Treating your patients and running your practice will keep any doctor constantly busy and give them very little free time. Luckily we live in an age where there are plenty of resources available to help you to be productive and to manage your time. These resources include apps for your phone, software and other physician tools available to you on the internet.

An app that is essential for productivity and time management is called Epocrates. This particular app has many uses. The main use for looking up drug details and drug interaction information, but there are other uses as well! It can be used to look up other doctors for referrals and can even be used to calculate patient information. This includes such things as BMI and other important information that may be required to give to the patient.

Beyond your patients, you also have to manage your practice including scheduling and payroll. Luckily, there are now programs designed to make handling both of these things much easier. One such program is called Shift Planning. The entire setup of Shift Planning is meant to make setting schedules and paying your employees both quick and easy. And, when your day is booked, these thing are greatly appreciated.

If you’re looking for more specialized help with maintaining your education, keeping up on the newest research and finding resources such as insurance for medical personnel then the American Medical Association website is where you will want to turn. Their website has sections for each of these topics and much more!

Have you ever just wanted to connect to other physicians? Knowing that the person you are speaking with may have dealt with the situation you are dealing with is a valuable resource. Luckily, the doc2doc Forums exists and provide exactly that form of service. This tool is an excellent way to create new connections and network with others who do the same type of work that you do.

Sometimes you need specific information about other providers. An excellent resource if you need a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number is the NPPES NPI Registry. This registry allows you to quickly search a database to locate these numbers as you need them.

Whatever you are trying to accomplish with your practice, there are physician tools available for you. You just have to know where to look find them and decide which tools would be the most beneficial to you.

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Do you want a visual guide so that you can remember these resources? We’ve generated one just for you!

This network update goes over a congratulations to Dr. Santharam Yadati, Last Chance for Survey, Strategic Assessment and more.

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Many physicians have discovered the joys of blogging – both those who write them and the followers who find them useful to their daily practices. They are a great way to build a healthcare community on a variety of topics – primary care, oncology, parenting, and even life after a medical career. We’ve rounded up just four of our favorite physician blogs that we think you’ll enjoy reading and following. They contain great writing and present interesting points of view sure to spark discussion.

KevinMD
Physician Kevin Pho has one of the most well-liked and respected physician blogs on the Internet today. The popular site, KevinMD, is sponsored by Medpage Today, and his blog entitled “Kevin’s Take” contains opinionated views on everything from antibiotics to establishing an on-line presence. Dubbed “social media’s leading physician voice,” Dr. Pho offers a lively forum for health professionals and patients to express their insights, issues and concerns, including the often taboo subject of physician burnout. All are welcome to share their voice and talk about their own struggles and views.

Mothers in Medicine
Told from the perspective of motherhood, this blog speaks to anyone who struggles with a work-life balance. Mothers in Medicine is a group blog that offers insightful posts on the challenges and rewards of caring for one’s patients and family at the same time. The contributing doctors also respond to medical questions submitted by blog followers seeking advice on diverse topics including taking the pathology boards and motherhood. A similar site, MomMD, boasts a community of over 1 million, with 11,000 plus active members. The goal here is to encourage and support women physicians, residents, medical students and nurses in their careers and everyday lives.

db’s Medical Rants
Dr. Robert Centor is an academic general internist at the University of Alabama School of Medicine who also serves as associate dean for the university’s Huntsville Regional Medical Campus. Passionate followers know that the “db” stands for both Dr. Bob and “da boss.” db’s Medical Rants is a blog that is unafraid to tell it like it is, and the site’s legions of fans appreciate its refreshing take on “quality reporting,” internal medicine, the American healthcare system, and medical education. Dr. Centor believes that patient characteristics make a huge difference in how they should be treated and many of his short essays address this topic. The site is updated several times per week, which ensures the information it contains is new and fresh.

Medinnovation

Run by pathologist, editor, author, and speaker Dr. Richard Reece, Medinnovation bills itself as the blog where health reform, medical innovation, and physician practices meet. Dr. Reece strongly believes in the importance of controlling and improving health destinies through innovation. He also covers hot healthcare topics such as HMOs, Medicare Reform, and the Affordable Care Act. Whether they agree with his point of view or not, Dr. Reece is one of the best physician blogs for giving its readers plenty of information and opinion to keep the conversation lively.

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Social media is now prevalent in almost every industry, and the healthcare sector is no different. Every minute, people take to Twitter to post amazing ideas, information, and strategies for those that work in healthcare. The only problem is, in this vast sea of voices, which ones stand out and offer the most valuable information? The following are three of the top doctors to follow on Twitter who post can’t miss information regularly.

1. Kevin Pho, M.D. – @KevinMD
Dr. Pho has been a social media guru now for over a decade, and is considered one of the top healthcare influencers on Twitter. He joined the social media platform in 2007, and has amassed more than 140,000 followers. Playing the role on Twitter of one of social media’s leading voices for physicians, Dr. Kevin is also an author, keynote speaker, and is on USA Today’s Board of Contributors.  

The Nashua, NH physician got his start on social media with his extremely popular blog KevinMD, where he shares stories and insights from many people who intersect with our healthcare system. Founded in 2004, over 2,000 people in the industry have contributed to the site, and it’s been raved about in reviews from such reputable sources as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and CNN.

2. Michael Gibson, MD – @CMichaelGibson
With over 219,000 followers, Dr. Gibson is a shining star in the community way beyond social media. He’s the founder and Chairman of wikidoc.org (otherwise known as “the living textbook of medicine”) and is responsible for creating a free encyclopedia online of medical information. Dr. Gibson joined Twitter in 2012, and has been posting frequently ever since. From biotechnology, to information on new drugs, his Twitter feed is a treasure trove of modern medical data.  

Dr. Gibson is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and currently works as an interventional cardiologist in Boston, MA. He has also served as the medical lead in a partnership with Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo to help design classifying medical content for schema.org. In addition, Dr. Gibson has given countless radio and television interviews that are available online. In other words, he’s a very easy man to find.

3. Akram Boutros, MD – @Akram_Boutros
Dr. Boutros practices in Cleveland, OH and joined Twitter in 2009. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the MetroHealth System, where their mission is defined as: “Leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery and teamwork.” In 2014, he was named as one of the “most interesting people,” by Cleveland Magazine, and is known for his positive rapport with the entire staff at MetroHealth.

Dr. Boutros has almost 3,000 followers and Tweets on a daily basis, with subjects that include: the healthcare system, mental illness, and anything related to the field of medicine. The Egyptian-born physician had always dreamed about being a doctor, and admits to seeing every interaction as a chance for encouragement (so you know he gives great advice)!

Overall, the people that you choose to follow in the medical industry can greatly impact your stream of information. Why fill up your news feed with fluff when you can use it as a brief learning opportunity?  

Finding these physicians online takes no time at all, and all three are amazing doctors to follow on Twitter. These doctors are pillars in both their online and offline communities, and it’s no mystery as to why. Engaging with Dr. Pho, Dr. Gibson, and Dr. Boutros can only help to elevate you in your own position, and further your knowledge in the industry.  

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Physician Assistants, you should plan for the day of the PANRE exam as if you are going on a vacation. These PANRE exam tips will help you prepare for your testing day like a pro.

* Have a backup plan if a babysitter is needed. 
* Check your mode of transportation to make sure you will arrive at the destination on time. 
* Pack your lunch, snacks, and daily medications the night before the exam. 
* Review the practice test you purchased and passed the day before the exam.

Here are a few PANRE exam tips that can save you time and money.

Arriving Early For The Exam
* The recommendation is to arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled exam at the test center.
* Showing up late is not an option. You don’t want to pay out more money and re-apply because you were late.

You Must Prove Who You Are
There is a mandatory list of procedures that you have to follow in order to take the exam. For instance, you must list your name exactly as it is spelled on your personal identification on the test too.
* You must have a clear picture ID that looks like you. 
* Your name must be signed and printed on another ID.

Please keep in mind that you must undergo certain registration procedures such as:
* Your fingerprints will be scanned and documented.
* You must have your picture taken. 

Personal Lockers Are Mandatory
According to the NCCPA, “No personal belongings (i.e., brimmed hats, bookbags, handbags, books, notes, study materials, calculators, watches of any kind, electronic paging devices, recording or filming devices, radios, cellular phones, outerwear, or food and beverages) are allowed in the testing room, but you’ll be assigned a locker to store them in. Upon reasonable suspicion, personal belongings and their contents may be subject to inspection. Any materials that are, or reasonably appear to be, a reproduction of any NCCPA examination materials will be confiscated.”
  
The PANRE Test
You will be given a chance to take the practice test for 15 minutes before the initial exam begins.
* You will become familiar with how to sign in, select and change your answers on their computers. 
* The exam is four hours in length.
* There are four parts to the exam with a total of 240 questions that are multiple choice.
* You are given sixty minutes to read and answer the sixty questions.
* The test will automatically shut down in sixty minutes. 

The Test Penalties
The following PANRE exam tips will help you to avoid costly mistakes.
* Take note of the time on your test monitor as well as when your 15-minute breaks begin and end. (Extra minutes will be deducted from your next session.)
* You’re not allowed to sign back in, so if you have extra time make sure to check the answers that gave you a bit of trouble or were left blank.

If you follow these PANRE exam tips, you should be fully prepared to pass with flying colors!

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Physician Assistants, Did you just pass your PANRE exam? Consider the options Elliot Health System could offer you.

This network update goes over the Provider Alignment Survey and Feedback, Important Opioid Prescribing News, PICU, NICU and more.

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