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FEATURES

Strategies for Expanding Your Patient Base in Diverse Communities

George Rust, Harry Strothers

Diversification can help your practice thrive — and deepen your humanity.

Off the Charts: Teaching Students in Compliance With HCFA Guidelines

Kathryn G. Chappelle, Shawn H. Blanchard, Miguel F. Ramirez-Williams, Scott A. Fields

Play it safe when documenting E/M services: Keep your medical students' documentation out of patient chart notes.

Readers Speak Out on Family Physicians' Scope of Practice

Is the scope of family practice narrowing? See how your colleagues answer this question.

As Good As It Could Get: Remaking the Medical Practice

Charles M. Kilo, Scott Endsley

A national initiative may forever change the way medical practices operate. Isn't it about time?

EDITOR'S PAGE

The Revolution Has Begun

Robert L. Edsall

The Idealized Design of Clinical Office Practices (IDCOP) initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has attracted a great deal of attention recently, and deservedly so. It is one of the most ambitious quality improvement projects in medicine. It seeks ...

EDITORIAL

Building for Tomorrow: The Idealized Design of Clinical Office Practices

Bruce Bagley

Are you frustrated by the current chaos of your office systems? Are your patients complaining about the telephone service, about having to wait days and weeks for an appointment and then having to wait more after they arrive at the office?

LETTERS

The future of family medicine

Charles A. Cefalu

A word of thanks

Kurt C. Stange

Practice Diary

H. Wm. Bardenwerper

Reducing medical errors

William S. Davis

Standardized admit orders

GETTING PAID

A Bonus Deal From Medicare

Kent J. Moore

Depending on where you provide services, you may be entitled to take advantage of HCFA's 10 percent incentive payment program.

CODING & DOCUMENTATION

Coding and Documentation

Kent J. Moore

Follow-up visits | Alternative modifiers | Inconclusive diagnoses | Inpatient for a day | Complementary medicine | Subsequent hospital care

MONITOR

Monitor

Physicians sidestep health plan rules to help patients receive care | What are you paying your office manager? | HMO accused of using flawed data for reimbursements | Patients may not be revealing drug complications | Physician computer use | Disintegration | Patients' rights...

IMPROVING PATIENT CARE

Understanding the Risks of Medical Interventions

Eric Henley

Three simple calculations will help you decide whether a treatment will truly benefit your patient.

PRACTICE DIARY

Practice Diary

Sanford J. Brown

Carl | The last straw | Juggling act

ASK FPM

Ask FPM

Kent J. Moore, Denise L. Sanders, Donald F. Burke

RVU scales | Counseling and Stark | Workplace violence

SALARIED FP

Assessing Benefits Packages

Jeffrey B. Sansweet

There are certain benefits every job offer should include. If you don't know what they are, you should.

BALANCING ACT

Grieving the Death of a Patient

C. Carolyn Thiedke

Acknowledging the pain of a loss is often healthier than trying to remain objective.



Disclosure

All editors and editorial advisory board members in a position to control content for this activity, FPM journal, are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships. View disclosures.



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