Making the Decision to Become Employed

Melbourne D. Boynton, MD; David L. Cannon, MD; Charles A. Goldfarb, MD

Get help from the AAOS Practice Management Committee Melbourne D. Boynton, MD; David L. Cannon, MD; and Charles A. Goldfarb, MD Based on data from the AAOS member census, from 2010 to 2012, about 400 orthopaedic surgeons in the United States moved from a private practice to an employed practice model. For some orthopaedic surgeons the transition was easy; others struggled with the loss of autonomy.

Is Your E&M Documentation an Audit Risk?

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

The Work Plan for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) regularly targets potentially inappropriate evaluation and management (E&M) service payments. This year, OIG has focused on disproportionately high frequency utilization of the same level of E&M service by the same provider. The impetus for this close scrutiny is that Medicare contractors noticed an increased frequency of medical records with identical documentation across services.

Are You Monitoring Your Investment Accounts Daily?

Brian Carlson, CFP®, CLU®, CLTC; Bill Adolph

Are you checking your investment accounts on a daily basis? If so, the only thing you will likely accomplish is to drive yourself crazy, especially in today’s whipsaw economy. Instead of taking a short-term, day-trader mentality, a better idea is to make solid, well-researched decisions for long-term growth and monitor the results regularly—such as each month or quarter—but not on a daily basis.

How Data Sharing Can Influence Behavior in the OR

Charles A. Goldfarb, MD

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have led the way toward an increased understanding of the true costs of surgical procedures and advanced efforts to minimize such costs. In the ASC environment, surgeons act on the data to decrease costs and increase revenue for the surgery center and its investors. Large hospitals and academic centers have been unable to match either the specificity of the data collection or the cost awareness among surgeons.

Get Ready for ICD-10

You have just over a year to get your practice ready to implement the International Classification of Diseases–10th edition (ICD-10) coding system. The change in the coding system affects your practice and all your interactions with those who require coding information. If you haven’t already, sign up today for the AAOS ICD-10 webinar series presented by the AAOS Practice Management and Coding, Coverage, and Reimbursement Committees.

Are You Ready for the New HIPAA Regulations?

Thomas B. Fleeter, MD

New regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) go into effect on Sept. 23. This final set of rules requires all healthcare practitioners to change their notice of privacy privileges, policies and procedures, and business associates agreements. Notice of privacy practices Under the new regulations, patients must be able to opt out of fundraising communications.