Taking the road to PACS

Milt Wood

Converting to computed radiography: a step-by-step process with inspiring results Southern Bone & Joint Specialists is a 20-physician orthopaedic practice with four offices in southeast Alabama. The physicians see more than 400 patients a day and order approximately 45,000 radiographs each year. The practice more than doubled in size during the past 10 years.

FAQs about the 2009 Practice Management Symposium

Steven E. Fisher

Everything you need to know to get the most out of the course Hundreds of AAOS members have taken—and benefited from—the Practice Management Symposium for Practicing Orthopaedic Surgeons, held the day before the Annual Meeting. If you haven’t yet decided to attend, the answers to these frequently asked questions will most likely convince you. Why should I attend? The bottom line: it’s about your livelihood.

How far does your obligation go?

Murray J. Goodman, MD

Can prescribing physicians be liable for their patients’ actions? Driving while under the influence of narcotic pain relievers, sedatives, and psychotropic drugs is a recipe for disaster. And that’s just what happened in Massachusetts, when David Sacca—a 75-year-old man with metastatic lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asbestosis, and hypertension—lost consciousness while driving and killed a 10-year-old child.

Improved communications reduce litigation

Pete Johnson, Esq.; Timothy S. Johnson, MD

LEADing the way to more effective communication skills Can improved communications with your patients reduce the prospect of a medical liability lawsuit? The simple answer is “yes.” The difficulty lies in putting effective communication skills to use. This article discusses the LEAD (Listen, Empower, Advise, and Define) technique to more effective communication. Each step serves as a building block to more effective communication.

Identity theft: Could it happen in your office?

Marty Krawczyk

Under new regulations, medical practices must take steps to prevent identity theft The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Red Flag Rules, which went into effect on November 1, 2008, are part of the government’s continuing efforts to curtail the rise in identity theft. The Red Flag Rules apply to “creditors”—including physicians—and provide guidance for establishing protocols to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft.

Introducing the 2009 CPT code updates

Mary LeGrand, RN, MA-CCS-P, CPC

Reading the new Current Procedure Terminology (CPT®) 2009 can be a daunting challenge, but is necessary to ensure that you and your staff are aware of new and revised CPT codes and Guideline instructional changes. This article focuses on new CPT and HCPCS codes applicable to ortho­paedics (exclusive of changes to the evaluation and management codes); you should review the entire CPT 2009 for changes that may affect your individual practice.

This survey really counts

Matt Twetten

The Physician Practice Information Survey helps determine physician payments The AAOS, the American Medical Association (AMA) and more than 70 other organizations are currently conducting a comprehensive multispecialty survey of America’s physician practices. This survey is a vital tool to determining practice patterns and will have a major impact on orthopaedic practices for years to come.