Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Robert M. Blumm, PA-C Guest Bob Blumm, MA, PA-C, DFAAPA, discusses how surgical physician assistants are contributing to the quality of care in hospitals throughout the country. In addition, Mr. Blumm outlines the training and credentials of surgical physician assistants.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Emily Hill, PA The economic benefits of utilizing a physician assistant depend upon properly coding and billing the services performed by these providers. Emily Hill explains to host Lisa D'Andrea the most common coding mistakes made by practitioners when billing for services rendered by mid-level providers such as physician assistants. Ms. Hill provides suggestions to improve billing accuracy and to increase reimbursement for the practice.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Emily Hill, PA Guest Emily Hill explains how to properly code the services performed by your physician assistant under the physician to obtain full reimbursement. After listening to this show, you will understand the rules and be able to maximize reimbursement for the services rendered by your physician assistant.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Richard Ricker, RpH, MBA A new pharmacy robot at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, is designed to eliminate life-threatening human medication errors. Richard Ricker, administrative director of the pharmacy department at Loyola University Medical Center explains how the prescription filling-robot dispenses as many as 600 doses of medications each hour with an innovative system to safeguard against human errors. The robot, trademark-named PillPick, is manufactured by Swisslog Healthcare Solutions and is the first such system to be used in a Midwestern hospital.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Emile Allen, MD Dr. Emile Allen, an urologist and founder of Practice Pearls, discusses the disabling injury he suffered while practicing medicine, and how his experience as a patient gave rise to his new career. Practice Pearls is a website that provides doctors strategies to improve and grow their practice. Dr. Allen informs host Dr. Larry Kaskel about other information available on the website, including advice to reduce one's malpractice exposure and risk of employee and partnership litigation.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Jeffrey N. Hausfeld, MD, MBA Is there more cash in your practice than you know? Dr. Jeffrey Hausefeld, associate clinical professor of surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and managing director of FMS Financial Solutions, shares with host Dr. Larry Kaskel, practical tips on how to find more cash in your practice. Learn to negotiate payment terms and drug return policies with suppliers. Consider implementing an inventory tracking system. Purchase supplies through a buying group. Negotiate bank rates and consider purchasing an automated teller machine. These tips alone can save a practice thousands of dollars a year.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Jeffrey N. Hausfeld, MD, MBA Is it time to send reinforcements after your delinquent patients? Dr. Jeffrey Hausfeld, associate clinical professor of surgery at George Washington University School of Health Sciences and managing director of FMS Financial Solutions, tells us how to make debt collections more manageable. Find out how to collect more efficiently, and learn if your practice would be better off outsourcing. Are your practice strategies in line with the collection company? Dr. Larry Kaskel hosts.

Host: Cathleen Margolin, PhD Guest: Kevin Ault, MD Excessive alcohol and tobacco use are obvious risk factors for throat cancer, yet new research is revealing that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is also a significant risk factor for the disease. HPV, in fact, is partly responsible for the continuing rise in the incidence of throat cancer over recent years. Dr. Kevin Ault, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory Univerysity School of Medicine and one of the clinical investigators for the HPV vaccine, joins host Dr. Cathleen Margolin for a discussion about the link between HPV and throat cancer.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Sanford Baim, MD Dr. Baim discusses how to apply the FRAX model in clinical practice. How does the FRAX score combine with local assessments of cost-effectiveness and clinical judgment in order to give guidance on how and when to treat patients with bone loss? Why might a 45 year old with a T-score of -2.5 not need treatment but a 70 year old with a T-score of -1.4 best be treated aggressively?

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Sanford Baim, MD Dr. Sanford Baim discusses the assessment of patients for bone loss. He emphasizes why relying on bone density data is inadequate to truly treat our patients properly, and provides details on a new approach to assessing the absolute risk of fracture, called the FRAX model. Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.

Host: Susan Dolan, RN, JD Guest: Barbara Lee, PA, FNP, JD Barbara Coombs Lee is a nurse, a physician's assistant, an attorney, and the president of Compassion and Choices, an organization dedicated to expanding and protecting the rights of the terminally ill. Ms. Lee discusses the biggest misconceptions doctors have about end-of-life care. Susan Dolan hosts.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Bill Cleveland, MBA, CPA, Personal financial decisions are often less clear for us than making tough medical calls. How much disability insurance should we carry, if any at all? Should we pay insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars? If we have income outside of our primary working situation, can we--and should we--contribute to a 401k? Host Dr. Larry Kaskel quizzes Bill Cleveland, a certified financial planner from Preston & Cleveland Wealth Management, about key money management strategies.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Bill Cleveland, MBA, CPA, Where and how should you invest in a down market? What strategies have been used by some of the wealthiest investors over time? Join host Dr. Larry Kaskel as he explores personal finance with Bill Cleveland, a certified financial planner with Preston & Cleveland Wealth Management. What are some of the best strategies for doctors? How do you find opportunities in a down market? What are keys to a well rounded portfolio? Listen in to find out.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Joseph Heyman, MD Drug industry marketing, a long controversial aspect of a physicians' practice and life, may perhaps be experiencing its tightest guidelines yet. Dr. Joseph Heyman, chair of the American Medical Association board of trustees, tells host Bruce Japsen about his thoughts on the new voluntary pharmaceutical industry guidelines on marketing and gift-giving to physicians, signifynig a departure from prior practices.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Toni Mills By adopting even one change to a health care business practice, some experts believe lives can be saved. How about 5 million of them? Toni Mills, executive director of the Office of Clinical Affairs for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, tells host Bruce Japsen about the group's effort to get pledges from hospitals to follow several safety guidelines that could lead to saving 5 million lives.

Host: Stuart Gitlow, MD, MPH, MBA Guest: Kevin Kunz, MD, MPH Addiction Medicine may be on track to become a board certified specialty in the future, differentiating itself from the current ABMS-approved subspecialty of Addiction Psychiatry. How has the advancing field reached this stage, and what does it mean for us and our patients? Additionally, what will an Addiction Specialist be able to do that an Addiction Psychiatrist cannot, and vice-versa? Dr. Kevin Kunz, Interim President of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, remarks on this developmental trend from the field. Hosted by Dr. Stu Gitlow.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Marc Halley, MBA Using philosophies borrowed from the property management field, Marc Halley, president of Halley Consulting Group, shares with host Dr. Larry Kaskel the key to efficient utilization of the support staff within a medical practice. Mr. Halley highlights the importance of delegation within a well managed practice, which means that the physician should delegate all paperwork to support staff. Mr. Halley also discusses the concept of "closing the visit", and how to analyze a practice to determine those responsibilities that should be shared. Lastly, Mr. Halley outlines the role of management within a medical practice and the key role it plays in the success of a practice.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Marc Halley, MBA As hospitals get back into the game of owning and running medical practices what must they do to succeed? Our guest Marc Halley, president of Halley Consulting Group, a firm specializing in services to hospital-owned primary care networks shares with host Dr. Larry Kaskel his 8 initiatives for success including improving worker productivity and maximizing receivables management to name just a few. Tune in to learn all 8.

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Randi Hagerman, MD Diagnosis of the genetic disorder Fragile X syndrome can be devastating for our young patients and their families, knowing that both the patient and their elders can be affected by this condition. Should we expand current screening measures for Fragile X? As clinicians, how do we guide patients and their families through this process of understanding their diagnosis? Dr. Randi Hagerman, professor and endowed chair of Fragile X research, and medical director of the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, joins host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill to talk about the nuances of this genetic condition.

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Randi Hagerman, MD We are rapidly learning more about the genetic disorder Fragile X syndrome, and a series of conditions related to Fragile X. We're also seeing great progress in promising therapies under investigation. How will these therapies, along with other treatment strategies, improve the lives of children and families affected by Fragile X and related conditions? Who should supervise care, and should treatment for children be coordinated with care of potentially affected relatives? Dr. Randi Hagerman, professor and endowed chair of Fragile X research, and medical director of the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, shares her expansive expertise on Fragile X syndrome and associated conditions with host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill. If a child is diagnosed with Fragile X, is genetic screening inevitably warranted for parents and grandparents?