Twenty million, four hundred thousand. That’s a big number. According to the most recent data from the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) National Center for Health Statistics, that is how many more Americans have health insurance coverage than in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted.

For America’s physicians, 20.4 million is not just an abstract figure. It represents their patients—living with illness or working to prevent it—who now have health insurance coverage to support their care. And as the nation’s elected representatives consider changes to the health system, it is a number no one wants to see go in the wrong direction.

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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down key portions of a Florida law that restricted the ability of physicians to communicate freely with their patients about firearms safety. In an en banc decision overturning an earlier three-judge panel ruling, the court ruled that Florida’s Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act infringes on the free speech rights of physicians.

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When Brigham and Women’s Hospital left its legacy electronic health records (EHR) system for a commercial offering, a period of adjustment was expected. Leaders scheduled 20 percent fewer surgical cases during the first two weeks of the EHR transition, yet the switch still increased the time between procedures by 19 percent during the first month, and turnover times did not return to the pre-implementation baseline for nine months. The experience shows the importance of adjusting expectations regarding efficiencies that might be gained from a new EHR, and how strong teamwork can overcome the initial learning curve.

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Physicians and other health professionals frequently overestimate and underestimate the harms and benefits of medical treatments, screenings and tests, according to a recently published systematic review of medical literature on the subject. Decision-support tools can help address knowledge gaps and inform patient-physician discussions.

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Faced with the daunting challenge of opening a new hospital and simultaneously going live with a new electronic health record system in 2013, the leaders of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, created a daily “safety huddle” involving dozens of representatives from nearly all clinical and other areas of the facility. The meetings helped bring to the fore EHR-related quality and safety concerns that could be rapidly addressed to protect patients.

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What do you do 37 times in a given workweek? If you are a fervent coffee drinker, perhaps that is how often you refill your trusty travel mug. But if you are like the physicians recently surveyed by the AMA, 37 may be the number of prior-authorization requests that you and your hardworking staffers complete each week. That is just one of the alarming results of a new survey that demonstrates the toll prior authorization is taking on patients, physicians and medical practices.

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Regularly held, properly run team meetings can help physician practices solve workflow problems, build camaraderie and improve patient care. A group of internal medicine practices in Boston explains how it has used effective team meetings to achieve these goals and more.

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