January 21, 2015
Anesthesia Business Consultants (ABC), a leading provider in billing and practice management for the anesthesia and pain management specialty, is pleased to announce that the Winter 2015 issue of its quarterly newsletter, The Communiqué, is now available.
The Communiqué is a publication dedicated to bringing articles and advice, specific to the anesthesia and pain management community, that are practical and tangible. ABC offers The Communiqué electronically as well as in hard copy, both on a complimentary basis. The Communiqué features articles focusing on the latest hot topics for anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, pain management specialists and anesthesia practice administrators.
Tony Mira, President & CEO, explains, “If you are a regular reader of the Communiqué, then the Winter 2015 issue will be of interest to you. We always strive to provide content that reflects reciprocal and often iterative learning. And we are taking it up a notch this issue with a very interesting give-and-take between experts such as Michael Hicks, MD, MBA, and Joe Laden in their article Point-Counterpoint: Do National Anesthesia Management Companies Increase Revenues for Acquired Groups? This discussion began in an electronic list serv on the website of the Medical Group Management Association-Anesthesia Administration Assembly, of which both Dr. Hicks and Mr. Laden are members. The dialogue between Dr. Hicks and Mr. Laden has ended up introducing an important topic that has not been touched on previously in the Communiqué—the inherent limitations of compensation surveys in a consolidating marketplace.
The QCDR is a topic on everyone’s thoughts these days. We attempt to further clarify the topic with a timely article by Richard Dutton, MD, MBA and Matthew Popovich, PhD. Their article on the ASA-Anesthesia Quality Institute’s Quality Clinical Data Registry, QCDR Made Simple—Ha! asks and answers the questions so many of you are raising about the QCDR, and the QCDR’s designers/managers, for example, “What are my options?” and “What measures can I report on?” It is a format that should make it easier for readers to assess whether and how to participate in reporting to the QCDR, even as the registry and its requirements continue to develop.
For these and past Communiqué articles, please log on to ABC’s web site at http://www.anesthesiallc.com/ and click the link to view the electronic version of The Communiqué online. To be put on the automated email notification list, please send your email address to info@anesthesiallc.com. We look forward to providing you with compliance, coding and practice management news through The Communiqué.
