Introduction to the Business of Medicine

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to serve as an introduction for interested students to the concepts of the business of medicine. Initial focus is to provide a framework for graduating students who enter into post graduate programs to educate them on the steps needed to understand and agree to negotiated hospital contracts. The course will be set up as a panel discussion format to cover introduction, choosing a specialty and the particulars of business considerations needed to be successful. The course will include how to set up practice, how to join practice, how to equip the office and understand office design. It will go into the types of practice arrangements, the financial considerations in financing, billing, electronic medical records set up, and coding. It will cover contracts with employers, insurance companies, and hospitals. In addition, we will cover insurance issues regarding malpractice, life, disability, liability, etc. We will address regulations in medicine to include federal, state, and local considerations, regulations from hospitals, insurance companies and accreditation organizations. We will cover the trends of medical practice to include telemedicine and changes in managed care to include shared risk templates. Students will be able to interact in an informal discussion type format and will be given self-assessment questions to review for discussion during the last session.