Ethics

The Golden Rule for Correct Coding

At a recent Specialty Day talk on managing difficult worker's compensation patients, an ASSH member had a poignant and arresting slide that simply said "Don't Be a Rapist." By that, he meant that it was easy to overbill, overcode, and perform unnecessary procedures on worker's compensation patients, and that we have a moral and ethical obligation to treat these patients, and…

Often Wrong, but Never in Doubt

The popular trope of the confident, arrogant and swashbuckling surgeon is usually as far from representing reality as a Norman Rockwell painting is from representing modern urban life. "Often wrong, but never in doubt" is a phrase bandied about medical schools for laughs to describe the attitudes of those who practice surgery. I am often wrong, often in doubt, and…

Telling It Like It Is: Difficult Peer Conversations in the Outpatient Setting

Many of us have become leaders in our practices, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC’s) and hospitals by choice or circumstance. Leadership often means that difficult conversations with our fellow surgeons are part of our responsibility. Unfortunately, few of us are trained in the art of handling these conversations in a way that ends with the desired outcome, which is usually to…