The sun is shining (and the temperature's rising) with one day left to go at conference. We roamed the halls with cameras and notepads to capture some of the best moments from the last two days. Here are a few highlights:
Monday, Oct. 12
At a media briefing on Monday with 35 reporters, MGMA President and CEO William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, discussed results of the second annual poll to determine group practice professionals' attitudes about payer interactions. He also detailed MGMA's healthcare reform asks and how the recession has affected member practices. (After the luncheon, our Twitter feed lit up with the latest findings from the research.)
NPR journalist T.R. Reid spoke to a large audience about the four world healthcare systems that make up America's healthcare system. It turns out we have a little of England, Germany, Canada and 3rd world countries right here in the USA.
In one of the many concurrent sessions on Monday, Christi J. Braun, JD, MPH, an associate with Ober Kaler, a law firm with offices in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., cautioned members to make sure they review federal guidelines and antitrust laws affecting medical practice mergers. The growing trend toward integration has attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, which are usually tipped off about potentially illegal arrangements by payers or competing medical practices.
Get a taste of four other concurrent sessions with these podcasts. We hit on all the hot topics: healthcare reform, the physician fee schedule, new HIPAA regulations and how to better collect from patients. Listen in:
Tuesday, Oct. 13
In celebration of the 24 new Fellows, the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE) hosted a Monday soiree at the Pinnacle Club of the Grand Hyatt, which has a spectacular view of the Front Range. The event preceded Tuesday, ACMPE Day, along with the 53rd Fellows convocation and ACMPE Business Meeting Luncheon. Today, we also awarded the Harry J. Harwick Award to Gary Kaplan and announced all the other recipients of the MGMA-ACMPE awards.
Tuesday also kicked off with Dr. Jessee's keynote address about the coming healthcare challenges, followed by Annie McKee's resonant leadership general session.
Of the many concurrent sessions happening today, one we visited was "Physician Compensation: Not Your Simple Arithmetic." Speakers Deborah Holzmark, RN, MBA, CPHQ, MCS-P and Sidney Welch, JD, MPH, tag-teamed to provide several scenarios you can implement in your organization, along with legal considerations regarding Stark, anti-kickback laws and more.
We wrapped up the day with lots of giveaways in the exhibit hall. To give you a taste of how big the hall is, we created this video. Click here to watch.