Physician's Practice - November 2008 - (Page 79)

CME ADVOCACY STICKIN‘ UP FOR YOURSELF BY SHIRLEY GRACE, MA CAN YOU AFFORD TO SPEND TIME, EFFORT, AND MONEY ON SELF-ADVOCACY EFFORTS? CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO? Until the middle of the twentieth century — when disability insurance began to evolve into modern medical insurance — most payment transactions for medical care were conducted on a fee-for-service model. Therefore, your predecessors were able to focus almost solely on the health of their patients. But today’s payment model has put a great burden on you to hone your business acumen and your clinical expertise. It’s all gotten so complicated, but understanding it is critical to your success. You literally cannot afford to ignore increasingly untenable insurance reimbursements or the mounting pressure to convert an ocean of doctor scrawl into efﬁcient — but costly — medical records. Those are just two of many issues that affect your life and your profession. They’re important but daunting, and you’re probably a tad busy. But no one knows your situation and needs better than you, so who’s the best choice to advocate for you? LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this article, readers will be able to: • Establish networking relationships with local press, politicians, and other physicians commercial payers and state insurance departments You. But knowing this shouldn’t bring on despondent hand-wringing. Here are some ways to stand up for yourself and still have time to practice the profession you love. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EXPEDIENT • Communicate effectively with • Utilize a variety of strategies for self-advocacy at the national, state, and local levels If you want to speak up on practicerelated issues but don’t know how, start with your local medical society. These days, nearly all of them have Web sites. A quick look-see will show where the society stands on current issues. Likely, you’ll ﬁnd a pertinent advocacy effort already underway, complete with preblazed trails for you to easily click on to add yourself to a cause. Active medical societies do much of the dirty work for you. “We understand that physicians don’t have time to sit down and analyze a bill,” says Carol Mullinax, senior director of practice solutions for the Ohio State Medical Association. OSMA tries to make it as easy as possible for physicians to be involved. “Legislative issues are the biggest part of our Web site,” says Mullinax. Want to help by speaking NOVEMBER 2008 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM 79 http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physician's Practice - November 2008

Physician's Practice - November 2008 Contents Death of Solo Practice Just a Myth Letters HSAy What? Noteworthy Finding Lost Revenue: The Search for Billing and Coding Gold Getting More: Our Annual Physician Compensation Survey ’Tis the Season to be Neutral Ask the Experts Evaluating Paperless Labs HR in a Box? The Guide Coding Third-Party Audits on the Rise Branding the Cash-Only Practice Intra-Office Tug-of-Wars Stickin‘ Up For Yourself Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physician's Practice - November 2008

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