As a new school year begins, some employers grimace at the thought of unexpected employee call outs and the concessions they may have to make until it's summertime again. This is especially the case when employees are caregivers, to either their children or their parents. In order to make sure that your practice is properly staffed but meets most of the emergent needs of your employees, consider the following tips:

Much has changed in the past 50 years-the Dodgers left Brooklyn, Russia went from foe to friend, and Orlando transformed into a tourism capital. But something that physician practices deal with on a daily basis hasn't changed much-the vast majority of physicians still put pen to paper when tracking patients' healthcare. There has been a movement toward a 21st-century solution to patient records, but there are also horror stories that accompany that shift. Physicians hear about electronic medical record (EMR) systems crashing, confusing templates, and awkward and time-consuming patient visits.

Knowing when to bill globally and when to segment a code into the professional component (modifier 26) or the technical component (modifier TC) is crucial in order to properly bill all of the services rendered. When a service is billed globally, the provider is reimbursed for the equipment, supplies, and technical support, as well as the interpretation of the results and the report.

What a practice needs to know about the most prevalent forces in the marketplace People are shopping for healthcare now the way they would a car. They size up what each model offers, the price ranges, the features, how well it fits into their lifestyle, and whether the dealer offers any money back. Practices thus have to become proactive about attracting patients by offering unique service lines and better customer service and being transparent about their prices. One large practice leading the way is the Torrance, CA-based HealthCare Partners Medical Group, whose efforts to increase pricing transparency were recently highlighted in an article in the Los Angeles Times.

Everywhere in healthcare, the push is on to do more in less time. Maybe that's why the popularity of PDAs, BlackBerries, and smartphones has grown exponentially over the past several years. The latest research shows that as many as 65% of your colleagues are using mobile devices to obtain information, schedule patients, prescribe medication, and keep themselves connected to their affiliated hospitals. Are you?