A new online service provides consumers with diagnosis and treatment for common medical conditions round the clock. By accessing the service for conditions that are not serious health emergencies, patients can get the care they need when their physician is not available. In turn, doctors can access the online information to work more efficiently and manage a larger patient population.

Medication compliance is an issue that not only impacts patients, but families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals as well. So when a recent study for a mobile phone application designed to improve medication compliance turned up encouraging results, it signaled an important step forward.

A physician’s ability to empathize with a patient improves the quality of care he or she provides, according to a recent study. The good news is that physicians tend to have a head start in that area. But even if they don't have that skill, empathy can be taught. Here are some questions to ask to gauge your ability to empathize with your patients.

A lot of physicians think they have electronic referral capability because it comes with their electronic medical records system. But while most EMRs capture referral information, there is no way to transmit it out to the specialist, or for the specialist to transmit diagnosis, treatment or results back to the referring physician. That's a crucial detail that hinders practice productivity.

Physicians are finding that whether they take a phased-in approach, or dive right in to implementing an electronic medical records (EMR) systems in their practices, the key to success is for doctors and nurses to be involved in the process from the start.