Practice Development

It Was 20 Years Ago, Today…. Reflecting on HPC’s First Two Decades

By Erik Goldman

On October 15, 2000, the first edition of Holistic Primary Care rolled off the presses at Democrat Printing & Lithography in Little Rock, Arkansas, and into 60,000 doctors’ offices across the country. And just like that, an idea had back in 1986 had suddenly become a tangible reality, giving voice to a movement aimed at […]

Your COVID Communications Could be Illegal: How to Avoid FDA & FTC Trouble When Marketing Your Practice

By Erik Goldman

Since COVID erupted, the FTC and FDA have issued hundreds of warning letters to practitioners requiring them to delete online posts about immune system support or potential COVID treatments Many practitioners who got warnings were completely unaware they’d done anything wrong Some practitioners have had their merchant services accounts suspended; others have received threats of […]

Healing Primary Care’s Moral Injury

By Erik Goldman

For decades, the United States has failed to invest in primary care. The result is a situation that has sorely compromised the health and well-being of patients and practitioners alike. Though it consistently accounts for 50% of all annual medical visits, primary care represents less than 7% of the nation’s total healthcare expenditures, and receives […]

Words of Warning: Fed Reprimands Clinicians on COVID Communications

By Erik Goldman

Any public health crisis creates a ripe situation for marketers promising quick cures and phony protections. With COVID-19, the huckstering began almost immediately. So did federal regulatory actions.  By the second week of March, the FDA had issued cease-and-desist warning letters to seven companies for selling COVID-19 remedies, including teas, essential oils, tinctures, and colloidal […]

Remote Patient Monitoring: From Luxury to Necessity

By Russell Jaffe, MD, Contributing Writer

Patient self-assessment tools, along with remote consultation technologies, have evolved rapidly over the last decade. Until recently, they’ve been considered luxuries for highly motivated patients and future-forward clinicians. In the post-COVID world, where many physicians have closed their clinics and patients are deferring all but the most essential in-person visits, telemedicine and remote monitoring are […]

How Insurers Profit From the Pandemic: A Conversation with Wendell Potter

By Erik Goldman

The COVID pandemic has wrought unprecedented economic strife worldwide. Despite the public hardship, one sector profits handsomely from the pandemic: health insurance. Healthcare plans are poised to make record profits this year. They continue to collect premiums, but their coverage of COVID care is spotty at best, and with so many clinics closed and non-COVID […]

Profiting from Pandemic: How Insurers Turned COVID into a Goldmine

By Erik Goldman

For health insurers, the COVID pandemic has been a goldmine. At least so far. Across the nation, ordinary people and small businesses struggle with both the disease itself and the fiscal consequences of prolonged economic shutdown. Healthcare plans, on the other hand, are poised to make record profits this year. According to a mid-April NASDAQ […]

Coding in the Time of COVID: Streamlining Your New Telehealth Practice

By Stacy Collier, Contributing Writer

With quarantine and social distancing in effect in most states now, and no definitive end date, it is important to quickly and efficiently transition your practice into a virtual one. Telemedicine can be a life-saver, not only for your patients but for the future of your clinic, provided you understand how to code and bill for it. 

The Plantrician Will See You Now: Vegan Living Meets Clinical Practice

By Ellen Kanner, Contributing Writer

For a growing number of other doctors, plants–and specifically plant-based nutrition–hold the solution to preventing burnout and re-discovering professional satisfaction. The plant-based lifestyle is not just a hot consumer trend, it is a force thats transforming the lives of physicians nationwide.

New National Credential Signals Maturing of Health Coach Field

By Kristen Schepker, Assistant Editor

Health and wellness coaches are rapidly earning recognition as indispensable healthcare allies. Until recently, however, there was no clear gold standard for choosing a quality health coach with adequate training and expertise. But a new national coaching credential could set some coaches above the rest.