Taggart Property Group Blog

Selling your home can be a daunting process, but it's one that you have to go through if you want to upgrade or move to a new neighborhood. We've compiled everything you need to know about selling your home. Read on for more information about how selling your home works.

A recent trend that does not look like it is slowing down is hospital buy-outs of private medical practices. The appeal for private practice physicians might be a variety of things: financial security and certain benefits paid by an employer, virtually no worries about decreasing patient flow, and often a small cash payment. But this trend has ramifications for physicians and patients alike. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of private practice as opposed to hospitalized care. For any physicians considering a move like this, consider the following:

Increased physician autonomy in a private medical practice.

When you run your own practice (or work within an independent practice), you are much freer to practice medicine in the way you deem most beneficial to patients. As part of a large healthcare organization, you become a cog in a wheel - subject to someone else’s schedule, policies, and procedures. As a private practice physician, you have greater say in how to handle patient disputes, the type of environment you want to create, how your office is staffed, and more. Increased physician autonomy results in happier physicians AND patients...a win-win situation.

Happy April, everyone! Did you know that this is Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month? Or Global Astronomy Month? Believe it or not, April is home to some interesting monthly and weekly observations. To celebrate, let’s take a look at some of the events, conditions, or diseases being observed this month that also have a corresponding ICD-10 code. First up: Autism.

As we all know, the healthcare landscape is flush with high-deductible plans, and one of the unintended consequences is that patients have a higher expectation of care since they are paying more out of pocket. When you think about it, this position makes sense...so what can private medical practices do to capitalize on this newer trend? Here are some easy, low-cost ways to improve patient satisfaction, and therefore decrease chances of a lawsuit or losing patients…some of them may even improve patient collections!

Technology has provided many advantages to the healthcare sector, such as allowing better collaboration between providers, patient’s records being more accessible during care, and more. But one of the downsides is that some healthcare systems have been shown vulnerable to attack - specifically, cyber-hacking. Some of the better-known incidents in recent history were the data breaches at Anthem, Premera, and UCLA Health. Let’s take a look at why these breaches are particularly nasty, and what private medical practices can do to avoid them.

It’s a high-deductible world out there now, and what that means for private medical practices is that patient collections are becoming more and more important. Not only do you need to streamline payer-practice relationships, but it’s now necessary to have a reliable process in place to collect from patients as well. Here are some tips to help improve your financial bottom line when it comes to copays, coinsurance, and other patient liabilities.

Happy St Patrick’s Day, everyone! To celebrate this classic holiday, we decided to brainstorm all things St Patty-related and see whether there is an ICD-10 code associated...which is somewhere on the fun scale between getting pinched by someone and playing beer pong with green beer. Let’s get started!

Green sickness (D50.8): The color green has long been associated with St Patrick’s Day, Ireland, and more, although there are many possible origins for the association. Here are some of the more common ones: Ireland is often referred to as ‘the Emerald Isle,’ St Patrick apparently used a green clover to describe the basic tenets of Catholicism, and green is prominent in the national flag (one of three colors). Or, you could go with this slightly-more-exciting version of the story:

Concierge healthcare may be a term that is unfamiliar to many, but that will not be the case for very long. As healthcare costs continue to rise, alternative models for people to receive care will be created, and the ones that provide patients with the best value for their money will succeed. Concierge healthcare is one of those models, and it’s worth considering for physicians that are concerned about providing excellent care. Let’s take a look at what concierge healthcare is and why it is beneficial to patients and physicians alike.

You may be surprised to know that March has more holidays and observances than just St Patrick’s Day! For instance, did you know that it is “Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month?” Or National Quinoa, Peanut, Noodle, and Umbrella Month (all celebrated separately, of course)? We didn’t, either...so we thought it might be a great opportunity for everyone to learn about the various monthly observances happening in March. Even better, we looked up relevant ICD-10 codes to go with the celebrations (so if you work in the medical billing industry, feel free to log this time as OJT!). Last year, we looked at green beer and hangovers; this month, let’s see what else March has in store!

Did you know that since 1999, the number of prescription painkillers sold in the United States has quadrupled, but a similar increase has not been noticed in the number of Americans reporting pain? America has a big problem on its hands with the number of deaths that occur every year from prescription painkillers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44 Americans die every day from an overdose of prescription painkillers. The most common are opioids, such as Oxycontin (oxycodone), Vicodin (hydrocodone), and methadone.