Month: August 2018
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CDC STUDY: Steep and Sustained Increases in STDs in Recent Years
Nearly 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were diagnosed in the United States in 2017, according to preliminary data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the National STD Prevention Conference in Washington, D.C. This surpassed the previous record set in 2016 by more than 200,000 cases and marked…
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Enterprise Physician Receives Martha Myers Role Model Award
Raised in the rural south Alabama community of Jack, Beverly Flowers Jordan, M.D., FAAFP, is a first-generation college student. Her parents stressed the importance of serving others and worked hard to ensure that their children were able to attend college. Dr. Jordan first expressed her desire to become a physician at the age of 5…
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Paying More Money Is Not the Best Way to Retain Great Staff
Medical practices are painfully in need of keeping their top employees. The time, costs and dangers of recruiting replacement personnel are just part of the issue. Loss of key team members negatively impacts patient care, practice profitability, and staff morale. All administrators agree the retention of a trained, well-performing and mutually cooperative staff is a…
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Do You Record Patient Phone Calls? Here’s What You Need to Know.
A physician practice recently inquired about implementing a policy pursuant to which the practice would begin recording phone calls to and from patients and referring providers. The practice of recording phone calls is not uncommon. For example, every time you call a customer service number you are informed that the call “may be recorded for…
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Don’t Get Caught in a Copay Conundrum
In the current environment of increasing patient deductibles and copays, the billing and collection of the patient portion of the services you provide is top of mind. In the Department of Health and Human Service’s report dated May 23, 2017, Alabama’s average monthly health insurance premium amounts increased 223 percent from 2013 to 2017, versus…
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Patients, Doctors Dissatisfied with Electronic Health Records
Electronic Health Records are intended to streamline and improve access to information — and have been shown to improve quality of care — but a new study shows they also leave both doctors and patients unsatisfied, even after full implementation. The study, by researchers at Lehigh University and the Lehigh Valley Health Network, surveyed physicians, mid-level providers and…
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FY 2019 ICD-10 Code Changes Released
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released the fiscal year 2019 ICD-10-CM code changes, which become effective Oct. 1. The changes include 473 total new code changes with 279 new codes, 143 revised codes, 51 deactivated codes, and 39 additional changes added from a proposed rule list. There are changes to the International…
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Association Special Committee Looks at Solving Manpower Shortage
MONTGOMERY – Earlier this week, the Association’s Manpower Shortage Task Force met in person for the first time to begin addressing a resolution adopted by the House of Delegates at the 2018 Annual Meeting in April. The resolution, submitted by the Pickens County Medical Society, directs the Association’s new task force to develop and restore…
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CVS Health to Begin MinuteClinic Video Visits through App
CVS Health is rolling out a new virtual health care offering for patients with minor illnesses and injuries, skin conditions and other wellness needs through the company’s MinuteClinic section of the CVS app. MinuteClinic Video Visits, a telehealth offering via Teledoc, will provide patients with access to health care services 24 hours a day, seven…
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Brookwood Baptist Medical Center Medicare Certification Extended
Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, the second largest hospital in the metro Birmingham area, received an 11th-hour reprieve Thursday night with regulators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services accepted the facility’s action, thus allowing the hospital to continue its Medicare and Medicaid billing privileges. However, the facility is not out hot water just yet.…