Medicine, Inc.

The business and financial side of medicine, narrated by the publishers you trust.

Week of October 30, 2022

Electronic Medical Records Are Strangling American Medicine (MedPage Today)
Under conservative estimates, the reduced clinical hours and physician turnover due to burnout costs the US $4.6 billion a year. The EMR is a central player in pulling care givers away from the reward of patient interaction and into the frustration of hours spent accommodating dysfunctional software, according to this surgery resident’s data.

Mayo Warns It Won’t Take Most Medicare Advantage Plans (MedPage Today)
In Florida and Arizona at least, Mayo is considered out of network by most Medicare Advantage Plans. But the Advantage Plan marketing material may not make that clear to recipients.

CMS Puts the Kibosh on Misleading Medicare Advantage Sales Pitches (MedPage Today)
Secret shoppers found 80% of Advantage Plan calls with agents were misleading to plan participants. CMS has upped its review and exercising its authority to prohibit marketing materials.

Previous Articles

How Doctors Can Build Generational Wealth—and Why It Makes Sense (MDLinx)
You probably can’t leave your practice to your children. So what are your options for leaving them the wealth you’ve built? These helpful tips can aid you in answering that question.

Essential Tax Questions to Ask Your Accountant (MDLinx)
This is a simple set of questions you should be certain to ask your accountant as you work on tax planning.

These Finance-Savvy Doctors Made Big Mistakes So You Don’t Have To (MDLinx)
Physician financial expert and bloggers share some of their mistakes so you can avoid making them. Among them, “I’m smart. Can I beat Wall Street? And “what’s the smart timing for real estate investing?” See what you can learn from these “expert” errors.

Optum Acquires Houston-Based Physician Group for $2 Billion (MedPage Today)
UnitedHealth’s Optum division will employ more than 5% of all US doctors when this Texas deal completes. In this latest acquisition, Optum is buying Kelsey-Seybold, a physician group based in Houston that includes cancer and women’s health centers, two ambulatory surgery centers, and a sleep center.

Why I’m Leaving Emergency Medicine (KevinMD.com)
This residency-trained, board-certified emergency physician, is finding that most of the shift is spent as a podiatrist, dentist, pediatrician, urgent-care provider, nursing home doctor, mental health counselor, primary care doctor, and social worker. To increase emergency department profitability, you cannot simply increase the number of emergencies; you can increase the number of non-emergent visits. That’s what some corporations are doing.

Why Medical Residents are Joining Unions (MDLinx)
In their quest for better wages, work hours, and working conditions, residents are increasingly joining unions. This trend may forever change the definition of medical residency.