The authors discuss useful tools and tricks of the trade in pathology practice management. In-depth chapters on coding and billing by nationally known consultant Dennis Padget will prepare you to evaluate coding and billing practices. Noted law experts Jane Pine Wood and Amelia Larsen, attorneys at McDonald Hopkins, highlight key issues in employment, insurance, and hospital contracts and provide examples of how to deal with tricky issues. Sections on human resources and group dynamics take on the vexing issues that people bring to work. Finally, the authors identify current trends and reason how these might play out.

In providing a broad overview of pathology practice management, each chapter employs a didactic framework, including one or more scenarios to illustrate challenges encountered by the writers. This case-based approach facilitates interactive learning and will thus be particularly useful to pathology training programs.

Whatever your stage in the fieldfrom resident to senior pathologist, including those in leadership rolesPathology Practice Management: A Case-Based Guideis essential reading.

Michael L. Talbert, M.D.
Lloyd E. Rader Professor and Chairman

Department of Pathology
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Oklahoma City, OK
USA

Lewis A. Hassell, M.D.
Professorship of Excellence in Anatomic Pathology

Professor and Director of Anatomic Pathology

Department of Pathology
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma City, OK
USA

Jane Pine Wood, J.D.
McDonald- Hopkins
Dennis, MA
USA

Section 1: Money and the Practice of Pathology.- Healthcare Finance and the Pathology Practice.- The Trend Outcomes, Accountable Care and Value-Based Purchasing.- Coding and Billing.- Revenue Cycle Management.- Applying the Knowledge.- Current Major Trends and Considerations for the Future.- Section 2: Financial Management of a Practice.- The Income Statement.- More Complex Arrangements.- Practice Sales and Mergers.- Section 3: Contracting.- Payor Contracts.- Hospital Contracts.- Pathologist Employment Contracts.- Section 4: Human Resources.- Human Resources (HR) Management.- Section 5: Pathology Group Issues.- Group Dynamics.- Section 6: Better Practice Management.- Skills and Tools for Better Practice Management.- Section 7: Managing Ricks and Opportunities.- Professional Liability Risk.- Corporate and General Liability.- Disaster Risks and Preparedness Planning.- Market and Valuation Risks.- Technologic and Regulatory Risks.- Opportunities and Entrepreneurism.- Identifying and Capitalizing on Opportunities.- Section 8: Looking Ahead.- The High Performing Practice into the Future.- Bringing It All Together.- Appendix A: Cases for Discussion.- Appendix B: You and Your Environment: Cases for Group Discussion.