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Issue Date: September 2004

Quality Assessment: What Is a Group Owner’s Liability?
This article discusses the potential legal pitfalls that medical groups should watch for in setting up a quality improvement or credentialing program.

The Next Big Thing in Liability
This editorial discusses how quality assurance is becoming increasingly important in private practices, with attorneys pointing to the absence of such programs when bringing medical malpractice claims against physicians.

Medicare Alters Obesity Language But What Has Actually Changed?
This article discusses what effect Medicare's change in the language relating to obesity in the Coverage Issues Manual will have on the treatment of obesity and on the reimbursement of costs for such treatment.

Are Restrictive Covenants Really Prohibited Under the Stark II Regs?
This column answers three questions from readers: (1) about restrictive covenants under the new Stark rules; (2) about incident-to billing for hospital services rendered by a midlevel provider; and (3) about billing for x-rays at urgent care clinics.

Authors Explain the Language of IT
This editorial discusses a book, The Physician-Computer Computer Conundrum: Get Over It!, which seeks to help physicians implement information systems in their practices.

Fairness of MICRA Is Questioned
This article discusses a study by the Rand Institute for Civil Justice of how California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act has influenced medical malpractice awards in that state. It also discusses two other studies focusing on malpractice claims and awards.

Data-Matching Programs Compared
This article discusses a report that reviews four commercially available software products that match data to specific patient records. The programs reviewed are aimed at provider organizations of 30 or fewer physicians.

Four Top Medical Centers Have Much in Common, Author Says
In this interview, Daniel Beckham, president of The Beckham Co., a health care consulting firm in Bluffton, S.C., discusses his upcoming book about four major health systems: the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Duke University Medical Center.

Should the Federal Government Pay for Treating Obesity as a Disease?
This article discusses the implications of Medicare officials' decision to modify their stance on obesity-related illnesses.

CHF-Specific Programs Boost Results
This article discusses the benefits--for both cardiologists and their patients--of disease management programs targeted at patients with congestive heart failure.