Chairman Practice Management Committee, ACG
Stand-out Topics from 2015 Practice Management Course in Honolulu:
Promoting your practice through innovative marketing techniques
Strategies for negotiating with hospitals
Dear Colleagues: As the chairman of the ACG Practice Management Committee, I am very proud to be affiliated with the Practice Management Course offered every year by our committee at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.
The 2015 Practice Management Course in Hawaii was directed by Dr. Joseph Cappa and Dr. William Stern who organized an excellent program, “Riding the Wild Surf of the Ever-Changing Medical Environment: Can You Maximize Value in Your Practice? How Can You Use Negotiation Techniques to Avoid the Dreaded Wipeout?”
Our intent was to provide practitioners with both a broad-based understanding of the current GI practice landscape and to provide focused recommendations on how to improve the clinical and business aspect of their practices.
The 2015 course was well attended, and not just because it was in Hawaii. The course received very high marks on surveys of attendees and covered numerous topics, with standout sessions on negotiations, quality, and marketing. The importance of these topics should not be underestimated:
The ability to skillfully negotiate can have an enormous positive impact on the ability to make hospital and insurance relationships profitable and help you to create “win-win” scenarios for you and your partners.
- Understanding how to measure and report quality can greatly improve your practice’s reputation and ability to market itself, attract patients, influence referral patterns, and improve negotiation position with third party payers.
- Marketing can improve referrals and patient satisfaction, help doctors manage their own reputations, and allow patients to participate in their own health care especially via patient portal systems.
All of these topics were covered in great detail at the 2015 course, but in particular the talks on promoting your GI practice through innovative marketing techniques and negotiating with hospitals were especially excellent. I hope you will take time to view these lectures as I am confident you will find them all educational and enjoyable.
Thank you,
Michael S. Morelli MD, CPE, FACG
Chairman Practice Management Committee, ACG
HOW TO VIEW THE 2015 ACG PRACTICE MANAGEMENT COURSE
Access the talks via the ACG’s online CME portal the ACG Education Universe http://universe.gi.org/
Note: Enter the ACG Education Universe using the Login/Password you use for the ACG Web Site (gi.org). Explore the talks by searching under “Content” in the green menu bar, then “Browse Presentations.” Using the menu bar on the left, search under “Event” by pulling down the menu to select “2015 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting” and locate specific talks from the Practice Management Course searching by Author or Title.
ACG Practice Management Course
Friday, October 16, 2015
Honolulu, Hawaii
Course Directors:
Joseph A. Cappa, MD, FACG
William R. Stern, MD, FACG
Course Title: Riding the Wild Surf of the Ever Changing Medical Environment: Can you Maximize Value in your Practice and Use Negotiation Techniques to Avoid the Dreaded Wipeout!
Course Description:
Gain an understanding of the present state of GI. Establish how to increase the value in your practice by improving quality and decreasing cost. Learn the value of effective negotiations with hospitals, insurance companies and your partners. Explore the use of marketing, social media and patient satisfaction. The techniques learned in this course will help you improve your bottom line while advancing the quality of your patient care.
Presidential Address: Hospitals, Academics and the Community GI: How Will They Interact in the Future to Create a Win-Win Environment?
Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, FACG
Recognize the current environment for gastroenterologists and the value of predicting how all will interact for the greater good of the patients.
Session 1: Value = Quality / Cost
Controlling Costs in Your Practice: Utilizing Your Employees to Maximize Efficiency and Quality Medicine
James A. Turner, Jr. MBA, MHS
Differentiate the cost of items in the practice in comparison to national benchmarks, with a focus on the largest component – your employees.
How to Implement a Quality Improvement Plan for Your Practice that Provides True Value for Your Patients
Michael S. Morelli, MD, CPE, FACG
Identify how to implement a quality improvement program that demonstrates true value for your patients.
Quality in the GI Practice: What Are You Doing Now and What Can You Do to Increase Value — Quality Indicators and Programs
Mark B. Pochapin, MD, FACG
Recognize the work and cost needed to implement a quality improvement program and how the results can be used to benefit your patients and practice.
Quality in Your Clinical Practice: Subspecialty Medical Homes as a New Healthcare Model
Miguel D. Regueiro, MD, FACG
Evaluate opportunities in the clinical practice through population management of chronic conditions in an analytical manner that will maximize cost efficiency and improve patient care. General concepts of chronic GI conditions will be explored with a concentration on IBD.
Session 2: Negotiations and Leadership
The Basic Techniques of Negotiation: How to Get Others to Say “Yes”
Harry E. Sarles Jr., MD, FACG
Identify the general techniques of negotiation and determine which techniques will prove useful for each situation encountered: from hospitals to insurance companies to your own partners.
Negotiating with Hospitals: Improving Relations While Avoiding Hostile Takeovers — Thinking About Joint Ventures
Jeffry L. Nestler, MD, FACG
Assess the physician/hospital relationship, and identify whether joint ventures are appropriate alternatives.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies: Making Your Quality Program Pay Off
Arnold G. Levy, MD
Define the priorities of payers and determine which quality programs payers would be interested in exploring in order to improve patient care as well as improve payer contracts.
Negotiating Within your Practice: How to Find Solutions when Dealing with Differing Opinions of Strong Willed People
Joseph J. Vicari, MD, MBA
Identify the different personalities within the practice and formulate strategies to enable all the partners to work together towards a common goal. Recognize how to run an efficient business meeting and not to become derailed by opposing opinions.
Session 3: Marketing
Promoting your GI Practice through Innovative Marketing Techniques
Reed B. Hogan, III, MD
Recognize the value of direct and specific consumer marketing and how it can translate into a Return on Investment (ROI) of money spent. Identify practical marketing initiatives that focus on direct marketing to patients and referring physicians that emphasize the quality and the value of the practice
Using Your Online Brand to Grow Your Practice (suggested by Dr. Brown)
Ken J. Brown, MD
Analyze the steps required to implement social media into your website and how to use it to grow your practice and manage your professional reputation
Voice of the Patient: Patient Portal
James S. Leavitt, MD, FACG
Create an effective patient portal and establish office procedures for its implementation and use. Understand the practical ways the portal can be used to maximize patient value
Patient Satisfaction
Louis J. Wilson, MD, FACG
Identify techniques and mechanisms to assess patient satisfaction and implement the feedback to improve patient care.