Message from the President

Hi everyone. It looks like spring is here. I love this time of year! The tulip magnolia tree at the corner of my house is re-splendent with huge purple/pink blossoms. When I lived in Chicago, this time of year was always a little sad for me. Being a good southern boy I was always looking for daffodils around the end of February first of March but that just doesn’t happen up there. At this time of year I

could always count on another 45-60 days of cold gray weather. I don’t miss it.

I don’t know about you all but spring is a busy time for Tennessee MGMA. Our Spring Confer-

ence is right around the corner and we’re already putting the final touches on our Fall Confer-

ence. As many of you know, our Spring Conference is at the Chattanooga Westin Downtown

this year from April 3rd-5th. We have a phenomenal line up of topics including leadership

competencies, strategic planning, cyber security, a panel discussion on the opioid crisis in

Tennessee and can anyone ever get enough MACRA/MIPS? I know I can’t. Our conference

agenda this year has been approved by AAPC for up to 13 CEU credits. Please let your office

coders know. In addition to the topics previously mentioned, Rhonda Buckholtz will present on

audit survival strategies and how to eliminate the drama when implementing practice improve-

ments. If you haven’t registered already please do so so that you can “Be The Superhero of

Your Practice”!

Speaking of conferences I attended the MGMA Financial Conference this month. The fact that

it was in Las Vegas was purely coincidental and had no bearing whatsoever on my decision to

go. As your President I felt like it was my duty to attend so that I can stay abreast of current

trends in healthcare in order to better serve you our members. There were several presenta-

tions on how to make the transition from fee for service to a value based payment model.

There was an excellent session on the pitfalls to avoid in negotiating a value based reimburse-

ment contract. There is also a lot going on in the field of revenue cycle management. The use

of data analytics in this space is exploding. There are certain RCM platforms that can now

evaluate a patient’s propensity to pay before they set foot in your practice! I hope to bring

some of these speakers to future TMGMA conferences.

In This Issue

ACMPE Corner

Legislative News

Practice Executive

of the Year

TMGMA ENEWS

March/April 2019

Message from the President (Continued)

I want to update you on my progress towards my ACMPE fellowship. I submitted my Business

Plan proposal and it was accepted! Now all I have to do is write it. My thanks to Michael

Cash, Debbie Hudson and Loretta Duncan, our TMGMA ACMPE forum representative, for

their help in reviewing my proposal. I would strongly encourage any of you that have thought

about pursuing your Certification or Fellowship in ACMPE to do so. Loretta is a great re-

source. The MGMA national conference is in New Orleans this year. I would love nothing

more than to have ten (10) managers from Tennessee walk across that stage to receive their

Fellowships and thirty (30) managers take that first step and become Certified Medical Practice

Executives.

Tennessee MGMA is here to help you be the best practice executives you can be. Members

enjoy free monthly webinars, discounted registration fees to our conferences and assistance in

your pursuit of professional accreditation. Let us be a resource for you.

J. Kelly Davis, BS CMPE

TMGMA ENEWS

January/February 2019

Preferred Malpractice Provider

Congratulations to our TMGMA members who received notification of passing the certification and scenario based exams! This is putting each of you another step closer to certifica-

tion and fellowship in the American College of Medical Practice Executives.

I received a couple of questions about how long it takes to receive notification of status as a Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) once the exams

have been passed, so I thought it would be helpful to go over the process.

Once both board certification examinations have been successfully complet-ed, you will need to make sure to log 50 hours of continuing education. You will also need to verify your education. This can all be done on the ACMPE Tracking page. 1. Sign in to mgma.com.

2. Select “My Dashboard” found on the top right corner.

3. Select “MANAGE MY ACCOUNT” found on the top left corner.

4. Select “ACMPE TRACKING” found on the left side to enter the portal.

5. Once on the ACMPE Tracking page select “Board Certification Education Verification”. Se-

lect your highest degree from the drop down menu and scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Save”.

6. Click “Add ACMPE Continuing Education Hours” to claim all qualified hours for ACMPE.

To add hours for MGMA and external sources, click “Claim My Additional Credit”. To claim your completed MGMA webinars and conferences, click “Claim My Attended MGMA Events”.

Remember that continuing education hours can be claimed starting from acceptance date and back logged 30 days prior to acceptance. Once you have verified your education and logged 50 hours, you will be included on the month’s conferring report for Commission and Board approval. This typically happens around the middle of each month. After the Commission reviews the report, it will then go to the Board for final vote. Once passed at the end of the month, you will receive email notification of completion and advancement of becom-

ing a Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE). Following the email, you will receive official no-tice of completion via mail. If you are in need of CE to complete your 50 hours, the 2019 Tennessee MGMA Spring Confer-ence is a great opportunity. The preconference includes 3 hours and the conference includes 10.50

hours of LIVE CE. These hours will satisfy part of the requirement to have 30 hours from MGMA national, state or local events and 12 hours of live CE.

Are you a Nominee that is ready to start the path to certification? Here’s a great way to get

started! Join the Tennessee ACMPE Study Group!

The next Tennessee ACMPE Study Group will begin April 29, 2019!

Sign up now! See the directions below. The self-paced online study group is open to anyone! Schedule: Week of April 29 – Operations Management Week of May 6 – Financial Management Week of May 13 – Human Resources Management Week of May 20 – Organizational Governance Week of May 27 – Patient Centered Care Week of June 3 – Risk and Compliance Management and Review How to join the Tennessee ACMPE Study Group:

Log in using your member ID or username and password at www.MGMA.org.

1. At the top right, Click Member Community.

2. Click on Communities, then click All Communities.

3. Type Tennessee ACMPE in the Search box (also toward the right of the screen).

4. Select Tennessee ACMPE Study Group

5. Select green Join Community button

Click Settings and select your message delivery option: Real Time – one email for each message posted Daily Digest – one email containing all posted messages from the previous day Legacy – One email for each message in plain text with the ability to reply via email

Please call the MGMA Service Center at 1-877-275-6462 x1888 if you have questions or need help

navigating. Certification Exams: Testing dates: June 8 - 22, 2019 Test registration dates: Registration is open April 22 – May 6, 2019. Click here to register and get more details about the exams: https://www.mgma.com/acmpe-exam-registration As always, if you have any questions about continuing education, certification, fellowship or any-

thing else related to ACMPE, please feel free to contact me.

Happy March!

Loretta Duncan, MS, FACMPE, CHC

lorettad@svmic.com

TMGMA Legislative News

Fentanyl: Data shows that while opioid scripts are

on the decrease, the presence of fentanyl and relat-ed deaths are increasing. SB798/HB942 seeks to increase the associated penalties. Balance Billing: Federal Fix?- TMA wants to hold off for 1 more year. Impatient legislators: Need to let legislators know

how this will affect practices. Lots of caption bills….. including ours. TMA BILL Scope Of Practice: Return of DMS. New version grants independent practice to PA’s SB884/HB1377 Graduate Physician: Bill SB672/HB810 – if not matched, proposed to have them practice in

rural area for 1 year and then re-apply.

Public Health: Smoking seems to be a top initiative this year with nearly a dozen bills filled to

address increasing age limits, taxing vape products, prohibiting smoking in cars with children, and preemption. This bill proposed to increase the age to 21 instead of 18.

PBMs: A bill bought by the Pharmacy Assoc. would ban PBMs in TN. SB650/HB786 Other

caption bills regarding PBMs have also been filed. BME INCREAING FEES: BME has a new proposed rule increasing initial licensure and re-newal fees. These are currently frozen by Gov. Lee’s 9 Day regulatory freeze. You should have all received the summary of the proposed amendment for the Opioid bill SB810.

1,684 bills were filed this year, over 350 that directly affect the

practice of medicine

TMGMA Legislative News

Sign up for Day on the Hill March 26th!

Day On The Hill 2019 is TMA’s annual policy briefing

and lobby day in Nashville connects physicians directly with lawmakers so they can advocate for their patients and discuss major issues affecting the medical profession in Tennessee.

Register today and join us!

https://www.tnmed.org/TMA/Government_Affairs/Day_on_the_Hill.aspx

2019 Day on the Hill Schedule – Tentative

Participants will meet with legislators and attend committee hearings throughout the day. Committee schedules will be confirmed and legislative appointments will be made in the com-ing weeks. 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Arrival - Information Table in the cafe lobby with program materials and

TMA staff 9 a.m. House Health Committee, HHR1 (Subject to change) 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Panera Boxed Lunches will be served on the 8th Floor to Day on the Hill Participants Noon House Insurance Committee, HHR1 (Subject to change) 1 p.m. Senate Commerce & Labor Committee, SHR1 (Subject to change) 1 p.m. House Health Sub-Committee (Facilities, Licensure & Regulation) HHR2 (Subject to change) 1 p.m. House Commerce Committee, HHR3 (Subject to change) 2 – 4 p.m. Dessert Social Hour with Legislators on the 8th Floor, Cordell Hull Building

Practice Executive of the Year - Do you know a practice executive who has gone beyond the call of duty? Oh wait, all of them do. Do you know a practice executive who has made a lasting contribution to his or her organization, physicians, staff and patients? Oops, that is still all of them. Do you know a practice executive worthy of recognition by his or her peers as a leader among leaders? If so, nominate him or her for the Thomas H. Stearns Practice Execu-

tive of the Year Award. TMGMA is now accepting nominations for this prestigious award.

Nominations require a written statement why an individual deserves this award. Nominations must include the nominee’s full name, practice and years of experience as well as name and contact information for the person submitting the nomination. Multiple letters of endorsement and/or documentation why this individual is worthy are acceptable but all materials must be provided together in one submission. Direct nominations and/or questions to Stephen A. Dick-ens, JD, FACMPE, Chair - TMGMA Council of Past Presidents at steved@svmic.com or to his attention in care of SVMIC at P.O. Box 1065, Brentwood, TN 37024. Self-nominations are ac-ceptable. The deadline to nominate is March 20th. The Council of Past Presidents will pre-sent the award during the awards luncheon on Thursday, April 4 in conjunction with the 2019

TMGMA Annual Conference in Chattanooga.

Stephen A. Dickens, JD, FACMPE Chair, Council of Past Presidents steved@svmic.com

MARCH MEMBER WEBINAR MARCH 13TH, 12:00-1:15PM (CST) Four Management Strategies You DON'T Hear About When it comes to managing teams, you may find yourself having to adapt your communication style, priorities, hiring plans, and engagement tactics. While vi-sionaries like Simon Sinek, Patrick Lencioni, and Peter Drucker have founda-tional ideas to support the management of diverse teams, let's take an oppor-tunity to get creative and dig into strategies and ideas to manage, engage, moti-vate, and develop your team. I will provide ideas and examples of what other managers have done that you DON'T hear about.

Join us for our next webinar: To register: login into the tmgma.com website and select “Events”

Member Webinar TMGMA offers a FREE Webinar Series as a benefit of membership. Our webi-nars focus on the domains of the ACMPE Body of Knowledge. These webinars are free to ALL members. Webinars will be eligible for one ACMPE Credit Hour. Recordings of webinars will be available online in the Members' Only section of our website. Invitations to sign up for the webinars will be sent directly to members.