Session Descriptions
Friday, November 7
5.25 ACMPE Credits Available
8:15-8:30am
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Dr. Steve Hippler, MD, FACP, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine
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Larry Weinzimmer, Ph. D, Endowed Professor of Management, Bradley University
Consequently, to better understand these intrapersonal attributes, our empirical research discovered fortitude – the strength of mind that enables a person to encounter adversity with courage. Findings from our research suggest this malleable attribute can significantly reduce burnout and turnover intent. Moreover, fortitude has been empirically shown to impact the relationship between organizational interventions and burnout.
During this session we engage attendees on the importance of fortitude as an antecedent of burnout. Using this new perspective, we discuss evidence-based interventions for both individuals and organizations wanting to address this vexing issue.
Claim denials remain one of the most significant challenges for physician practices, with 10–15% of claims denied on first submission and up to 65% never reworked. This session will provide an in-depth look at the most common denial types, their financial impact, and proven strategies to prevent and resolve them. Attendees will also learn how dashboards and denial trend tracking can be leveraged to drive sustainable revenue cycle improvement.
After attending this session, participants will be able to:
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Identify the leading causes of medical claim denials in physician practices.
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Apply practical solutions to reduce front-end, authorization, coding, and timely filing denials.
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Understand the financial impact denials have on revenue cycle and cash flow.
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Implement dashboards and KPIs to track denial trends and measure success.
Given the well-documented gap between the supply of physicians and the demand for their services, increasing administrative burdens, and the strain of a global pandemic, it is no wonder that many doctors report dissatisfaction with their careers.
There is another major but often overlooked contributor to physician burnout: a lack of clear expectations. For most physicians, the job description is usually little more than “Be a good doctor.” Then collections, WRVUs, overhead expenses, and other aspects of the job come into play and the relationships between physicians and administrators turns adversarial. Unlike the systemic issues mentioned above, individual medical practices can do something about this.
Stu Schaff will show participants how they can establish clear expectations for physicians within their own practices, using examples from actual academic and community-based practices. He will also demonstrate specific ways that participants can incorporate best practices for communicating those expectations, regularly reinforcing them, and effectively holding physicians accountable to them, with the goal of improving morale and engagement.
Learning Objectives:
- Use a step-by-step framework to clearly articulate expectations for employed physicians, specific to their medical practice’s needs
- Outline clear expectations to foster a culture of accountability, leading to better financial and strategic outcomes for all
- Spot and correct misalignment between expectations and physician compensation models
Cutting costs will not save a practice. In today’s environment of declining reimbursements and rising labor expenses, practices need growth strategies that strengthen care delivery rather than weaken it.
In this session, Darshan Bachhawat, Chief Revenue Officer at Phamily, will share a practical framework for converting operational strain into billable, sustainable revenue. Drawing from real-world examples, including a physician-led group that generated $840,000 annually through care management, he will outline how to evaluate, launch, and scale Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Advanced Primary Care Management (APCM) programs without overloading staff.
Attendees will learn how to shift uncompensated between-visit care into reimbursable services, create realistic staffing models, and implement workflows that align with operational capacity. This session offers a clear roadmap for improving patient care, generating sustainable revenue, and building a more resilient practice.
- Identify unreimbursed between-visit care that can align with CMS’s CCM and APCM programs
- Learn how to implement proactive care management programs at scale with efficient staffing models and workflows
- Understand planning benchmarks, staffing ratios, and ROI projections to assess program sustainability
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The session includes a case study from a physician-led group that converted uncompensated care into a profitable, high-engagement program while maintaining provider satisfaction.
When physician-practice and ASC teams move in sync, everyone wins. This session explores how to align scheduling, documentation, and communication to eliminate costly inefficiencies and create a seamless path from consult to surgery. Learn how smarter workflows can improve patient flow, strengthen physician collaboration, and boost financial results. Walk away with practical strategies to transform coordination into measurable gains—for your teams, your surgeons, and your bottom line.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Align practice–ASC workflows and surgical scheduling to optimize productivity, resource use, and patient outcomes.
- Integrate pre- and post-surgical processes to support efficient evaluations, smooth recoveries, and seamless transitions of care.
- Strengthen collaboration and communication among providers and staff to close the loop between primary and specialty care—and drive operational and financial performance.