James F. Sweeney

While the masthead and picture on this page have changed, the mission of the magazine has not. As healthcare enters a critical stage, Medical Economics will continue to provide the information you need on practice management, patient care and personal and professional finances. The issue you're reading is a good example:

Senior editor Morgan Lewis Jr. traveled to rural Kingsport, Tenn., to get a glimpse of one possible future for healthcare. Kingsport is home to Holston Medical Group, a 100-physician multispecialty practice that takes an integrated, comprehensive approach to treating cardiometabolic disorders. Primary care physicians, PharmDs, diabetes educators, an endocrinologist, a dietitian and an insulin-pump specialist use their unique skills to treat conditions and control risk factors.

While providing quality care is always your uppermost priority, being fairly compensated for it is, of necessity, not far behind. For a growing number of physicians, that means dealing with Health Savings Accounts and an increasing number of patients with high deductibles, a relatively new administrative hurdle that puts more demand on your staff and their time. The article explains how HSAs work and what they will mean to your practice.

Speaking of money, the rules about investing in Roth IRAs change next year. But before you start moving your money around, you need to know what makes sense. Roth IRAs, which, unlike traditional IRAs, are funded with net income, are not for everyone, but they might work for you.

Of course, the regular features – Coding Cues, Malpractice Consult, Money Management Q&A, and Practice Management Q&A – are inside as well.

To close, I would like to add that I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. If there is a topic you'd like to see explored in these pages or one that you think we spend too much time on, let me know. Medical Economics is here to serve the primary care physician and you, the readers, are in the best position to let us know how to do that.

Thanks for reading.