Practice Management

Do the terms MACRA, MIPS or APM mean anything to you? If not, you should know there is a clock ticking, and your practice might be in for some big financial losses if you don’t act soon. MACRA: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 MIPS: Merit-based Incentive Payment System APM: Alternative Payment Models…

The EMG report can be a quick rundown of electrical data. Or it can be an important tool for the neuromuscular specialist—a valuable resource for the referring physician, a path to treatment for the patient, and an excellent marketing tool for the specialists themselves. When referring physicians know a specialist will consistently provide thoughtful and…

Of all the medical specialties, neurologists see some of the most complex patients. This idea bears out anecdotally among the neurologists we have interviewed here at Neurology Insights but also statistically. In this 2018 study published in JAMA, neurologists were ranked #3 among physician types for patient complexity as well as for their number of…

In recent years, a concierge model of practice has gained popularity in the primary care world. Also called direct primary care, this model is set up so that patients pay a set amount, much like a membership, on a monthly or annual basis. In exchange they get comprehensive care from their physician. Doctors using this…

These are challenging times for neurologists in private practice. To keep their doors open, many are having to make difficult financial decisions, including whether to stay with insurance carriers. Dropping a carrier can be painful. It is not an uncomplicated process, and frankly, it hurts to tell your patients that you can’t take their insurance…

Since the late 1990s neurologists have been involved in the remote care of patients using telemedicine. This has primarily been through telestroke programs, but the application of this technology-driven mode of care has increased to include more than just stroke patients. Today, according to the American Hospital Association, “[Seventy-six] percent of U.S. hospitals connect with…

No one likes to wait, especially when there is some stress related to that wait—like there often is for patients. Waiting times can be hard for a practice to curb; you have one late patient after another, or you just want to go that extra mile for someone. You can, however, improve the perception of…

They say laughter is the best medicine. That may be true… if you are laughing while you exercise, because the health benefits of a good workout are undisputed. Many of exercise’s benefits, particularly for neurology patients, are hard for available medical treatments to match. Exercise is associated with decreased cardiovascular mortality, including stroke. It may…

Though created in 2015, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) really sat down at the table and demanded our attention last year. That is because 2017 was the first year for data collection under this new CMS value-based payment program. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) made a big push to get this…

How to make physicians roll their eyes: Talk to them about online physician-rating sites. According to this 2019 study evaluating two of these of sites, Healthgrades.com and Vitals.com, only about 25 percent of physicians even check their scores on these websites. And almost none of those who do check them make changes based on those…

Let’s face it—by the time patients visit a neurologist, their lives have been disrupted in some way. The daily routines they have come to depend on have been replaced by pain and other symptoms, medication schedules, doctor visits and questions about the future. There is no doubt that coping with neurological illness can cause a…

Remember the last time you went to the beach or the lake? Did you run and throw yourself into the water, or did you slowly wade in? Perhaps you are of the first type, and after hearing that 2017 is the year to start preparing for MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015),…

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking there is a single model for practicing neurology—try to see as many patients as you can fit into a day without sacrificing quality of care. And make sure you document everything correctly so you don’t miss out on any reimbursements. So when a new way of…

If you are like many Americans, you’ve already binged the first season of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix and started decluttering your house. You might want to hold off, though, and skip straight to another, arguably greater, source of stress in your life: your office. This month on Instagram, Marie Kondo released a…

A doctor’s office is not always the healthiest place to spend your day—and I am not talking about contagious patients and hazardous waste—I’m talking about the break room. If your office is like most, your kitchen area is filled with sweet treats from grateful patients, remnants from some birthday or holiday, and rotting leftovers. Combine…