Editor's note: We asked members of the TDO advisory board and other practice management experts to offer predictions about healthcare trends/issues they expect to see in 2008. Below are their responses.

Editor's note: This is the second story in a two-part series about healthcare insurance alternatives/benefits currently available to office staff members in some areas. Cathy Rigby, CMM, CDC, office manager at Atlantic Dermatology, LLC, in Cocoa Beach, FL, says she was satisfied when her practice provider chose an HSA in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) as the practice's new healthcare offering. "What's good for us is that she pays for it all," Rigby says. "If someone is going to give it to you for free, why not take it?"

Too often, providers overlook front-desk procedures as a tool for protecting their money. Having fundamental frontdesk procedures in place is a vital component to having a claim paid the first time it is submitted to the insurance carrier. Front-desk protocols may include, but are not limited to, checking insurance eligibility and benefits, verifying the primary care physician (PCP), collecting copays and outstanding balances, putting in the charges, and answering the phones.

For years, physicians have shuddered at labels such as "impaired," "disruptive," or "burned out," terms typically used to describe doctors who are suffering from depression, substance addiction, or work stress acute enough for them to consider leaving medicine. As part of their professional tradition and culture, such doctors rarely seek help for their problems or confront a distressed colleague, says Larry Vickman, MD, MHA, FACEP, FACPE, president of physician wellness consultancy The Vickman Group in Tampa, FL. "There's an epidemic of denial," he says. "We continue to make excuses for ourselves and others, but in the end, that's not the way to go."

As discussed in the January PPS, baby boomer physicians are increasingly cutting back their workloads as they approach retirement. Although part-time physicians still offer your practice tremendous value, it's often up to the remaining physicians to pick up the slack. Redistributing a retired or semiretired doctor's patients can be challenging for all parties involved. For starters, physicians seldom give the practice enough notice of their slowdown or departure to plan for a smooth transition, says Neil Baum, MD, a urologist in New Orleans. "It is usually done by the seat of the pants, and then they stamp out forest fires and crises as they occur. As a result, instead of getting 100% of the existing patients staying within the practice, there's a loss sometimes of 50%-60%."