Fall 2007

Welcome to the quarterly member newsletter of the Virginia Medical Group Management Association (VMGMA).

Successful communication takes many forms and styles
(cover page)

Congress' inaction fails to solve troublesome Medicare issues

How to set up a patient safety and risk management program

VMGMA member spotlight

Top-flight speakers on deck for the Spring VMGMA Conference

Putting important things first isn't always easy

It's time to renew your VMGMA membership

Practice Notes is the quarterly member newsletter of the Virginia Medical Group Management Association. If you have feedback regarding this newsletter, article ideas or suggestions, please contact the editor:

Frank Dieter
VMGMA Secretary
Phone:
(540) 373-1331
E-mail: fdieter@fredcardio.com

A message from the president

Successful communication takes many forms and styles

by Julie Riddle
VMGMA President

Oh no , Mr. Bill!!!!!

Yes, I must admit I felt like the squished clay figure when I got the call from Bill Lueck that he was resigning as Virginia Medical Group Management Association President. This was more than a year earlier than I had planned, and Lord knows I am a girl who needs a plan! There is sadness seeing Bill leave Virginia to lead a cardiology practice in his home state of Colorado, but the board was excited to see our colleague obtain a great opportunity. Best of luck, Bill!

The current VMGMA Board wanted to say hello to Bill Lueck, former VMGMA President. In the back row, from left, are Julie Riddle and Bert Wilson. In the middle row, from left, are Chris Auville, Shirley Woodrow, Frank Dieter, Laura Joyner, Anne Wolff and Yevonne Childers. Kneeling in the front row, from left, are Tom Miller and Jody O’Neil.

And so it was on to elections, and I began my term as your President!
The Fall Conference was held Sept. 26-28 in Richmond and had close to 100 members and more than 45 vendor partners in attendance.

In her presentation at the Fall Conference, Shelley Riebel, from Michigan Business Consultants, gives tips on how to motivate and retain employees.

The meeting kicked off with the booming enthusiasm of Rosemarie Nelson, a principal with the MGMA Consulting Group. The attendees got a preview of the session Rosemarie will present at the National MGMA meeting on Oct. 28-31 in Philadelphia.

She walked us through a fast-paced session called “60 Technology Ideas in 60 Minutes — and Then Some.” This session showed how communication and technology can go hand in hand. It gave attendees practical tips on how to use all forms of technology, e-mail, scanning, Internet, etc., in the medical practice setting. She followed this session with an emphasis on how technology and quality need to go hand in hand.

During the lunch break, attendees mingled with vendors, and a brief business meeting was held to approve the slate of officers. New members and first-time attendees were recognized and presented with the coveted VMGMA travel mugs. What a great new group!

Harold Monahan, with Mag Mutual, has a captive audience at his vendor booth at the Fall Conference in Richmond.

The afternoon allowed attendees to select breakout sessions to meet their own educational needs. Sessions were offered on “The Art of Finding Lost Charges,” “Top Issues in Human Resources,” “Marketing the Physician Practice” and “Motivating and Retaining Employees.” Attendees were then able to break into small specialty group sessions to talk through issues and ideas they face on a daily basis. You could see the networking and connections being made right before your eyes.

Thanks to Medical Mutual Insurance Company for sponsoring the VMGMA bowling night at the Fall Conference.

The evening was left for fun and a crazy night of extreme bowling. It is official — I will not have a career as a professional bowler! But I sure enjoyed the laughter!

On the second day of the meeting, each of us completed the BEST Communication Style Survey. Patti Carey from the Management Institute at the University of Richmond guided us through understanding how we communicate at work. She led us to further understand how each employee in our workplace has a different communication style and needs, and requires different things from us as managers. So many issues in the office can be solved with clear communication, and this session gave attendees guidance on how to get the best results when communicating with others. I know I plan to spend some time with my employees sharing much of what I learned in this session.

The education committee is actively preparing for the spring conference on April 13-15, 2008. I hope all of you plan to attend and keep VMGMA strong and growing. I look forward to representing each of you and getting to know more members.

The author of this article, Julie Riddle, MHA, is Practice Administrator at Commonwealth Oral and Facial Surgery in Richmond. Her phone number is 804-354-1606, and her
e-mail is jriddle@commonwealthofs.com.

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