Fee

I was checking to see if there was a new edition and was surprised to see that the book is out of print. I'm not surprised, however, to see that the price for a used copy is 3x what I paid for mine. This is an outstanding resource, in workbook format, for evaluating all of the facets (clinical & business processes, HR, IS, etc) of a behavioral health practice. The breadth of information and the organization of the book offers far more than the title suggests. It could be retitled "Evaluating Your Behavioral Healthcare Practice".

As a person who advises students and clients on how to start and operate a business from home, I am always looking for books and other resources for them to use. Kate Kelly's book on setting fees is the only book I recommend on this subject because it is written in a way that makes you feel she is talking just to you. Ms. Kelly covers all the practical considerations for setting your fees whether for a service- or a product-based business and makes you believe you can get the fees you set for yourself/your business. I highly recommend this book even, and maybe especially, if you are already in business and have a fee schedule. You will either have affirmation that you are in the right ballpark or find you are out in left field somewhere with your pricing.

Knight's Fee is one of the four or five books I've read in my life which alway make me cry. Though written for children, it's completely unpatronising, always crediting the reader with intelligence and imagination, and is beautifully written. It tells the story of Randal, a half-Saxon half-Breton lad in Norman England, an orphan left to fend for himself as a dog-boy in Arundel castle, and details his gradual rise to knighthood and freedom, at a terrible price. I have only ever seen this book in hardback, in an Oxford Childrens Library edition, never in paperback, which is a great pity, as it is a vastly underrated book by this author, far better I think than her more well-known stories of Roman Britain, and deserves to be much more widely read.

Ceux qui connaissent (et aiment) l'attachante famille Malaussène ne peuvent que se régaler à la lecture de la fée Carabine. L'humour, encore une fois au rendez-vous, mais surtout les liens d'amitié tissés entre les protagonistes font de ce roman, qu'il est impossible de décrire en quelques mots, une nuit (!) de lecture des plus divertissantes ! Un conseil: si vous ne connaissez pas encore, lisez d'abord "Au bonheur des Ogres".

Many clients and other non-lawyers believe that lawyers milk the legal system for every conceivable financial advantage. As an attorney in New York City for the past 7 1/2 years, I believe most attorneys are ethical, but a small percentage give the entire profession a bad name. Toothman and Ross' book details efforts by judges to punish the lazy, incompetent or unethical lawyer by disallowing fees while allowing diligent, competent and ethical lawyers to collect when a client seeks to avoid payment.

The opening chapters of the book focus on the unique nature of the attorney/client relationship and how this relationship impacts the allowable fee. As trusted advisor to the client, the attorney has an obligation to charge only a "reasonable" fee. The lawyer is not free to strike any deal with a client. This is becuase the client relies on an attorney not just to protect his rights in a litigation or transaction, but to properly define the scope of what needs to be done. The book goes through some examples where courts reviewed engagement letters and bills to judge whether the resulting fee was "reasonable."

The book also details a group of questionable billing practices. There are many creative ways in which some lawyers add dollar amounts to their bills. Among the billing practices discussed were charging clients for firm overhead, charging senior lawyer time for simple or clerical tasks, and charging a client for recycled work (i.e. work done for another client in a similar matter). Thankfully, most courts are not hesitant to clamp down on such abuses. The later portion of the book gives clients tips on how to manage fees and detect abuses, and lawyers advice on how to manage their cases to maximize productivity and avoid unethical billing practices.

My only modest criticism is that the authors spent less than two pages discussing class action fees.... Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book to lawyers and clients alike.

This series combines some of the most exhaustive treatment of each book available with up-to-date scholarship and a generally evangelical point of view. Each volume is close to 1,000 pages, and the treatment is thorough. Most if not all commentaries were written or revised in the 90's or 2000's, and a knowledge of issues such as narrative theology, literary genre and rhetorical criticism are reflected in the text (unlike many other evangelical commentary series). If you are looking to invest in a more exhaustive series, this is the one to invest in .... ...

Buppert's new book is truly exceptional. She weaves together the changing worlds of health care, business, law, research, and academia in a very practical way. She has created an irreplaceable resource for any and all of you nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician's assistants who desire to strengthen your primary care practice, or to develop a practice from scratch.

Buppert, an active attorney and primary care nurse practitioner, states in the preface that her book explains: · How to get paid the maximum appropriate reimbursement while complying with new federal coding and billing guidelines · How to negotiate managed care contracts · How to shine on managed care quality audits · How to monitor and improve medical outcomes at the practice level · How to avoid malpractice · How to save time while accomplishing all of the above.

Her book lives up to its promise by compiling many essential guidelines and references in one location. It includes both the private managed care HEDIS measures, benchmarks, and national track record and the public U.S. Bureau of Public Health's "Put Prevention Into Practice" health guides. It provides sample forms for following patients with chronic diseases; systems and measures to track patient satisfaction and functional status; and systems to aid compliance with Medicare and other payer's billing codes. In addition, it gives proactive legal advice on self-monitoring of documentation in order to avoid both malpractice and billing fraud liability. And, beyond this valuable information, is a chapter full of practical advice on setting up contracts with managed care organizations.

For those of us with an academic bent, additional references on quality assessment and improvement ("performance measurement") will add to the solid foundation this book provides. Clinicians attentive to measuring outcomes of care will be well-served by the clear instructions and easy-to-use templates in the book.

Buppert, in her legal practice, has for many years promoted fair contracts between primary care providers and managed care organizations. Her advice in this book is based on real-life experience and negotiation on behalf of nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician's assistants. You would pay more for one hour of an attorney's time than you will for this exceedingly helpful book!

Melinda Jenkins, PhD, RN,CS; Director, Family Nurse Practitioner Program; School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096 mjenkins@nursing.upenn.edu

James Fee is one of our most underrated photographers. His dark, contemplative work speaks of an America long-gone and never to return. The prints are gorgeous and really serve the subject matter. Buy, buy buy.

This book is great: it's full of practical advice for lawyers who want to increase their bottom lines. The book is not overwhelming, the individual articles are short and to the point, and the writing style is friendly. I recommend it.

I would like to get the address of Lian Kwen Fee or at least to send my E address to Lian.