The Certified Medical Coder preparatory course can train a trusted office staffer to be a high-caliber coder with a mastery of terms and coding conventions.

The Los Angeles County Medical Association is getting set for a dynamic 2008 by bringing in new executive leadership and organizing vital political advocacy programs.

The terrorist attacks on 9/11, the subsequent criminal spread of anthrax through the mail and the SARS epidemic in late 2002 emphasized the need to modernize the systems we rely upon to detect bioterrorist acts and emerging infectious diseases.

To improve doctors' professional future and garner power in the changing environment, medical staffs must cease to identify with hospitals and form regional physician organizations. Such organizations support the notion that the physician-patient interaction is the centerpiece of any healthcare delivery system.

I'm a recovering doc-aholic. A doc-aholic is addicted to the fantasy that he can make it alone just by working a little harder. Doc-aholics see themselves as healers in isolation, disconnected from peers, business reality and professional organizations. They accept contracts out of fear. They embrace the idea that "I'm a doctor, so I'll be okay. I'll just keep doing the same old thing and expect a different result."

AMA Meet and Greet Sessions Yeild Lively Discussion * Physician Fights Back in Wrongful Liability Case

Medical staff leaders have an ally in their quest to function effectively in the hospital environment-the Organized Medical Staff Section of the California Medical Association. Pro-physician model bylaws and a bylaws- analysis service also bolster medical staff leadership and ensure patient advocacy.

Experts and physician users offer advice on better electronic health records system selection, implementation and operation. Learn more about the costs and the process of going paperless.

The link between hospital opposition to self-governance and economic fear cannot be overestimated. This article explains the damaging ways hospital administrations might behave in their relationships with medical staffs and highlights why medical staffs must know and exercise their rights.

   What draws generation after generation into medicine?
   Several Southern California doctors reveal just how and why their family trees are firmly planted in the medical field.
   Compelling role models and mutual understanding of the demands are just the start. A family tradition in medicine is based on love.