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The article reports on the refill program developed to manage controlled substance refill. It states that controlled substance refill is an unexpected event which leads to the discontinuity of care if not administered by patient's provider. It mentions that the refill program utilizes a recurring-calendar-event function in Microsoft Outlook or Lotus iNotes. Moreover, it says that randomizing toxicology screens is provided to determine the actual number of urine toxicology screen (UTS).

This article presents information on the relationship between patients and physicians. Patients sometimes escalate their behavior when they feel they aren't getting the services they expect or when they feel their needs aren't being addressed. Taking time to sit down with the patient with the goal of better understanding the underlying expectations or needs that are driving his or her behavior can be valuable. Some patients have unreasonable expectations, but for others, understanding the point they're trying to make can go a long way in repairing the relationship. Sometimes, no matter what one does, there is no hope of resurrecting the relationship.

The article focuses on the ways by which family physicians can improve the office efficiency. The key is to employ proven quality improvement techniques used throughout the business world to increase efficiency and quality while decreasing costs. For each process in the practice, such as checking in patients or making referrals, a series of steps must be accomplished correctly, in the right order and at the right time to produce the best outcome. Improving office flow requires everyone, from the front desk staff to the physicians, to be involved in the improvement process. Every office has the potential to achieve efficient flow throughout all of its processes. INSETS: SPEEDBAR;10 RULES FOR AN EFFICIENT PROCESS;KEY POINTS;CYCLE TIME

Gives advice on how to decide whether to buy a new medical equipment or not. Non-financial considerations of these investments; Pros and cons of making a capital investment on a medical equipment; Need to determine alternative investment opportunities that the practice have; Financial impact of making an investment on a medical equipment.

This article focuses on using bilingual staff members as interpreters. Caring for Hispanic patients who speak little or no English can be a challenge. Most bilingual staff members have not been trained to provide interpretation services. To help them fulfill this role, one should encourage them to seek training in this area. Using the universal form of the language is especially important when patients are from a different region or country than the staff member doing the interpreting. Introducing the interpreter to the patient prior to the medical encounter will give the interpreter an opportunity to explain his or her role. Doing so may also make the patient more comfortable.

A letter is presented in response to the article "A Proactive Approach to Controlled Substance Refills" by Jean Antonucci, Deanna R. Willis, Gerald Eaton, and Palmer MacKie in November/December 2010 issue along with the authors' response to the same.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "PCMH and ACO: Opposed or Mutually Supportive?," by David Kibbe in the November and December 2010 issue.

A letter to the editor and a response are presented on the article "A Proactive Approach to Controlled Substance Refills," by Deanna R. Willis, Gerald Eaton, and Palmer MacKie in the November and December 2010 issue.