Doctors reinvent their offices to build improved ties with patients

Patient-centered care, chronic disease management, self-care, and medical homes are all buzzwords in health policy circles due to the national dialogue about quality and systemic reform. But countless doctors are moving ahead on their own, reinventing their clinical practices and finding more-effective and more-fulfilling ways of practicing medicine. One such trend is the micro-practice: a low-overhead, high-tech office that gives physicians more control over how they treat patients and more time to spend with them.