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11.13.14
Ten Tips for Negotiating Physician Employment Agreements
Until they become partner-owners, most physicians have an employment relationship with their physician group. When it is time to negotiate or renegotiate an employment contract, there are critical issues that must be understood and settled.
10.29.14
The Pros and Cons of Leaving Insurers’ Provider Panels
More and more physicians are examining whether they should remain on an insurance company’s provider panel. They are opting instead to become out-of-network providers for the same insurer, which can help avoid billing and payment headaches that come with health plan relationships, and may lead to higher reimbursement rates. But, as this blog explains, there are risks to consider as well.
09.16.14
Protect Your Practice — Buy-Sell Agreements Minimize Disputes
In the wake of health care reform, it may be advisable to hire more physicians to help with the workload. If these physicians intend to take an ownership share of the practice, it is important to make sure each one signs a buy-sell agreement. This blog addresses such issues as defining and appraising the practice’s assets, dividing practice income among partners, practice control issues and other considerations.
08.18.14
Group Medical Visits… Still a Viable Option
Group medical visits have been a well-established offering of many practices for years. And there is a reason why: Both doctor and patients can gain many benefits simply from listening to each other. This blog describes some of those benefits, while noting some caveats to look out for.
07.16.14
Want to Join a Bundled Payment Network?
In January 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the health care organizations selected to participate in its three-year Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. This article discusses differences between the four models of care and notes the importance of planning ahead for operating under such arrangements.
06.11.14
Not Satisfied With the Information You Need: An Electronic Dashboard Can Help Clarify the Numbers
Electronic dashboards can help practices better understand their financial standing. This article discusses how to prepare to implement a dashboard by understanding the needed features and assessing the costs.
05.14.14
Use of Templates to Monitor Financial Performance
To help owners and managers make effective management decisions, they must have access to comparative information about their finances. Report templates can help aggregate key data to monitor financial performance. Templates can condense, organize and present critical data in a format that facilitates practice operations and management decisions.
04.29.14
How to Benchmark NPPs in Your Practice
Using nonphysician providers (NPPs) can be an effective way for practices to prepare for the expected influx of 30 million new patients receiving health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s new Health Insurance Marketplaces and expanded Medicaid programs.
03.11.14
Harnessing Best Practices in Claim Denial Management
Claim denials are a huge financial drain on physician practices. If nothing is done to reverse a denial, the revenue that it represents is lost to the practice. Fortunately, there are some best practices that can help manage claims denied by payers. This article discusses how to keep a claim “clean” in the first place, how to respond to a claim denial and how to prevent future denials. A Sidebar looks at analyzing data to reveal the root causes of denials.
02.12.14
Clinical Co-Management 101
As reimbursement is changing to reward for value and quality of care, hospitals and physicians have found themselves being incentivized to become more closely aligned. Clinical Co-Management is an arrangement to recognize and reward medical groups or physicians for these efforts. This article notes the most common method to setup co-management arrangement, along with several hurdles that must be considered.