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• Obesity: Not just a phase kids outgrow
  Addressing weight issues with children and adolescents requires a multifaceted approach from physicians that often involves the entire family. - Dec. 22/29
• Advance directives: Talk now about plans for later care
  In the wake of the Terri Schiavo case, more people are contemplating these instructions. That makes now the perfect time to discuss them with your patients. - Dec. 15
• Supreme Court has chance to hold HMOs accountable.
  At issue is a federal statute that health plans have used to protect themselves from state medical malpractice laws. - Dec. 8
• Breaking the merger wave: Time for the government to keep insurer consolidations in check
  Federal regulators must examine big plan coalitions such as Anthem-WellPoint. - Dec. 1
• Caring for the caregiver: AMA resource shows how doctors can take active role
  Physicians should focus attention on the well-being of this hidden, at-risk population, as well as the patient they are treating. - Nov. 24
• Diversifying medicine: The time is now
  The medical profession should view health care disparities as a health care quality issue. - Nov. 17
• Interpreter rule still costly: Doctors with non-English-speaking patients bear burden
  Changes to federal rules for treating patients with limited English skills could help doctors, but the government fails to lift the financial burden. - Nov. 10
• Electronic prescribing and Medicare: Let the doctor decide
  Don't force physicians to buy and use unproven e-prescribing systems. - Nov. 3
• CDC takes "Get Smart" message to consumers: Antibiotics won't cure flu
  Some patients believe antibiotics cure everything. A new campaign reinforces physician efforts to use these medicines appropriately. - Oct. 27
• Professionalism for a new era: The challenge for medical education
  In a changing world, the AMA has joined with medical schools to teach what it means to be a doctor. - Oct. 20
• Century of progress: AMA helps turn tarnished medical education system into gold standard
  The 1910 Flexner report was a cornerstone in the school reform movement. - Oct. 13
• Look to tax credits to fight skyrocketing health insurance premiums
  The cost of employer-based health insurance is putting a crimp on people's budgets and adding to the ranks of the uninsured. The AMA has a plan to solve these problems. - Oct. 6
• HIV prevention: Entering mainstream medicine
  A new CDC initiative seeks to launch a broader attack against the spread of this deadly disease. - Sept. 22/29
• Medical staffs need autonomy
  A California case seeks to protect hospital staff independence. - Sept. 15
• Keeping vaccination rates up: Doctors must keep up the pressure
  Childhood vaccines are a victim of their own success, and doctors find themselves spending more time convincing parents of the shots' necessity. - Sept. 8
• Web prescribing: How to set the standards
  The AMA has guidelines that make clear the way to prescribe online. - Sept. 1
• Filtering tobacco's harmful pitch
  Philip Morris' support for federal oversight is causing suspicion within the public health community. It should. - Aug. 25
• AMA offers guidelines to answer hard questions on patient gifts
  Thoughtful consideration is required when deciding whether to accept a present from a patient. - Aug. 18
• Senate fails on tort reform
  The Senate must reconsider legislation to end the ongoing medical liability crisis. - Aug. 11
• Contract disclosure: How PPOs can earn praise, not profanity
  Like any other kind of health plan, preferred provider organizations must be open and honest in their contracting with physicians if they want to maintain good reputations. - Aug. 4
• Physician suicide and depression: Helping doctors heal themselves
  Raising awareness among physicians about their own risk of suffering depression may lead to improved care of patients. - July 28
• Medical errors and ethics: A call for candor without fear
  Physicians have an ethical responsibility to lend their expertise to solving the medical errors conundrum. - July 21
• Assessing older driver safety
  Physicians can play a major role in helping older patients continue to drive safely -- and telling them when it's time to stop driving. - July 14
• Aetna's olive branch is an encouraging sign
  The insurer promises to be more open in communicating with physicians over pay and coverage issues -- an idea the entire industry should follow. - July 7
• Helping the world stop smoking
  Global tobacco control efforts are gaining momentum, but success will require strong U.S. leadership. - June 30
• Residency work hours: New rules, fresh vigilance
  The ACGME's new work hour rules must be taken seriously by all involved. - June 23
• Health literacy: Your patients can't follow instructions they don't understand
  Physicians can improve their patients' health outcomes by taking simple steps to improve health literacy. - June 16
• Megasize health plan power: A market gone wrong
  Trouble at two industry giants suggests a dangerously lopsided health care industry. - June 2/9
• A message from the heart: Cardiac care vital for women, too
  Women face an underappreciated risk of cardiovascular disease. - May 26
• Public health lesson of SARS: First step in treating is reporting
  A sound public health system is dependent on the vigilance of individual physicians. - May 19
• Smallpox vaccine: Easing fears on inoculations
  A bill offers needed protections for physicians and other health care "first responders" who receive the vaccine. - May 12
• High court's clear thinking on ERISA: Reining in HMOs
  Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, health plans can no longer hide from state regulation. That could give physicians and patients greater strength in holding HMOs accountable for their decisions. - May 5
• Imported prescriptions: A prudent FDA crackdown
  Internet pharmacies and storefront operations that offer offshore prescription drugs to American patients can expect to find themselves in trouble with the FDA. - April 28
• Act before tort crisis spreads
  As the medical liability crisis grows, it's time for the Senate to pass tort reform. - April 21
• Deadly milestone: 5 years of assisted suicide
  Oregon marks its fifth year as the only state in the nation to allow physician-assisted suicide. The number of people availing themselves of the law in 2002 doubled since 1998, the first year the law was in place. - April 21
• Time to focus on care disparities
  Many minority Americans receive lower quality health care than their white counterparts; physicians have an important role to play in ending that difference. - April 14
• Electronic medical records: Ask physicians what they want
  When medical practices and hospitals don't get physicians involved in the planning, purchase and implementation of an EMR, this promising technology is doomed to fail. - April 7
• Bioterrorism threats: Are we ready? Or not?
  Physicians have a special role in meeting the demands of an anxious time. - March 24/31
• Medicine, and Medicare, must prepare for more elderly patients
  Medical schools, practicing physicians and the federal government all have roles to play in seeing that there are enough doctors trained in geriatric care. - March 17
• Commonsense approach to HIPAA compliance
  The medical records privacy rule deadline is just around the corner. It's not too late to prepare. - March 10
• Health plan market dominance: FTC should rein in overbearing plans
  With such influence greater than ever, federal regulators need to ensure that insurers don't abuse their power. - March 3
• Break needed from alcohol ads
  Alcohol advertising is one of the primary culprits in the normalization of youth drinking. Addressing it is an important part of the effort to curb underage alcohol use. - Feb. 24
• Your message to patients: Supersize, shorter life
  Patients must understand that obesity impacts quantity, as well as quality of life. - Feb. 17
• Liability crisis at breaking point: Doctors wait for ray of hope
  It's time for Congress to act on effective medical tort reform. - Feb. 10
• Online care: Guidelines tame the wild Web
  Practice issues addressed include how to handle patient e-mail and online consultations. - Feb. 3
• Doctors can help stop abuse
  The AMA provides a roadmap to address intimate partner violence. - Jan. 27
• Doctors deserve privacy too: Credentialing should not require revealing your entire health history
  At a time of stringent requirements for patient privacy, what about the legitimate rights of physicians? - Jan. 20
• Delegates issue call to action: Time to fix the Medicare mistake
  The AMA has launched an action plan to convince Congress to stop the Medicare physician payment cuts. - Jan. 13
• Rewarding quality care: Physicians should set the standards
  Incentives for providing quality care are the latest thing, but only physician involvement in standards will ensure that such programs are legitimate. - Jan. 6

General operating costs for multispecialty practices have increased more than 50% since 2001. Read more