The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report highlighting the rate of which small and rural medical practices successfully participated in federally-funded payment incentive programs. The report analyzed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data from 2015, focusing on “legacy” programs –…
Local Healthcare in the Age of Consolidation
“Healthcare is local” has been a mantra among providers for decades. The volume of that mantra increases anytime the industry goes through changes. Recently, it’s gotten louder in the field of dermatology, most likely due to the trend of industry consolidation. While commonalities exist, there…
Technology as a Physician Recruitment Tool
In a recent issue of Dermatology World, the cover story focused on recruiting and retaining millennial physicians. While how to attract that generation’s best and brightest is a hot topic in many industries, it is especially important in dermatology as the gap between the supply…
Physician Leadership: The Key to Quality Care
It is no secret that the number of independent dermatology practices is shrinking. In fact, the 2017 American Academy of Dermatology Member Profile Report showed that 52% of dermatologists now are practicing in a group setting. While the pressures of practice management and shrinking reimbursements…
The Cost Barrier: Improving Patient Access to Quality Dermatological Care
At last month’s American Association of Dermatology Annual Meeting, the topic of patient access to care was again a topic of discussion. This year, cost was named as an additional barrier to patient care. This issue is not unique to dermatology. In fact, a Kaiser…
Dermatology Industry Change: 3 Issues
Thousands of dermatologists recently descended upon San Diego for the 2018 AAD Annual Meeting. This conference provides attendees a chance to connect with colleagues, learn about clinical advancements, and discuss the state of their industry. Preparing for change has been a common theme in the…
Recruitment: Quality Matters
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the U.S. will face a significant physician shortage by 2030 – up to 100,000 more physicians will be needed to meet patient demand. The dermatology world is already facing a deficit. While the American Academy of…
Physician Burnout: The Burden of Bureaucracy
Forty-six percent of dermatologists say they feel career burnout, according to the 2017 Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report. This sentiment seems to be worsening in dermatology, and medicine in general. Since 2013, the percentage of physicians who claim burnout has risen 25%. During this same period,…
2018 QPP / MACRA Final Rule: More Changes for Dermatologists
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just released the 2018 Quality Payment Program / MACRA Final Rule. This iteration is supposed to reduce burdens and provide flexibility. Yet, the documentation outlining the final rule is thousands of pages long. According to an American…
IT Training and Support: Keys to Dermatology Practice Efficiency
Over half of surveyed physicians are dissatisfied with their electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study by the Mayo Clinic. Technology, oftentimes touted as the silver bullet for practice efficiency, is in reality giving many dermatologists more headaches than help. In most cases, the…
EHRs: The Burden on Small Dermatology Practices
A recent study found that electronic health records (EHRs) are creating an even greater burden on small physician practices than was originally anticipated. This study defined a small practice as one with 1-4 physicians. Published earlier this year in Perspectives in Health Information Management, this…
Preserving Patient Access to Dermatology
The wait time for new patients to get a dermatology appointment is at its highest levels since Merritt Hawkins first began tracking this metric. According to that organization’s 2017 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times, 32 days is the average wait time for a routine…
Physician Tiering: Dermatologists’ Need for Data
Physician tiering is another method payors are utilizing to stem rising healthcare costs. This system ranks physicians based on quality and cost. Depending on physicians’ rank, patients’ out-of-pocket costs can widely vary. Attempts to drive down costs will most likely continue. According to a report…
Narrowing Networks: Positioning Dermatology Practices for Success
U.S. healthcare costs have skyrocketed. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) places the figure at $3.2 trillion for 2015. That equates to $9,990 per person. CMS also projects these costs will continue to grow at a rate of 5.6% annually between 2016 and…
Succession Planning: A Pro-active Approach for Dermatologists
Succession planning is a hot-button issue for many dermatologists. According to a 2015 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 43.5% of practicing dermatologists are age 55 and over. That means that within a decade, almost half of today’s practicing dermatologists will either have…