For many patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) has provided much needed relief from a condition that, by its daily aggravation, can significantly reduce quality of life.
On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly referred to as ARRA or the Stimulus Bill) which includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Act includes significant changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that affect otolaryngologists and other health care providers, as well as those who process or work with health care information. Below is a summary of how these new provisions, many of which go into effect this Feb. 17, will affect your practice.
Presdient Obama signed legislationlast month to temporarily prevent a 12.2 percent Medicare payment cut scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The freeze lasts until Feb. 28, during which Congress is expected to come up with a permanent solution to what some consider a flawed payment system.
Prior to the introduction of MP3 players, hearing loss among children was estimated at around 12.5 percent. More recent studies, however, estimate that 16 percent of teenagers, or approximately 6 million children, suffer from permanent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
How do you plan to deal with workforce shortages? If you are like 55 percent of the audience at an interactive mini-seminar held during the October American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Foundation annual meeting, you intend to hire additional otolaryngologists to help with practice overload.
In a modern society that is constantly “on,” with 24-hour news channels, Internet connection, cell phones, video games, and a rapid pace of life unequaled in previous generations, sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are not only a risk—they are a given.