Practice Management Track Offers Map for Navigating Challenges

The practice management  sessions at the Society’s 2019 annual conference are like “a map,” says Tom Haithcoat, chief operating officer for CareConnectMD and incoming chair of the Practice Group Network (PGN). This map will help participants navigate challenges, opportunities, new developments, and other issues so they can keep up and enjoy success in the constantly evolving value-based medicine environment.

“The bridge from volume- to value-driven care is complex and not easy to navigate alone,” says Mr. Haithcoat. “We’ve worked closely with our Practice Group Network members to develop a comprehensive program covering the financial and regulatory challenges post-acute practices face while on the volume-to-value bridge. We hope that during the upcoming Society conference, our membership feels the same, and all participants can walk away with something valuable and immediately applicable right out of the gate.”

These specialized sessions will help practice managers and others prepare their organizations to tackle value-based medicine programs such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Participants also will learn how to develop and use tools, including health information technology, to improve and stabilize workflow and optimize revenue from patient visits. Additionally, the program will provide exclusive opportunities for idea exchanges and networking with peers.

Participants may come to these programs with questions and confusion. However, Mr. Haithcoat notes, “They will quickly see a clearer path to change. They will be able to choose a way forward and feel confident when facing practice challenges. Our measuring stick for the success of the conference programs will be that participants go home with resources they need and a network of colleagues that they didn’t have coming in.”

 “We want to encourage the Society and its members to talk about transformational changes in the industry and the need to get payment reform front and center in people’s minds,” notes current PGN Chair Robert Reynolds, MD. “Many post-acute and long-term care practitioners don’t necessarily think about their practice as a business that has to be managed in a successful fashion. They want to practice medicine and do the right thing for their patients—that is their job, and they do it very well. But if the business end of their practice isn’t effective, they can’t practice medicine the way that they want.”

Mr. Haithcoat urges participants to bring their questions, concerns, challenges, and best practices to these sessions. “The more you are willing to share both your challenges as well as your successes, the more you will get out of attending the conference,” he says. “There is a lot of work to be done, and the investment of time and resources—in these programs and as members of the Practice Group Network—will get practices on the right track and accelerate our collective progress.”

There are eight Practice Management Section-sponsored sessions on the conference schedule. Topics include: On-Call Strategies and Provider Burnout; Impact of MIPS, MCRA, APMs, VBP, and PDPM on PALTC Physicians; Engaging Clinicians and Health Care Team Members for Higher Performance in Value-Based Systems; Standards and Experts: Telemedicine in PALTC; and Operationalizing Frailty: The Next Frontier in PALTC. Click here for the full schedule and more information on these sessions.

“The Society is the only professional association designed solely around post-acute care; and you need to be part of it,” Mr. Haithcoat says. “Every time I go to a conference and/or I’m around other Society members, I always come away with a year’s worth of goals, practical strategies, and ways to implement new ideas, plus a renewed sense of energy.”

Register today for the annual conference and make your plans to join Mr. Haithcoat and others in Atlanta, March 7-10. Click here to learn more about the Practice Group Network or to join.