Percentage-based arrangements get top billing from OIG Large physician practices have a veritable phalanx of staff to attend to every facet of patient care, from appointment-making to medical coding and billing. Doctors at these practices can feel safe knowing that all the workings of their practices are accounted for and maintained under one roof.

Eight simple rules for writing a letter of reference Second in a two-part series. Emily Post can tell you how to write a proper thank-you letter, but reference letters-which can significantly affect career prospects-are a different beast entirely. Poorly written letters can give away confidential information or exhibit either an overly positive or negative bias. They can expose the ex-employer who wrote them to embarrassment or even litigation if the letters' contents are inappropriate.

Gain DME-provider status to increase practice revenue You may be used to providing your patients with durable medical equipment (DME) in limited quantities, taking a loss on supplies you can't bill for while watching patients head to specialty distributors for additional products. But by investing some resources and effort into becoming a certified DME provider, that could all change.

Insurance claims: Provisions for the new provider By Barbara Eberly Whether you have an established provider taking some time off or a new provider not fully credentialed with insurance carriers, insurance claims pose a complex and potentially costly problem: Whose name should you place on the form? You don't want your providers to worry about losing patients or income, or about fraud charges because of an incorrect name reported on an insurance claim form. So be sure that you know what each carrier requires for the various scenarios you may face.

Malpractice costs: Share and share alike Group practices can benefit from shared-limit policies Malpractice crisis or not, it's highly unlikely that your group practice of 10 physicians will run up a $30 million malpractice bill each year. But that's how much insurance the average group purchases if the 10 physicians in question each opt for conventional, individual, $1 million per claim/$3 million aggregate insurance policies.

Reality check: Doctors look at reality TV's portrayal of plastic surgery Turn on the television these days and on one channel you're likely to see someone getting liposuctioned, lifted, and tucked. Change the station, and you may watch someone else being trimmed or implanted. Personal improvement reality programs such as ABC's Extreme Makeover, FOX's The Swan, and cable shows such as Dr. 90210 and I Want a Famous Face have recently exploded in popularity. An essential element of these transformation tales is the willingness of ordinary Americans to undergo substantial cosmetic surgery.