I attended the second annual Aesthetic Extender Symposium last weekend, and days later I am left with some distinct and positive impressions about much more than the aesthetics industry. First, some background. The symposium was cofounded by Krystie P. Lennox, a physician assistant, and David J. Goldberg, a dermatologist who is also a healthcare ...

It has been a very busy fall for ECFC. In addition to general patient care and all the day-to-day administrative issues, we are faced with another task. The state of MN has mandated that all recipients of state-sponsored health insurance have access to and are members of a state-certified Health Care Home. Eagan Child and Family Care is one of ...

We've noticed just a couple of practices across the country that are turning to a so-called membership plan to help curtail costs for patients. The model requires patients to pay a flat rate monthly or annually and then covers office visits, routine tests and the like. All the coverage I've seen of this model is careful to emphasize that this is ...

Writing in today's issue of USA Today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell champions nurse practitioners as the means to universal access to healthcare. Together with Tine Hansen-Turton, who is CEO of the National Nursing Centers Consortium headquartered in Philadelphia, Rendell argues that the projected primary care physician shortage could thwart ...

This past month we have been working toward dragging our office into the 21st century. As I have mentioned in the past, the state of Minnesota required all healthcare providers to have electronic billing by July 15, 2009. In addition, EMR is an essential component to healthcare home designation. Hence, July and August have been somewhat more ...

I am sitting through my DNP program here at Robert Morris University, educating myself for a better tomorrow for myself and my patients. This is my second year, and I am projected to graduate in December of 2010. There is a current debate over the need for a DNP within our profession. I must tell you that the further along I get into this ...

Should you open a practice? If so, what kind? During these unstable economic times it is difficult to decide if now is the time to take the risk and open your own clinic. A stable job with a guaranteed hourly wage is tempting. Even if it means you are working for someone else and have to punch a time-card. Still, in the back of your mind you ...

I spent the morning going through the submissions to the 2009 NP Entrepreneur of the Year competition. I was struck by how many of the entries are from very new practices: Just over a quarter are a year old or newer.Of course, we have a special judging category for new practices, which encouraged new owners to enter, so our submissions might not ...

A few posts ago I wrote of adding alternative healings to my practice. Well, I must tell you that it has become a significant part of my practice now. Many people are looking for a more natural approach with less medication, and Reiki Energy Healing and Hypnotherapy has definitely fit the bill. I continue traditional medicine, of course, ...

[Note from the editors: Following is a post by a former Real Life in Retail Health blogger about this summer's American Academy of Nurse Practitioners conference. She has left the retail health industry but still wished to share her thoughts on this conference with our blog readers.] I attended all 5 days of the AANP national conference in ...