More than 100 Colorado physicians attended the Colorado Medical Society's 2013 Spring Conference in Vail to learn how to transform their practices through five components: workflow redesign, teamwork, metrics gathering and quality reports, improved access, and connectivity through health information technology.

CMS President-elect and conference host John Bender, MD, spoke Saturday morning on how he worked to improve patient care and obtain greater value in his practice at a time when 34 primary care physicians in Fort Collins left practice, including eight who filed for bankruptcy. He admitted that in 2002 his product was "lousy," so he and his partners decided they would have to do something different "to get out of last century."

By examining his process, gathering and analyzing clinical and financial data, implementing health information technology systems, and redesigning his workflow to be more efficient, he has built Miramont Family Medicine into the fourth fastest growing company in the region. "In one sentence, what does Miramont do differently? I pay my staff to do in 10 minutes what my competitors do in 20," Bender told the audience.

Slides from the presentations are available on the Spring Conference page of CMS.org and video excerpts from the speakers will be available soon. Watch for full coverage in the next issue of Colorado Medicine.

The CMS Board of Directors met on Friday. They approved a report by the Expert Panel on Wellness, advanced the Larimer-Weld component society merger, heard a report on anticipated legislative outcomes, discussed updates from the Executive Committee, received an update on the Board work plan, and got a sneak peek at the newly redesigned CMS.org website, among other actions.

Click here to read the Speaker's newsletter for a full report.

Gov. John Hickenlooper released his work plan for wellness at a press event on May 6. "The State of Health: Colorado's Commitment to Become the Healthiest State" lays out a vision to achive this designation through four focus areas: the promotion of prevention and wellness; expansion of health care coverage, access and capacity; improvement of health system integration and quality; and by enhancing value and strengthening sustainability.

The Colorado Medical Society has been an active stakeholder since the beginning of the year, providing feedback on the plan to the governor's staff as it was taking shape. The CMS Board of Directors reviewed the plan and at their May 3 meeting and voted to support it, pledging to educate members on the plan, provide resources on healthy living and ways physicians can participate in public and patient education, partner with other stakeholders, and encourage physicians to lead by example by living a healthy lifestyle.

"While many states are wrapped around the axle of partisan and ideological bickering over health care costs and entitlements, Gov. Hickenlooper has developed a health care plan that is shovel-ready," CMS President Jan Kief, MD, said in a statement. "It builds on and expands a solid base of collaboration and streamlining that is already years into development and maturity."

Click here for a PDF of the report. Click here to read a statement by Dr. Kief, and click here to read a press release on CMS' support of the plan.

Make plans to attend a free webinar on the final HIPAA omnibus rule, which makes a number of changes including modifying the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules passed under the HITECH Act. The Colorado Medical Society will present the hour-and-a-half event on Monday, June 3, starting at 6 p.m. It's part of CMS' Practice Evolution Series and will instruct physicians and their practice teams on what they need to do to meet the strict patient privacy and data security requirements.

Don't be left in the dark on the details of this critical rule and how it will impact your practice. Plan on attending an engaging and informative webinar with David Ginsberg, a leading authority in HIPAA privacy and security compliance and meaningful use. Click here to register.

Since the transition of TRICARE managed care services from TriWest to UnitedHealth Military and Veterans Services on (UMVS) on April 1, 2013, some physicians report that they are experiencing significant delays in processing of authorizations and referral requests.

To address the delays, the Department of Defense has waived authorization and referral request requirements through May 18, 2013. Physicians will not be required to seek or wait for an approval from UVMS for any covered services.

Click here for an FAQ document from UMVS regarding the referral and authorization waiver.

DORA has released a survey about the Maintenance of Licensure process that asks about your participation in and opinion of various types of continuous professional development activities that may be approved for fulfilling future MOL requirements. Maintenance of licensure, or MOL, is a process in development by which licensed physicians will periodically provide, as a condition of license renewal, evidence that they are actively participating in a program of continuous professional development that is relevant to their area of practice.

CMS strongly encourages all members to complete the survey, and estimates that it should take no more than 10 minutes. Click here to access this important survey or paste the following URL in an Internet browser: www.nbme.org/PhysicianSurvey.

In another installment from the American Medical Association's "Prescription for a Healthier Practice" series, the AMA provides a listing of e-billing vendors physicians may consider using, particularly for workers' compensation and auto claims, to streamline the process and help you get paid more quickly and with fewer denials.

Click here to access the AMA's "Workers' compensation eBilling vendor" listing to learn about some of the many practice management system vendors and clearinghouse vendors offering these solutions.