Practice revenue benchmarking, the state of health care from the health plans’ perspective, and a look at health care spending — is more health care better? – are on the agenda for the TMA 2008 Winter Conference Feb. 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Austin.
Join physician leaders from across the state to learn about:
· Benchmarking Your Revenue Cycle from Deborah Walker Keegan, PhD, of Medical Practice Dimensions.
At the Dawn Duster on Saturday, get practical advice on how to calculate, benchmark, and analyze your practice’s key revenue cycle performance indicators. Dr. Keegan will highlight claim denial rates, billing office costs, and specialty-specific benchmarking data for all aspects of the revenue cycle.
· The State of Health Care: From the Payers’ Perspective.
At the General Session, join a town hall discussion with leaders from three of Texas’ largest health plans; hear their perspectives on consumer trends, new regulations and disclosure requirements, technology, and quality.
· The Bright Hope of Medicine: Recent Lessons in Quality and Costs.
Recent research findings show that patients who see more doctors and visit the hospital more often are not more likely to receive better care, have no improvement in survival, and are unlikely to have a better quality of life. In fact, more care could be harmful. The speaker will David Goodman, MD, MS, from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.
Message Training
TMA’s message training prepares physician leaders for communicating with patients, the news media, colleagues, elected officials, and community leaders. Learn how to present information so that listeners can hear it; know when not to answer a question; and most important, find out how to cull your message from a mountain of information. This interactive session includes lecture, case presentations, videotaped simulated news interviews, and presenter-guided peer review of techniques and skills. As an added bonus, earn continuing medical education credit for your time.
Classes are limited to five participants per session:
· Friday, Feb. 1 2-4 pm
· Saturday, Feb. 2 8-10 am
Preregistration is required. Call TMA at (800) 800-1300, ext. 1410, or e-mail kim.harmon@texmed.org to secure your spot.
Ethics Forum: Physician Prescribing to Self and Family Members
During its 2007 meeting, the TMA House of Delegates referred Resolution 108 the TMA Board of Councilors. It would declare "the treatment of self and family members for minor medical problems, including prescriptions for medications is not, in the absence of substantive and specific evidence to the contrary, a de facto deviation from the standard of care expected of a physician licensed to practice in the State of Texas."
The board would like your input before addressing this issue. All TMA members interested in testifying on the ethics of treating oneself, family, or close friends are encouraged to attend this open forum on Friday, Feb. 1, from 1 to 2 pm in the staff lounge on the 5th floor of the TMA building at 401 W. 15th.
County Medical Society Leadership Forum
This annual forum is a unique setting where state and county physician leaders can network and exchange ideas with colleagues who understand and share the challenges that grassroots physicians face every day. Participants will leave with information and insight to take back to their societies, as well as contact information for mentors and resource specialists.
The CMS Leadership Forum is Saturday, Feb. 2, from 1:30 to 5:30 pm in Ballroom 1 of the Hyatt. It’s open to county medical society presidents, presidents-elect, and executive staff. Preregistration is required. Call TMA at (800) 800-1300, ext. 1419, or (512) 370-1419, or e-mail ginne.cook@texmed.org for more information.
Registration and Housing
TMA members and invited guests may attend the conference for free as a benefit of membership. The fee for nonmember physicians is $125. You can register online until 5 pm Jan. 28.
Questions? Contact TMA at (800) 880-7955 or knowledge@texmed.org, or visit www.texmed.org.
Last Published: 1/14/2008
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