During the last five years, increasing jury awards from malpractice suits have meant one thing: high insurance premiums for physicians. This trend has been responsible for more doctors taking early retirement or quitting the field altogether.

Your practice has to make sure that medical records can be retrieved at a moment's notice even after a flood, fire, or terrorist attack. Not only does this make good business sense, it is now a requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) security rule. Released on February 20, the security rule is set to go into effect in April 2005.

It has long been said that the contract is king. So it is essential that you read and understand your managed care contracts (MCO) before you sign them.

When you have finished reading each section of the contract, you should have the answers to the important questions below. If you don't, it's time to start asking your own questions.

Neuropsychologists on frontlines of assessing special-ed kidsJeremy Foxx is haunted by a life of labeling. But late last year a neuropsychologist discovered that his 22-year-old brain is small on one side. The discovery means the doctor can help the Swampscott, MA, native do daily brain exercises. Life for the socially crippled Foxx finally begins. Health plans are now considering whether to pay for a host of new clinical procedural codes (such as CPT 96150) that should give neuropsychologists more opportunities to tap into brain-behavior relationships to help people like Jeremy.Early

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the HIPAA Model Compliance Extension Form. CMS indicates it will soon allow physician practices to submit the form electronically. Medical practices that need to wait until October 16, 2003, to comply with HIPAA’s transactions and code sets rule must submit a compliance plan to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) by October 16, 2002. The form asks for details on your compliance plans, such as your reason for filing for the extension, your budget to comply, and your HIPAA awareness strategies.Go to w

Doctors charging patients an annual fee for a smorgasbord of health services and access advantages are playing with regulatory fire. State insurance laws and Medicare rules are two potential snags that could trip up your plans to open a so-called concierge practice.MDVIP, a group headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, is luring doctors like internist Michelle Schwatz, MD. She tired of managed care’s assembly line, and MDVIP’s hook made sense: Spend more time with patients and introduce new levels of preventive care. Concierge practices charge patients an annual fee around $1,500

Monitor every decision, handle every issue in employee relationsBy Barbara EberlyEmployee litigation lawsuits are on the rise. Five laws paved the way for this: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. You can avoid legal trouble under these laws through constant employee relations and great documentation.Both are critically important before you hire people, when they work for you, and when they leave. Here are a handful of

Diane Tombarello’s name is in a surgical file somewhere. Orthopedic surgeon Richard Warnock may know where it is. Years ago he scoped the 17-year-old’s knee. Now, as Warnock’s office manager, Tombarello scopes out ways to save her first surgeon some money. Talk about a return on investment: Just last month, she landed an educational reimbursement grant from Pfizer that covered a $150 coding seminar April 10 in Boston.Energized and enthusiastic, Tombarello is also exploring ways to give Warnock’s 23-year-old practice in North Andover, MA, the identity it demands.

You are competing for it, so take control of your accounts receivableAn anesthesia practice in New Jersey won’t make outgoing calls anymore to collect delinquent payments. They wish they could, but managed care has forced them to collect the old-fashion way: mailing late notices. Thing is, roughly 8% of people who are habitually late with medical payments won’t respond to these postal scare tactics. “It’s not a money issue, it’s about their attitude,” says Richard Saari, a “debtor expert” with Savit Enterprises in East Brunswick, NJ.Medic