After being president and CEO of MGMA for 12 years, William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, stepped down in October 2011, which has given him the chance to spend more time examining the landscape of physician and hospital integration.

HHS has put physician practices on notice that it will be taking a close look at billing under Medicare's "incident-to" billing rules this year, so now is a good time to review how you use this option.

Starting with the next edition of The Joint Commission's Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals (to be published this spring), The Joint Commission will change the term "disruptive behavior" to "behaviors that undermine a culture of safety." The accrediting agency is making the change to its terminology in LD.03.01.01, elements of performance (EP) 4 and 5, to clear up any ambiguity that the term "disruptive behavior" might cause and to better reflect the intent of the standard.

Oncology clinics traditionally house some of the most vulnerable patients when it comes to contracting dangerous infections, further compounding the already debilitating effects of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. Because of this, it's doubly important that oncology clinics have a plan in place to protect their patient population.

Of course doctors are stressed, not only from the nature of the job-saving lives-but also due to the evolving nature of healthcare reform, mulling whether to get out of the business, and considering whether to realign themselves with hospitals. In addition, there's a constant worry about malpractice litigation.

In January, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a sixth edition of its ethics manual, the first rewrite since 2005. The revised manual, published in ACP's flagship journal Annals of Internal Medicine, offers new guidance on issues such as end-of-life care, physician-industry relations, and ethics in medical research.