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+++++++++++++++++++++++ + +++ +SAMGMA uPDATE ��� +++ +++++++++++++++++++++++ Gearing Up for ChANgE By Victoria Waltemath My CoLLe AG U e S AN d decided to make a list of our biggest challenges for next year. When there is so much change in the air, sometimes it is hard to decide where to begin. Even with the election behind us, there is still uncertainty out there. Will we see the looming Medicare cuts on January 1, 2013? Will the Bush tax cuts be extended beyond December 31, 2012? How much will our health insurance premiums go up next year? With all these questions, however, there are some things that we know for sure, so this is where we started making our list. Accountable care organizations and physician alignment will be major challenges in 2013. At the recent Medical Group Management Association National Conference held in San Antonio in October 2012, many presentations addressed new payment models, which will be inevitable. The fee-for-service payments that we have been receiving for years will eventually be replaced with value-based contracting, which will place some to all of the risk back on providers. Educating my doctors about accountable care organizations and advising them on when and with whom we should align is certainly one of my biggest challenges in 2013. According to the experts, the key will be to collaborate with other health care providers and with payers. This is a very foreign concept to most health care providers. Many of my colleagues put Novitas Solutions ��� the new Medicare intermediary for Texas that took control of all payments, claims, etc. as of November 19, 2012 ��� on their list of biggest challenges. 14 | San Antonio MD News i ��� MdNewS.CoM After hearing my colleagues��� concerns about making it through the conversion to Novitas Solutions without claim delays and cash flow problems, I was just happy I work in pediatrics! Novitas Solutions has tried to ease the transition by offering numerous educational programs via the Web and the Texas Medical Association. My colleagues and I recommend participation in the Evaluation and Management Coding webinar for any physician who will use this intermediary for Medicare. During the two-hour webinar, Novitas Solutions updates providers on its procedures for chart audits. This will help you and your providers be prepared with the correct document in every chart. Visit the company���s website, www.novitas-solutions. com, to find this webinar and many other helpful tools. Novitas Solutions will be offering an update at the San Antonio Medical Group Management Association (SAMGMA) Educational Conference on February 6, 2013. Another challenge for 2013 will be OSHA/HIPAA/cyberfraud issues. These issues should be taken seriously and should be on everyone���s list. As fines go up and audits become more frequent, physicians need to be prepared. My e venTs + January 15 ��� Membership Breakfast Meeting + february 6 ��� Annual Educational Conference + march 19 ��� Membership Lunch Meeting + april 19 ��� Charity Golf Tournament + may 22 ��� Membership Dinner Meeting practice is still dealing with tears and drama from enabling new compliant computer logins, and we have not even arrived at the hard part yet. Achieving full compliance for HIPAA regulations and cyberfraud prevention is such a challenge, we are taking baby steps, hoping that we get where we need to be at some point. There will be no more postponement of the ICD-10 conversion, as 2013 has been designated as the year to train. Finding 30 weeks in 2013 to accomplish this training in our practices will be a daunting challenge, but not an optional one. The key to avoiding huge productivity gaps and cash flow problems is dependent on a good training plan, so please begin early. The go-live date is October 1, 2014. Many of these topics and more will be addressed at the SAMGMA annual conference on February 6, 2013 ��� titled Gearing Up for Change. I encourage you to attend this conference to find help meeting your biggest challenges in 2013. For more information and a registration form, visit www.samgma.org. SAMGMA is a professional nonprofit association dedicated to bringing the latest management trends, information and expertise to its active membership, comprised of individuals serving in significant management positions in local health care delivery organizations. Affiliate members and sponsors include leaders from various companies that provide support services and products to health care organizations. Victoria Waltemath, President of SAMGMA, is also the practice administrator at ABCD Pediatrics. She can be reached at (210) 867-8738, or via email at vwaltemath@abcdpediatrics.com. ���