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Academy News: November 2005AAAAI Practice Management Workshop: valuable for FITs The AAAAI Practice Management Workshop was held in St. Louis, MO, this year, and I was fortunate to be able to attend. This was the second AAAAI Practice Management Workshop, and it was designed to cover business issues in allergy/immunology. As emphasized by numerous speakers, a physician’s formal business training during medical school is minimal, and practicing medicine often involves running a small business. This workshop adeptly addressed this need for additional medical business education. Session topics included insurance contracts, allergy-specific coding and documentation, time management strategies, hiring and retaining staff, starting in practice, and marketing your practice. This workshop provided valuable information for all types of practices, such as solo, group or multi-specialty. Seasoned practitioners, new physicians, office staff and Fellows-in-Training (FITs) were equally engaged by the sessions. Workshop faculty was comprised of practice consultants, accountants, coding specialists, insurance professionals, office managers and physicians. Many of the speakers were national experts in their respective areas and offered unique perspectives. The interactive session format also encouraged valuable contributions from participants who shared personal experiences pertinent to the topics. Since caring for patients is at the center of practicing medicine, sessions offered strategies to enhance our effectiveness as professionals and ultimately improve the experience for our patients. The opening session on office technology specifically pinpointed ways to improve efficiency. Strategies to perform work prior to patient appointments and time management strategies were also addressed. Patient satisfaction measures, such as patient surveys, were explored as tools to identify areas of practice improvement. Maintaining a practice requires knowledge about fiscal responsibility. The session on evaluating the financial health of a practice outlined specific measures for the assessment of practice revenues versus practice expenses. Information on fee schedules, collections and payer analysis was discussed. Coding and billing optimization to improve reimbursement were also explored. A session on physician compensation models explained commonly used compensation strategies. One of the benefits of the workshop was that it helped identify resources that provide business information and how to access useful data. The workshop also hosted a technology fair that featured electronic medical record vendors and their products. One session that was particularly pertinent to FITs addressed starting a practice. Advice on what to look for in a practice and a contract was definitely well-received. Specifics of recruitment plans, retention strategies and financial issues in practice opportunities were also emphasized. Other useful topics included partnership buy-in strategies and purchasing a practice. I would encourage all FITs to attend this workshop in the future. Reduced cost registration was available this year for FITs. Attending this workshop at the beginning of my second year gave me insight into the business aspects of allergy/immunology practice and strategies for further improving the patient care experience. I highly recommend this workshop to FITs and encourage the continuation of this workshop in the future.
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