Physician's Practice - November 2008 - (Page 5)

WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM • VOLUME 18 • NUMBER 10 NOVEMBER 2008 CONTENTS FEATURES 26 COVER STORY Finding Lost Revenue: The Search for Billing and Coding Gold We go beyond Billing 101 to show you the advanced techniques and little-known secrets for collecting every nickel, dime, and Spanish doubloon you’re owed. Ahoy, matey — your well-earned treasure is in sight. Plus: Are you sure you’re billing for every service you’re performing? It’s hard to collect when you don’t even know what you can charge for. CME FEATURES 38 FINANCE Getting More: Our Annual Physician Compensation Survey There’s encouraging news in our third annual Physician Compensation Survey: primary-care docs are seeing their incomes tick upward — on average. That’s great. But where do you stack up? 67 THE LAW Third-Party Audits on the Rise More payers — and even some employers — are hiring third parties to conduct chart audits on their behalf. Is this legal? What should you do if you receive such a request? 71 57 TECHNOLOGY HR in a Box? Managing human resources is one of the most important — and most daunting — of all your practice’s nonclinical tasks. Here’s our look at the software, some of it available off-the-shelf, that can help make it easier. THE GREAT PRACTICE MAKEOVER Branding the Cash-Only Practice It’s important for every practice to have an identiﬁable brand — but when the practice is trying to attract a cadre of cash-paying patients, an identity is key to survival. COVER ILLUSTRATION: KARINE DAISAY 75 IN PRACTICE Intra-Ofﬁce Tug-of-Wars Front and back ofﬁces are at war with one another in many practices, with each side accusing the other of “not getting” what they do. Here’s how to get everyone on the same side. 79 ADVOCACY Stickin‘ Up For Yourself Can you afford to spend time, effort, and money advocating on your own behalf with state and local lawmakers? You can’t afford not to. PERSPECTIVES 12 LETTERS We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts at editor@physicianspractice.com. 20 NOTEWORTHY Tony Soprano wants your records … Bloody fast … Fish feetish http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physician's Practice - November 2008

Physician's Practice - November 2008 Contents Death of Solo Practice Just a Myth Letters HSAy What? Noteworthy Finding Lost Revenue: The Search for Billing and Coding Gold Getting More: Our Annual Physician Compensation Survey ’Tis the Season to be Neutral Ask the Experts Evaluating Paperless Labs HR in a Box? The Guide Coding Third-Party Audits on the Rise Branding the Cash-Only Practice Intra-Office Tug-of-Wars Stickin‘ Up For Yourself Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physician's Practice - November 2008

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