Your physicians are not as technophobic as some would have you believe. They just want technology that's easy to use, saves them time, and, above all, enhances their ability to practice medicine. Electronic health records don't always do that. Smartphones, for the most part, do.

TransforMed, a subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians, believes it's the first professional social networking site intended for primary care physicians and all their clinical and office staff.

A sampling of opinions about meaningful use of electronic health records from key physician groups.

Many of your peers are rallying against plans to eliminate consult billing. Various specialists, from allergists to rheumatologists, are lobbying to prevent CMS from going through with the rule change in the proposed 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PBN 7/13/09), according to a review of about 1,000 public comments.

Applying fees to copying records for patients, insurance companies and lawyers will help you offset the cost of toner cartridges, paper and, most importantly, staff time. But don't pick prices out of the air - check your state's law to help set your fees.

Make sure your ultrasound billing is solid after the latest HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit. Expect CMS to take more aggressive steps to detect questionable claims and high utilization of ultrasound services, the OIG says.

Bring your providers and office staff to the table when deciding which Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) measures you'll report next year, providers say. There are three basic questions you need to have answered before going forward.

You are equally likely to see a demand letter from a recovery audit contractor (RAC) for seven recently announced audit targets regardless of your practice size, experts say. Florida practices were the latest to become eligible for RAC review; the state was added to Connolly Healthcare's website on Aug. 18. Take proactive measures now to be ready in case demand letters for any of the approved targets show up (see story, here).

You're looking down the barrel of the first seven, real recovery audit contractor (RAC) targets, but there's no reason to be afraid, experts tell Part B News. Minimize your chances of being audited by taking a few proactive steps, says Stacy Levitt, director of patient care management at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

Show your providers these new instructions for billing facet joint injections from CMS. The injection codes have led to millions of dollars in improper payments and triggered denial rates above 20% per year. The guidance comes from Transmittal 526, a one-time notification effective Aug. 31.