Changes to improve outcomes for our patients and ourselves must be planned, incremental evolutions, using processes already in place.

The Orange County Medical Association Board of Directors held its annual retreat during the first weekend in October. The purpose of the retreat was to provide an educational and interactive forum to assist the leadership in developing strategies to meet the current and future needs of our members.

Working quickly and effectively, the California Medical Association reached an agreement with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in early September not to make any cuts to Medi-Cal physician reimbursement rates this year.

California physicians celebrate the passage of AB 1735 and anticipate the 2006 legislative season.

Brian Kinney, MD * Michael Steinberg, MD * Mohan Mallam, MD * Sheldon Lipshutz, MD * Mohammad Admani, MD * Mirza Baig, MD * Vishwa Kapoor, MD * Jonathan Fielding, MD, MPH

The Ventura County Medical Association and the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (PAHCOM) are in the process of conducting the Third Annual Ventura County Local Salary Survey. The results will be available this month.

The outpouring of aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina is remarkable. I would like to recognize the local physicians and healthcare teams who anticipated the call and traveled long distances to provide medical care to hundreds of people displaced by the disaster.

The arrival of the new prescription drug benefit is making headlines everywhere, and doctors have a role in discussing patients’ options. Here are the basics about the program, some helpful resources and ways to answer seniors’ questions more effectively.

Their efforts to pass SB 57 were thwarted, but they did succeed in raising awareness about uncompensated care.

Charles R. Tourtellotte, MD, was born in Worcester, Mass., on May 13, 1927. He died Sept. 18 of prostate cancer in Riverside.

The third annual CME cruise will sail the South Pacific in July.

John G. Elder, MD, of Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic, and Tom Nolan, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, address the group.

Don't miss your chance to claim your share of the $135 million WellPoint (Blue Cross of California) settlement. Physicians and medical group administrators should take seven steps to maximize their recovery.

The San Bernardino County Medical Society board approved the year-end audit report, heard a report from a CMA trustee and discussed recruitment efforts.

My dad told me that when you get into bed with the government the last thing you will get is a good night’s sleep. And now it looks like Uncle Sam is entering the field of patient care.

It’s November, and that means the election cycle in 2006 is just around the corner. Candidates for office are already on the campaign trail stumping for dollars and votes.

Riverside pediatrician Robert Duncanson, MD, has been devoted to children’s health for 40 years. He now treats grandchildren of his earliest patients.

Don’t ignore the widespread move toward incentives to improve healthcare quality.

The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently set out to educate physicians on when a Medicare Part B claim should be considered a “reopening” and handled as an adjustment, and when a claim meets the requirements for an appeal.

Licensing tobacco retailers could stop illegal cigarette sales and curb nicotine addiction.

There’s some mystique surrounding spa practices and spa patients. So here are four stories straight from physicians about their backgrounds and their customers.