Featured Article

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH), a team-based model in which patients’ primary physicians direct and coordinate all care to improve continuity and outcomes, is making its way into the practice environment. Scores of pilots are under way in environments ranging from solo practices to integrated health systems. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will soon begin making monthly payments to eligible practices, both primary care and subspecialty, that demonstrate their ability to deliver coordinated care to “high need” patients. The CMS pilot and similar insurer-sponsored programs likely will propel adoption of the PCMH, which could transform not only primary care delivery but also working relationships among PCPs and specialists.

• Patient-Centered Medical Home Debuts

Trends

• Hospitalist Movement Still on Fast Track
• Women in Medicine
• Postponing the Fellowship
• First Year of Practice
• Ensuring — and Tracking — Physician Competence
• Palliative Medicine Career Paths
• Specialists: The Newest Entrants in the Hospitalist Movement

Practice Setting

• Physician Volunteer Work
• Fellowship Track
• Military Medical Careers
• Here Come the Hospitalists
• Locum Tenens and Movable Medicine
• Differentiating Among Practice Settings

Compensation, Contracts, Insurance

• Physician Employment Contracts: Recent Developments Spell Good News, Problem Areas
• Physician Pay-for-Performance Programs Taking Hold
• Physician Employment and Compensation Outlook for ’07
• Physician Compensation
• Coping with Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates
• Anatomy of a Contract
• Contract Pitfalls

Practical Job-Seeking Skills

• Background Checks
• Cover Letters
• Medical School Debt
• In-house Recruiters
• Search Firms
• Relocation Resources
• Interviewing Skills
• Networking Know-How can Boost Physician Job Search Success
• Moving On: Issues to Consider When Making a Career Move