As I am sure you are all aware, barring last-minute action by Congress, the 21.2 percent cut to Medicare physician payments will take effect next Monday, March 1.  Despite previous indications that the Senate was considering an amendment to an anticipated job-creation bill to avert the cut, no clear legislative pathway for relief has yet been defined.

It has become as difficult to get paid correctly by the private insurance companies as by the Government.  The level of sophisticated technology and staffing expertise required for the physician to optimize reimbursement has created a crisis in most practices.

Medicine has become an "Industry" that is a major part of the world economy.  The "Business of Medicine" should make the "Practice of Medicine more successful, not more difficult.  Without a quality team and advanced technology, the Physician and private practice will find it difficult to survive and prosper in the future.