health-System Reform
Where Do Providers Focus Their Attention First?
The massive health-system reform legislation dubbed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is law, enacting the most sweeping changes in America’s health system since Medicare. Experts say now is the time providers should take a deep, cleansing breath, then jump into action with short-term strategies that could pay off down the road.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Prosumer-Friendly
Practice Manager Applies High-Tech Tools to Foster High-Touch Orthopaedic Practice
Since relocating to Central Florida in October 2008, Jeanetta Lawrence has helped usher in the high-tech age at Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic in a manner embraced by "prosumers"— patients who are proactive consumers and expect increased accountability, accessibility, availability and accommodation—while also boosting the bottom line.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: Asking the Right Questions Will Impact Your Bottom Line
When a scheduled patient walks into your office, staff members should already know whether or not this patient has the right coverage for their visit.
Your office staff should have already completed every task necessary to know this patient’s eligibility by verifying coverage and asking the right questions that will result in the knowing the details of the coverage. Being ignorant of your patient’s coverage can lead to shortchanging yourself for services rendered, which will not cover your overhead, or to overcharging your patients, which will set up a red flag with insurance carriers, eventually resulting in an audit.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
E-Push Back: AMA, MGMA Weigh In on "Meaningful Use" Criteria
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the national Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) recently weighed in on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule outlining the "meaningful use" criteria for the federal electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Orange County Medical Society
MAITLAND, FL – The Orange County Medical Society hosted its Spring Quarterly Meeting on March 10, 2010, at the University Club of Orlando. The dinner meeting featured a CME program entitled "Smoking Cessation – Butt-Kicking Brain Biology" presented by Leslie M. Beitsch, MD, JD, Associate Dean for Health Affairs and Professor of Family Medicine and Rural Health at the FSU College of Medicine in Tallahassee.
Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Florida Hospital Unveils New Surgery Center
Outpatient Facility Meets East Orlando Community Needs
To better serve the East Orlando community with outpatient procedures, Florida Hospital recently opened the new, high-tech Florida Hospital Surgery Center.
Located on the Florida Hospital East Orlando campus near Chickasaw Trail, “the 13,500-square-foot facility provides patients and physicians advanced technological equipment
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Rethinking Your Office Investment!
Most physicians have at least one critically important asset that significantly impacts the amount of income they earn every year. They “invest” in this asset with a check monthly for as long as they continue to practice medicine yet it is one of the least understood assets in a physician's investment portfolio. What is it? The answer of course is your medical office.
Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
High Vacancies Drive Medical Office Bargains
Buyer’s Market Makes it Time to Negotiate a New Lease for Your Office
High vacancy rates for medical office space in much of Central Florida has opened the door for sweetheart deals on new leases, but loans for outfitting and improving space are still hard to come by, say realtors and investors familiar with the market.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Fibromyalgia: A Disease Without a Medical Home
"Ideally, It Would Be Neurology," Expert Says
Rae Marie Gleason, executive director of the National Fibromyalgia Association, said the tendency still exists among physicians to view fibromyalgia as “an illness of whining women who really could get better if they just wanted to.” Yet, Gleason’s job gets easier every day, as an abundance of research ties those patients’ complaints to brain activity – or lack thereof.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: James E. Oglesby, MD
Solo Practitioner, General Surgeon
KISSIMMEE—Jim Oglesby, MD, is so well known in Central Florida circles, his patients affectionately call him "Dr. O."
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:27 am |
Embracing Kissimmee
Sta. Ana Joins Orlando Medical Community as Sole Colon/Rectal Surgeon
KISSIMMEE—Seven weeks after giving birth to her first child, Lucrecia T. Sta. Ana was back at work at Osceola Surgical Associates in Kissimmee, hitting the ground running as the metro area’s only colon and rectal surgeon. On her plate: a healthy caseload, plus writing assignments about the latest advances in colorectal surgery in time for March, Colon and Rectal Awareness Month (see Trusted Advisor in this month’s edition).
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Monday, March 15, 2010 11:23 am |
Hands Helping Haitians
Orlando Internist Leads Mission Efforts to Battered Country
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS—When Ralph Gousse, MD, learned about the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated his native country of Haiti, he was understandably shaken. Through his Orlando-based non-profit charitable foundation, Haiti Help Med Plus, Gousse has been bringing medical care to Haitians living in the back country of Miragoane and Paillant for years, in an area of the country located about 60 miles west of Port-au-Prince, the epicenter of the earthquake.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
FHA Readies 2010 Legislative Strategy
Hospitals Want Medicaid Changes and Federal Funding
Heading into the 2010 Florida legislative session in March, the priorities of the state’s hospitals are not unlike the top priorities of most Americans these days: They need money.
DAVID ROSENFELD - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Orlando Physician Enters Federal Race
Anesthesiologist Ken Miller Wants to Wake Up Congress
This fall, Ken Miller, MD, will vie for the Florida 8th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
So far, Miller is the only medical doctor on the ballot for a federal race in Florida in 2010. If Miller wins the Aug. 24 primary election, he will likely face incumbent Alan Grayson, a trial lawyer from Orlando.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: Routine Coding Made Easy
While medical billing is a time-consuming occupation that requires razor-sharp skill, the concept is quite simple. Tell your medical biller what you, the physician, did for the patient and why. When done correctly, payments for services rendered should be right around the corner. Because medical billers like us are not able to accompany you on every patient visit, we completely rely on the physician to provide the details. As a result, your input is vital in getting you paid on a timely, regular basis, provided that the medical biller is putting in your claims properly and on time.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
A Successful H1N1 Vaccination Campaign in Seminole County
As the H1N1 vaccination campaign comes to an end for this season, the Seminole County Health Department can declare this first time effort a highly successful coordinated effort spreading the message to hundreds of thousands across the region and administering close to 40,000 inoculations.
Seminole County Health Department - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
It’s Over Move On
The recent activity in Congress to enact healthcare reform is probably dead. Senate majority leader Harry Reid said recently, "We’re not on healthcare right now." Even Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, "It’s a time out." Basically President Obama’s attempt to rework the U.S. healthcare system is dead in the water.
SHANNON HERRING - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Lease vs. Own – A Physician’s Guide to Occupancy Choices
The decision to own versus lease your office can have a significant impact on your business. For newly established practices that lack sufficient capital to purchase their space, the decision to lease is obvious. For most practices however, the choice isn’t as clear. Let’s first take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of ownership.
BENNET SEBASTIAN - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
The Transformation of Healthcare, One Practice at a Time
The costs of healthcare impose an enormous burden on the nation’s economy. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected that annual healthcare expenditures in the United States are expected to reach $3.1 trillion by 2012, growing at an average annual rate of 7.3 percent during the forecast period or 17.7 percent of gross domestic product, up from 14.1 percent in mid-2009.
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Orange County Medical Society
OCMS Wants You!
Would you like to be more involved with organized medicine? Serving on one of our committees is a great way to start. If you are interested in serving on any of the following committees, contact the OCMS office at (407) 622-8188 or e-mail Lane Mahood, Executive Director, at lmahood@ocms.org.
LANE MAHOOD - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Ralph Gousse, MD
Internist, Florida Hematology & Oncology; Founder, Haiti Help Med
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS—Ralph Gousse grew up in a town in southern Haiti, 60 miles from Port-au-Prince that supported a bauxite mine for Reynolds Aluminum. His dad was in charge of maintenance for the trucks routing daily from the mountains to the docks, while his mom worked in an administrative role.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Well Represented
Orlando Medical Consultant Jennifer Wilkes Parlays Multi-Tasking Roles into National Leadership Post
Orlando medical consultant Jennifer Wilkes, CPM, joined Physician Office Managers Association of America (POMAA) as soon as it formed, and quickly advanced to a leadership position as national association director. The Orlando Medical News visited with Wilkes about her role, hot-button issues practice managers face locally and nationally, and what healthcare providers need to know before making short-term decisions that could affect long-term earnings.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Disruptive Behavior is Bad for Patients
Survey Reveals Troubling Conduct in the Healthcare Environment
Being a good member of a team means playing well with others, but a recent survey by the American College of Physician Executives reveals that disruptive behavior by professional members of healthcare teams compromises patient safety, undermines cooperation and makes going to work a miserable experience.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Greening Your Practice Will Save Green
Environmentally Friendly Operations Benefit Budget, Employees and Patients
When the University of Florida in Gainesville built its new freestanding Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute five years ago, the practice made the decision to be eco-friendly. It was a good move, both for environmental sustainability and for the practice’s pocketbook, says the institute’s administrator, Leslie Jebson.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Mapping Out a Plan of Attack
The Cancer Genome Atlas Provides Repository for Data, Discoveries
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a comprehensive effort to create a data repository for the discoveries and findings of more than 150 of the nation’s top researchers who are working in concert on specific cancer types. These scientists, who are based out of more than two dozen renowned institutions, are systematically mapping genomic changes to create a cancer atlas accessible to all who are searching for better methods to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Making Headway in Brain Cancer
TCGA Data Generates New Findings for Glioblastoma Multiforme
Through the work of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), researchers have confirmed the most common form of malignant brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), isn’t one disease as once believed but is, instead, four distinct molecular subtypes.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Trusted Advisors: Best Chances for Colorectal Cancer Cures
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month and serves as a reminder for screening, prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The death rate from colorectal cancer (CRC) has been decreasing for many years, with increased and more effective screening methods being one of the leading catalysts behind the decline. Early detection also allows for improved treatment regimens, making it easier to eliminate the cancer at its earliest stages.
Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Trusted Advisors: March is Colorectal Cancer awareness month.
March is colorectal cancer awareness month which allows us to reflect on the advances in prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States and the second most common cause of cancer related deaths. Approximately 6% of the population will eventually develop colorectal cancer. The overall mortality continues to decrease because of our advanced treatments, yet the overall incidence has remained stable since the 1990s.
Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:03 pm |
Back in Session
FMA Preps for 2010 Legislative Agenda
TALLAHASSEE—Fresh from significant legislative victories in the Florida Legislature’s 2009 session—most notably the controversial Assignment of Benefits bill approved by the governor last June—the Florida Medical Association (FMA) is preparing for challenges in the 2010 session.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
A+: Med Students Grade UCF College of Medicine after First Semester
With the first semester under their belts and the second semester underway at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine, students of the inaugural class are giving the school an enthusiastic thumbs up.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Burnham Team Focuses on Orexin
Hormone Impacts Obesity, Diabetes and Cancer
Devanjan Sikder was studying how metabolism impacts sleep and weight control when he stumbled across some very interesting research involving orexin.
Sikder began investigating how orexin—a hypothalamic neuropeptide—regulates metabolism, sleep patterns and feeding behavior, and the role that hunger plays in the regulation of fat metabolism and insulin secretion.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Marketing 101 for Docs
Sometime in recent memory, I’m not exactly sure when, physicians discovered that they actually needed to market themselves lest they let new business in the form of patients fall into the hands of competing practices.
At least some did.
BUD BREWER - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
RX for the BOTTOM LINE: Choosing the Right Branch Boosts Bottom Line
In a slowing economy, medical practices may reduce their operating expenses by delegating a portion of essential functions to an infrastructure that will result in lower costs and higher revenue—an infrastructure that can be seen as an extension of your practice.
That infrastructure is an organization with your best interest at heart, one whose bottom line is tied to your success.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Macular Degeneration: The Loss of Central Vision
Macular degeneration also known as ARMD, is the leading cause of vision loss among patients who are 65 and older. ARMD is degeneration of the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read, drive and recognize faces. The blurred vision is central and does not affect side vision, so it does not lead to complete blindness.
MONT JAY CARTWRIGHT, MD - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Actively Decreasing Infant Mortality in Seminole County
In response to rising infant mortality rates, the Seminole County Health Department (SCHD) has embarked on a new strategy of providing comprehensive prenatal care for county residents. The system that had been in place since the late 1980s only provided care to the uninsured and Medicaid pregnant women for the first 26 weeks at the health department. Then patients were referred to local doctors who provided the final stages of care, delivery and the post-partum visit.
Seminole County Health Department - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Patricia A. Guerrero, MD, FACC
ORLANDO —Born in New Orleans, Patricia Adriana Guerrero, MD, moved with her family to Cartagena, Colombia when she was an adolescent. It was at this same period that she became fascinated with fitness.
"Since my teenage years, I’ve been passionate about nutrition and the effects of exercise in the prevention of diseases and the prolongation of good health," said Guerrero, a partner with Florida Heart Group.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Earn a 7% Guaranteed Rate of Return While NEVER Running out of Money in Retirement
How would you like a 7% annually guaranteed rate of return in on some of your invested money?
How well has your portfolio done over the last 5-10 years? Would you have been happy with an annual return of 7%? Most would say absolutely yes.
What about a Guaranteed Income Benefit (GIB) in retirement?
Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Pain Medicine-a Primer
The American Board of Pain Medicine defines the specialty of Pain Medicine as “a discipline within the field of medicine that is concerned with the prevention of pain, and the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of persons in pain.” The Pain Medicine physician, or algiatrist, treats conditions in which patients may have pain and associated symptoms arising from a discrete cause, such as postoperative pain or pain associated with a malignancy. Alternatively, the pain specialist sees patients in which pain constitutes the primary problem, such as neuropathic pains or headaches.
Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
RAC ‘n’ Roll
Recovery Audit Contracting Rolled Out Nationwide
After several years of anticipation, the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program was set for nationwide rollout last month. Despite the notice, many Medicare providers still are not adequately prepared to respond to a request for records.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
Mayo Clinic Software Answers Cardiology’s HIT Need
Kardia Health Brings Technology to the Market
With cardiologists spread thin and reimbursements for their services declining, the key to survival is improved efficiency. That’s according to Doug Marinaro, the chief operating officer of Minnesota-based Kardia Health Systems. The three-year-old company is working to put cardiology-focused health information technology developed by the renowned Mayo Clinic into the hands of providers.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 9:42 am |
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