To the Editor:

I want to express my deep appreciation for each issue of Family Practice Management. I recently took a leap of faith and opened a solo practice on Dec. 3, 2001. I experienced compassion fatigue [“Overcoming Compassion Fatigue,” April 2000, page 39] and have also experienced health care from the patient's point of view because of my own near death from septic shock. I am drawing on all of my experiences – good and bad – and hopefully will have a practice that offers an exemplary level of care, compassion and consideration.

I am going through all of last year's issues of FPM. After I read them (and complete the CME quizzes), I pass them on to my husband (my office manager) and then to my receptionist. Coding information has been my priority. I have gleaned so many valuable pearls for maximizing my revenue. I plan to use the concepts of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Idealized Design of Clinical Office Practices [“As Good As It Could Get: Remaking the Medical Practice,” May 2000, page 48] in drafting my mission statement. We are using the open-access appointment system [“Same-Day Appointments: Exploding the Access Paradigm,” September 2000, page 45]. I know my success will be built on what I learn from FPM and other resources.