Recent headlines demonstrate some patients will experience yet another change in healthcare coverage in 2017. Aetna plans to sharply reduce their participation in the healthcare exchanges (dropping coverage in 75% of the states they cover now), leaving them only offering policies in four states when the new year rolls around. They are joining other major carriers like United Healthcare and Humana who say operating in some states creates onerous financial burdens they aren't willing to face going forward.

In order to capitalize on patient engagement, medical organizations must understand the term, and how proactive patients directly and indirectly impact the revenue stream. Vincent Dumez, Faculty of Medicine - Université de Montréal describes robust engagement policies as not just developing a patient-centric healthcare model, but welcoming patients into the care-team, giving them an integral role in their own medical care.

The information that is routinely collected and stored in medical practices presents a tempting target to malicious computer criminals bent on stealing patients’ identities. Hackers also keep banging against computer networks as they attempt to install malware to cause chaos and confusion, extort organizations for money, and even gain bragging rights within their community by taking over systems and websites.

A simple software solution may be right under your nose, ready to help you make life easier for every member of your medical organization as well as each patient. The patient portal that you can activate with your electronic health record software will save everyone time and effort.

How do you stand out in the crowd? If a person has just moved into your city and is looking for a new doctor without a referral, how easily would your medical practice come to his or her attention? Consider that a potential patient will likely go online and search for terms such as “doctor” or your specialty along with the name of a city or county to find a local healthcare provider. Besides doing some basic research, patients will be paying attention to what they see on various social media platforms.

When practice administrators and independent physicians compare medical software, it's imperative to ask the right questions in order to find a best-fit solution. Naturally, every fiscally responsible decision-maker wants to know about costs, however, digging deeper into the functionality and features of any software upgrade will save precious time and money during the implementation process, and ensure long-term success.

Viruses, worms, malicious code, bad script. Business owners have a lot to deal with today as cyber-criminals try to sneak into your network to disrupt your daily operations. And, then, there is ransomware. As the name implies, ransomware is a string of code that attempts to take your data hostage and block your access until you pay ransom. The typical attack is similar to a "snatch and run" scenario, except that rather than siphoning off your data, cyber-invaders use a quick attack strategy that encrypts your data so you can´t access it. The primary goal is to build a fortress around your assets faster than you can identify a breach.

Data breaches are becoming all-too common these days. It’s difficult to read the news without seeing yet another account of a major institution suffering from intrusions by computer criminals. Each such incident should serve as a reminder to shore up our own data stores. Of course, no system will be 100% foolproof, but when you own or manage a medical organization, it’s your duty to ensure that you are doing everything possible to secure the healthcare data that you maintain on each patient (within reason and by following current best practices).

Quick: how much did your organization spend on medical office software? Even if the number is on the tip of your tongue, you may not be taking into account other costs of using the software. While an application might look good on the surface and seem to have standard features and ease of use, poorly developed medical office software could wind up costing you more in the long run. For example, your staff wastes more time correcting errors, experiences a drag in morale (and therefore productivity) or patients leave the practice because your security breach exposed them to identity theft. Here is more information on the true cost of bad medical office software.

As a successful physician, what motivates you to do your best on the job every day? While it’s normal for healthcare professionals to be motivated by how much money they are bringing in, this is typically not their sole incentive. If you’ve been having difficulties staying motivated all day, here are seven tips to help.