http://www.countywidenews.com By Wayne Trotter There’s “no doubtâ€? that health premiums are higher because doctors are practicing “defensive medicine,â€? Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner told a Shawnee audience this week. But, Commissioner Kim Holland acknowledged, the effect of that is hard to quantify. Holland appeared Tuesday before a joint civic club luncheon sponsored by the Lions, Kiwanis and […]

BY DAVID WENNER Of The Patriot-News http://www.pennlive.com The state insurance commissioner will soon announce whether doctors must carry an additional $250,000 in medical malpractice insurance. Doctors now must buy $500,000 in private coverage. They get an additional $500,000 in coverage from Mcare, a state program funded with a surcharge on doctors. Joel Ario, the newly […]

BY BEN STEPHENS http://www.lvbusinesspress.com Years after many of the state’s physicians shut their doors to avoid soaring medical malpractice insurance rates, Dr. Warren Volker took matters into his own hands. In February 2006, the chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Summerlin Hospital launched a doctor-owned and operated medical malpractice insurance firm aimed at retaining quality […]

By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer http://www.modernhealthcare.com Only about 14% of physician practices have adopted electronic health-record systems, according to a 2005 survey by the Medical Group Management Association, but upward of 90% have electronic practice management systems. The advent of EHRs in physician offices has caused practice leaders to take a second look […]

David Kinsman American College of Physicians http://www.eurekalert.org/ Today, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), along with the Chief Executive Officers of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), met with House and Senate Democratic and Republican Leadership. During the meetings the groups discussed legislative strategies aimed […]

By Kathleen Kerr, Newsday LA TIMES In a 150-square-foot tin-ceilinged office in a building that once housed a speakeasy, Dr. Moitri Savard checks her laptop to see whether any patients have scheduled themselves to see her. Wait, scheduled themselves? Yes. Savard’s patients decide when they want to see her and then let her know by […]

By Kathleen Kerr, Newsday LA TIMES In a 150-square-foot tin-ceilinged office in a building that once housed a speakeasy, Dr. Moitri Savard checks her laptop to see whether any patients have scheduled themselves to see her. Wait, scheduled themselves? Yes. Savard’s patients decide when they want to see her and then let her know by […]

By REED ABELSON NY TIMES By coordinating care and keeping their patients out of the hospital, doctors can help reduce overall health care spending, Medicare officials said yesterday in announcing the results of an experiment that allowed doctors to share in the cost savings. The experiment, which started in April 2005 and is to continue […]

http://www.eileenmcdargh.com Doctor Rescues Peers from Stress A conspiracy of silence often shrouds busy professionals . No one wants to admit that burnout is rampant. Dy. Myo Thant, a respected oncologist with 26 years in practice, just broke through by starting RelaxDoc, a member-only web site for doctors to help each other find better work/life balance. […]