BACKGROUND/NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

A recent survey of physicians conducted by AAPS shows that compliance; legal issues, insurance, and ethical marketing are the overwhelming practice management concerns of physicians. The topics included in this program were ranked as the top nine out of a total of 39 possibilities. The BCMS has found through surveys that physicians in Texas and Bexar County are also very concerned with these practice management issues.

With the impending enforcement of almost 2,000 pages of new federal privacy and transaction regulation under HIPAA, stepped up prosecutions for alleged offenses ranging from health care fraud to murder, physicians are looking for expert advice to practice. Also rapidly changing information technology has raised new questions about ethical marketing practices. Member surveys have shown a need for education on HIPAA, including the special features of Texas law. Surveys of the members of BCMS have shown specific areas of concern. BCMS surveys have shown a need for education of the legal aspects of the HIPAA rules, how to opt out of Medicare, how to cancel third party insurance, PPO< IPA, or managed care contracts, and how to protect your assets from the Liability Crisis.

As a result of the BCMS surveys, BCMS has asked AAPS to help present a CME program that is short, but which addresses many areas. In response, AAPS has developed a format with BCMS.

The morning sessions will examine the biggest obstacles to the practice of private medicine and explain the regulatory and legal landscape, while the focus of the afternoon sessions will be on practical solutions, strategies and tools to increase productivity, enhance patient care and create a "healthy" practice.

The full-day conference includes three panels, two featured presentations, three physicians practice case studies, panel session debate, roundtable discussions and post conference demonstrations and one-on-one sessions with speakers.

If you need more assistance on CME qualification, they are posted at
www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2923.html.

FORMAT:

The full-day conference includes three panels, two featured presentations, three physicians practice case studies, panel session debate, roundtable discussions and post conference demonstrations and one-on-one sessions with speakers.

BENEFITS:

Attendees will leave the conference with better insight into how to improve compliance with government regulations, minimize exposure to prosecution and judgments, choose expert guidance for their practice, and minimize negative impact of third party interference on quality of patient care. They will learn practical strategies that can be implemented immediately without incurring large consultant fees.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify and implement policies and procedures to improve compliance with government regulations, reduce administrative errors, and prepare for audits.

2. Identify and implement policies to minimize third-party disruptions of patient care and interference with the patient-physician relationship.

3. Recognize the impact of HIPAA's rules on privacy and for electronic data interchange on your practice, and prepare to structure your practice accordingly.

4. Identify software applications most useful in improving efficiency and compliance as well as quality of patient care, including appropriate use of the internet.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Richard Willner, President, Center for Peer Review Justice, Metarie, LA
William Sutton, Esq., Greenberg Traurig, Orlando, FL
Anthony Kritt,, MD, Crofton, MD
Barbara Lehman, author and consultant, Phoenix, AZ