Co-Chair Named For Physician Practice Survival Conference

Online, July 24, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Contact:
Lauren Methena
804-762-9600 ext. 203
lmethena@briefingsmediagroup.com

Co-chair named for Physician Practice Survival Conference

Kevin Fickenscher, M.D., president and CEO of the American Medical Informatics Association (www.AMIA.org), has been named co-chair of the Physician Practice Survival Conference (www.PhysicianPracticeSurvival.com), which will take place September 14-15, 2012, in Alexandria, VA. The conference will examine the economic challenges that are threatening the survival of private independent physician practices, while coming up with viable business models that can answer these challenges and produce long-term economic stability for physicians who wish to maintain independent practices.

Dr. Fickenscher says he sees the conference as a way to create focus and clarity for struggling physicians in the face of fast-changing healthcare reform. "We were struggling before the healthcare bill," says Dr. Fickenscher, "and now with federal incentives for EHRs and meaningful use, as well as other technology-driven changes available through telemedicine and mobile health, the clinical and financial challenges for individual practitioners are even greater.

"My colleagues and I are ready to take action," Dr. Fickenscher continues. "Where will the future medical home be-with the patient or the practice? What new technology can actually improve service and reduce overhead? What will the federal regulatory landscape look like? These are the practical survival questions we're going to tackle. Once the Supreme Court hands down their decision about the healthcare bill this month, we should have even clearer answers as to what direction to take."

His speaking topics will include, "Roadmap to the Future for Independent Physicians through Best Practices and Innovation," "Technologies and Medical Devices that Streamline Your Practice" (co-presented with Doug Goldstein, healthcare futurist), and he will moderate some of the panel discussions.

Dr. Fickenscher is passionate about the urgent need for solving the nation's healthcare problems and believes the use of biomedical and health informatics can help solve quality, cost, and service issues. He is a long-time advocate for healthcare reform when done in a responsible, innovative, creative, and effective manner, having served as a member of the Clinton Healthcare Task Force (1992) and as Health Advisor to the Biden for President Campaign (1988).

Prior to joining AMIA in 2012, Dr. Fickenscher was the chief medical officer with Perot Systems (acquired by Dell Healthcare Systems). He has also served as CMO at WebMD and as Director of Clinical Transformation at Computer Sciences Corporation, as he moved into healthcare IT. Earlier in his career, he was Assistant Dean with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, where he developed the Center for Applied Medical Informatics. He also served as the founding director of the Center for Rural Health, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr. Fickenscher was one of Modern Healthcare magazine's "50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare" in 2007.

The conference speaker line-up includes many noteworthy physicians, such as Ron Sroka, M.D., whose was featured last year in a New York Times article about independent physician survival; Russell Libby, M.D., F.A.A.P., president-elect of the Medical Society of Virginia; and Kerry Willis, M.D., chief physician strategist of ACO Subgroup Leadership at Proactive HealthCare USA.

For the full agenda, speakers' bios, and registration information, visit www.PhysicianPracticeSurvival.com or call 1-800-431-7571.

About the Physician Practice Survival Conference
The Physician Practice Survival Conference was created to promote a healthy discussion of the business models that can help independent physicians build sustainable medical practices and provide quality care to their patients.

Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Institute for the Advancement of Human Behavior (IAHB) and Briefings Media Group. The IAHB is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation Statement
The IAHB designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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