If you go to a Boston Red Sox game dressed from head to toe in New York Yankees paraphernalia, you'd better expect to suffer some verbal abuse as a result. However, for some employees, this unwelcome ballpark behavior has crept into the workplace. Whether it's between physicians and nurses, nurses and staff, or physicians and staff, verbal abuse can create a toxic and uncomfortable environment for everyone. If you've heard evidence of verbal abuse in your office, consider the following tips that will help you put an end to the behavior and keep your group all on the same team

A whopping 98% of consumers believe that doctors and healthcare organizations have a responsibility to protect patient medical records and private information, but only 40% of consumers feel confident that healthcare providers are able to secure such information, according to a recent survey by EpicTide, a compliance and information security company. The survey also revealed that 99% of consumers believe that healthcare providers have a legal responsibility to alert patients if they suspect that patient records have been compromised without consent, but only 30% believe healthcare providers are diligent about doing so.

Using the CPT codes 99211 and 99201 appropriately will help to ensure that all Level l services are captured and billed. However, the codes, which deal with office or outpatient visits for established and new patients, have distinctively different parameters and must be documented and billed according to the guidelines of each code. As a result, many coders struggle with when and how to report them. Also of particular confusion to many coders is the billing of timed codes and the use of certain modifiers. The information below should help to capture all services rendered and billed not only for codes 99211 and 99201, but also for timed codes, and modifiers -76 and -77 while staying within compliance guidelines.

Two decisions recently issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) significantly alter the supervisory status of healthcare employees. The decisions serve to reclassify whether certain employees qualify for union membership under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which specifically excludes from entitlement those employees categorized as "supervisors." "[The NLRB is] not changing the definition of supervisor. They're just looking at it more carefully and trying to clarify what it really means," says Mary Theresa Metzler, an attorney with Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, in Pittsburgh, and a former attorney for the Pittsburgh division of the NLRB.

One of Nintendo's best-selling video games of 2006 wasBrain Age. Designed for the Nintendo DS system, Brain Age is a single-player game that purports to "train your brain in minutes a day," based on the scientific evidence of neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima. Kawashima found that certain activities, such as puzzles, logic games, and reading exercises, stimulate a player's brain and strengthen overall acuity. The activities also improve function-much like lifting weights would strengthen any other of your muscles-staving off the effects of aging, according to the Nintendo Web site.