Cardiovascular Business - September/October 2008 - (Page 36) News & Views á ‘Economic uncertainty’ tops list of group practice manager concerns cruiting physicians (57 percent). For the survey, MGMA asked members to rate their level of challenge on 34 practice and professional issues and invited them to write comments as well. The group received 1,393 responses (12 percent response rate) and more than 500 written comments. The research appears on the MGMA website. Dean Danner, vice president and COO of Osiris Clinic Wisconsin and a 23-year veteran of MGMA, says compensation is in the spotlight because physicians are retiring early and many qualified candidates are not entering the field, leaving those behind to do more work for less money. Some issues on the list deal with recent developments. For example, 50 percent of respondents are concerned about collecting from self-pay, high deductible, and/or Health Savings Account patients. Another 48 and 46 percent, respectively, expressed unease about participating in the Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and in commercial pay-for-performance programs. Issues that landed in the mid-range of responses include dealing with the commercial-payer and Medicare physician-credentialing process (34 percent), designing and implementing payment policies for uninsured paJanuary 18-22, 2009 tients (29 percent), collecting from commercial payers (28 percent) and dealing with the hospital physicianCourse Director Guest Co-directors Ramon Quesada, M.D. Martin B. Leon, M.D. credentialing process (17 percent). Gregg W. Stone, M.D. Regarding professional issues, respondents indicated that less than half of group practice managers are satisNow in its 21st year, the leader in interventional education continues to serve the needs of physicians who actively seek the knowledge to meet new challlenges. The full-day fied with their job security (49 percent), compensation New Frontiers in Interventional Cardiology program (Tuesday, January 20) is geared (42 percent) and work/life balance (33 percent). specifically to interventional cardiologists and will address the newest developments via “Medical group practice management professionals lectures, discussions and live case demonstrations. have one of the most difficult jobs in healthcare,” says William F. Jessee, MD, MGMA president and CEO. WESTIN DIPLOMAT RESORT & SPA • HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA “Each of these issues are singularly very taxing. Yet, if you look at the cumulative effects of these issues, as well Cutting-edge features of ISET Featured Cardiology Topics as myriad others that didn’t make the ‘short list,’ you • A forum for independent researchers - Call • Structural Heart Disease and Percutaneous get a glimpse of the challenges that management profesfor Abstracts Open Now Valve Therapy • Live cases in High Definition - a first in • Complex PCI and DES in Difficult Lesion sionals tackle every day in their practices.” hile the challenges of group practice managers are many, none hits a resonant chord more so than money and the various permutations in which it can be diminished. In a poll conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), three of the top five concerns of its members revolve around finances: ■ Maintaining physician compensation in an environment of declining reimbursement (70 percent*) ■ Dealing with operating costs that are rising more rapidly than revenue (68 percent), and ■ Managing fi nances with the uncertainty of Medicare reimbursement rates (57 percent). Rounding out the top five are selecting and implementing a new electronic health record (67.8 percent) and reSubsets: Bifurcations and Chronic Total Occlusions • State-of-the-art Adjunctive Pharmacologic Therapy for PCI • Supportive PCI in High-risk Subsets • The Possibility of Transradial Access for All Interventions endovascular education • Instant, interactive polling - weigh in with your opinion, experience • Debates on controversial subjects - featuring renowned speakers • “Coffee with the Experts” small-group learning - led by expert faculty • First-time trial results – leading off the new year *ranked by percentage of all respondents who rated the challenge as “considerable” or “extreme.” W By C.P. Kaiser Join the Endovascular Community at ISET.org. 36 Cardiovascular Business September/October 2008 http://ISET.org http://ISET.org
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