September 18th 2023
How pediatricians can best manage electronic health records without compromising patient care.
September 7th 2023
Pediatrician compensation: Are you earning enough?
June 1st 2017Readers of Contemporary Pediatrics will be pleased to know that according to Merritt-Hawkins, one of the nation’s leading physician search firms, the average starting salary offered to recruit pediatricians rose from $195,000 in 2015 to $224,000 in 2016, a 15% increase. You may be curious how your current compensation as well as your compensation model compares with that of your colleagues. More importantly, there may be ways for you to earn more-or avoid a painful pay cut if your patient visits are dwindling.
Make pediatric practice great again!
April 1st 2016I began the January 2016 Peds v2.0 article “Expediting medical documentation” by stating that my “theme” for this year’s articles is the “retaking” of pediatric practice for ourselves and our patients. I continue this discussion by borrowing a slogan from one of our presidential candidates, in the hopes that pediatricians can be motivated to implement needed reforms that will make practices more efficient, improve the care we provide to patients, and enhance the lives of pediatric providers.
Improve your practice with behavior evaluation and management portals
February 1st 2016To continue our ongoing theme of “taking back” the practice of pediatrics for ourselves and our patients, I’d like to discuss utilizing behavior portals to facilitate the diagnosis of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental delay, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as depression and anxiety.
What’s new in “connected” medical devices?
November 1st 2015Physicians and parents are using a variety of health-related gadgets and gizmos that communicate with our smartphones and tablets. These range from fitness devices that monitor daily exercise, to glucometers used by diabetics to monitor sugar levels, to sphygmomanometers used to measure blood pressure.
Office rapid strep tests: State of the art
September 1st 2015When I started my pediatric practice in 1986, we tested patients for strep throat by performing a throat culture, which was placed in a small office incubator for 48 hours. Typically, we put patients on an antibiotic pending culture results and would stop antibiotics if the culture proved negative. In my first year of practice, an interesting new technology arrived-rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs). These tests were reasonably accurate and enabled us to make a diagnosis at the time of the visit.
MOC controversy: Issues and answers
January 1st 2015There has been much discussion both for and against Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements. This article explains how a permanent board certification program for physicians transitioned into MOC recertification and discusses the controversies surrounding the current program.
Best tech for Pediatrics: 2014
December 1st 2014I recently had the good fortune to present a forum on medical office technologies (“Must-Have Gadgets, Gizmos, and Technology for the Pediatric Office”) at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in beautiful San Diego.
Pulse oximetry: The fifth vital sign
October 1st 2014It is easy to take for granted some of the technologies we use every day. The pulse oximeter was invented 40 years ago and has become such a routine part of medical practice that oximetry measurements have often been referred to as the “fifth vital sign.”
Instrument-based vision screening: Update and review
February 1st 2014Insurance companies are now beginning to compensate pediatricians for performing photoscreening, billed under Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 99174. We applaud the efforts of the many pediatricians, pediatric ophthalmologists, and state chapters of the AAP who have aggressively petitioned insurance companies to cover this important service for our patients. -Andrew J Schuman, MD, Section Editor