Healthcare systems have a message for physicians: We want you!

Six national healthcare organizations issued an updated "how-to" guide for healthcare professionals transitioning from paper to e-prescribing systems in April.

Nearly half of the requirements for meeting the objectives of meaningful use are hidden, and you'll never meet the goal if you don't know where to look, cautions one analyst.

Physician groups are beginning to hire again, according to the AMGA's 2010 ­Physician Retention Survey.

Physicians are participating in Medicare pay-for-reporting programs in growing numbers, according to the 2009 Physician Quality Reporting System and e-Prescribing Experience Report from CMS. More than 119,800 physicians and other eligible professionals received incentive payments totaling more than $234 million in 2009-well above the $92.4 million and $36 million paid in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Under the e-prescribing incentive program, CMS paid $148 million to 48,354 physicians and other eligible professionals in 2009, the first payment year for that program.

The latest social media gaffe by the healthcare industry comes from Rhode Island, where a physician was fined $500 in April for posting information about her experiences at work. The 48-year-old ED physician also had her privileges terminated at Westerly Hospital. The board determined that she had "used her Facebook account inappropriately to communicate a few of her clinical experiences at the hospital's emergency department."

The two sections of the Bloodborne Pathogens standard that make it unique among OSHA regulations also cause a lot of confusion with employers trying to stay in compliance.

On-call compensation for physicians is growing, a MGMA survey shows. Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation ­Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data shows that more providers who said they get on-call compensation were more likely to be compensated either daily or annually than in years past.