MGMA Preview

MGMA Celebrates 90th Anniversary at Annual Conference

By Heather Hogstrom

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) is holding its annual conference October 30 to November 2 in San Francisco, where it’s celebrating its 90th anniversary. The conference offers education for professional practice administrators, health system executives, medical practice group leaders, attorneys, and others involved in practice management. While in San Francisco, attendees may wish to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, ride on a trolley or cable car, taste the seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf, or tour Alcatraz Island’s notorious prison. Those who want to celebrate Halloween can don black and white clothing to attend MGMA’s Black and White Masquerade, which will offer festive masks, dancing, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres.

MGMA is offering a Product Sneak Peak on Sunday afternoon for attendees to browse the Exhibit Hall’s products and services. The Exhibit Hall Trail Map serves as a guide to the more than 275 exhibiting companies as well as an opportunity for attendees to win a gift certificate by collecting signatures at the highlighted booths. Before the grand opening of the exhibit hall, comedian Jim Gaffigan will perform for conference attendees. Author Daniel H. Pink will give a presentation, “The Cascade Effect: How Small Wins Can Transform Your Organization,” which details how change occurs within an organization. Pink also will hold a book signing.

Session attendees can earn ACMPE, AAPC, CPE, and CEU credits. To help attendees chose educational content that best fits their knowledge and interests, the conference sessions are assigned a learning level (ie, overview, update, basic, intermediate, and advanced) and classified according to the following content areas:

• Working Within the Value-Based World;
• Maximizing the Benefits of Third-Party Relationships;
• People Leadership;
• The Changing Patient Relationship;
• The Independence to Integrated Spectrum; and
• Government Affairs.

As the conference takes place just a few days before Election Day, attendees with government affairs on their mind should attend “MGMA’s View From Washington” for insight on the current political and regulatory environment from the organization’s advocates in the nation’s capital.

Attendees can stay connected and up to date by following MGMA on Twitter and Facebook and using the hashtag #mgma16. For more information or to register, visit www.mgma.com/annual-conference/why-attend.

— Heather Hogstrom is an editorial assistant at For The Record.