Fall 2016

By Dustin Shaver, Vice President of Risk Management at NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company Telemedicine utilization growth continues at an impressive rate. According to the FAIR Health database (the largest repository of private healthcare claims), telemedicine use in the U.S. nearly doubled between 2007 and 2015. Over half of all U.S. hospitals now use some form of … [Read more...] about Liability Risks of Telemedicine: State Standards Among Considerations

Innovative new modalities for managing post-surgical discomfort By Adrian T. Baddar, MD Hampton Roads Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Every year in the United States, approximately 150,000 hip replacements are performed, and more than 350,000 knee replacements.  By contrast, the number of spinal fusions done each year is a stunning 650,000, reflecting just how many … [Read more...] about Taking the Pain Out of Knee Replacement Recovery

Setting compensation levels for staffers is one of the more difficult issues that physicians face. After all, salaries typically account for a large part of a practice’s expenses. If your pay scale is low, it may drive up the rate of employee turnover. On the other hand, paying above-market rates can inflate your overhead unnecessarily. Attracting and retaining employees … [Read more...] about Smart Strategies for Setting Salaries

By Dean S. McGaughey, III, MD Virginia Oncology Associates   Some patients may be confused by the term ‘stem cell transplant,’ but they should be assured it’s the same methodology as the bone marrow transplant they’re familiar with.  The change in the procedure, and the reason for the change in terminology, is that we’re no longer transplanting the bone marrow … [Read more...] about Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma and Relapsed Lymphoma Patients