Call it a holiday miracle. I don't often get to play Santa Claus, but in this week's edition of FiercePracticeManagement, I get to be the bearer of an issue chock-full of good news for physicians.

For starters, as I write this commentary, things are looking very good on the doc fix front, at least, as usual, in the near term. After some conflicting reports on how physicians were responding to the situation a week ago, I'm curious as to whether this news changes your outlook. Assuming the one-year patch expected to hit the floor today goes through, are you optimistic that we'll enter 2012 with a long-term alternative to the SGR? And how do you think the planned changes to healthcare subsidies will affect the rollout of the Affordable Care Act?

Back to the present: As of this morning, I'm also fairly confident I can tell you that you no longer have to worry about complying with the Red Flags Rule, as a new bill exempting physicians from these identity theft regulations is ready and awaiting only President Obama's signature.

Finally, contrary to what the volume of negative articles about the physician-patient relationship would have you believe, the vast majority of U.S. patients trust their doctors, a new Gallup poll reveals.

However, you didn't get a perfect score, so I'll defend my inclusion of yet another piece defining how you can do better.

So, with my blessing, enjoy a nice toast to all there is to celebrate in the physician practice world in 2010.

Then get cracking on those New Year's resolutions. - Deb

P.S.: Special thanks to those of you who took the time to read FPM during the past couple of busy weeks leading into the holidays, especially those of you who emailed me about your game plans for 2011. Your insights really do make a difference in how I approach each issue of FPM. Keep that feedback and discussion coming!