Day 1: Innovations in Health Care

Tuesday, April 20, 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Digital Health Strategy at Mercy Clinic 

Michael Michetti, Chief Operating Officer, Mercy St. Louis

Well before COVID-19, Mercy Clinic was blazing the telehealth trail with their industry-leading virtual care program, which focused on managing highly complex patients from their homes. Their digital blueprint of the future was drafted, allowing a rapid shift to video and telehealth visits, building to more advanced models of digital empowered solutions for populations of patients in need. In this session, Mercy Clinic will share more about these recent innovations, including programs such as a digital monitoring program; on-demand video visits; digitally delivered low-acuity primary care; digitally empowered COVID-test scheduling; and longitudinal care models for at-risk patients, as well as share a forecast of future innovations. 

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Develop strategies for more efficient teleheath visits
• Describe recent innovations in digital programs to manage complex patients from their homes
• Explain the components of building more advanced models of digital-empowered solutions

Using AI to Improve Chronic Disease Outcomes

Francis R. Colangelo, M.D., M.S.-HQS, FACP, Chief Quality Officer, Premier Medical Associates, P.C.; and Robert E. Matthews, Vice President for Quality, PriMed Physicians, President and Chief Executive Officer, MediSync

Medical group leaders search for real-world methods to successfully reduce the total cost of care while improving quality and patient safety. It is well documented that the better primary care performs, the better an organization’s value results. Key to primary care is better chronic outcomes. Leaders from two medical groups—Premier Medical Associates and PriMED Physicians—both with excellent chronic outcomes and significantly lower total costs today, will describe a new root cause analysis explaining why chronic disease outcomes are so difficult to improve and will demonstrate a new artificial intelligence (AI) solution that has helped their doctors achieve nation-leading outcomes and costs.  

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe the methods for a root cause analysis of the issues or challenges underlying achieving high levels of chronic disease success (i.e., achieving control per the evidence-based standard)
• Calculate a cost-benefit analysis for different methods of quality improvement in chronic disease care
• Develop new methods to support physician or provider success when treating chronic disease

Day 2: Patient Care and Experience

Wednesday, April 21, 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Addressing Racism and Disparities: Developing and Implementing a Framework for Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

Beth Averbeck, M.D., Senior Medical Director, Primary Care; and Yeng Yang, M.D., Regional Medical Director, Primary Care, Health Equity Medical Advisor, HealthPartners

Significant disparities in life expectancy and other health outcomes persist across the nation. While healthcare organizations alone cannot improve all the multiple determinants of health, they can address disparities directly at the point of care. In addition, they can develop meaningful partnerships with other sectors to impact many of the determinants that create these disparities. This session will detail the 15-year journey of a large, integrated health system, HealthPartners, toward diversity and inclusion and health equity. In addition to data-driven quality improvement, this journey has included identifying and leveraging interested physicians and leaders; equipping teams with the knowledge and resources needed to provide appropriate care and service; and engaging communities to learn how to best support them. Specifically, we will share key reflections on developing an actionable framework for health equity, implementing meaningful standards for data collection/stratification, and tangible steps to get started addressing disparities.

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Explain strategies for fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout healthcare organizations
• Delineate steps that can be taken to ensure a truly inclusive workplace
• Describe actionable framework for health equity with tangible steps to get started addressing disparities

Closing Care Gaps: When People Don’t Want to Visit the Office

Ed Yu, M.D., Medical Director and Chief Quality Officer, Palo Alto Medical Foundation/Sutter Health

Preventive care, such as immunizations, diabetes management, cancer screening, and hypertension support, are key drivers to population health management. However, when recommendations for care don’t match with what is being delivered, groups experience care gaps. This has been an ongoing challenge before COVID-19, and the pandemic has exacerbated patient fears about visiting their care teams. Join this session to hear from Palo Alto Medical Foundation/Sutter Health, which created a process to reach patients who don’t want to visit their doctor’s office, citing communication strategies and patient education as drivers in the behavior change.

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe a framework for creating a process to reach patients who will not visit their doctor’s office
• Identify ways to develop communication strategies and patient education
• Identify innovative patient outreach measures to close the care gap

Day 3: Organizational Resiliency

Thursday, April 22, 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Creating an Advanced Practice Provider Leadership Structure: It’s Not Just Dollars, It’s Sense

Bonnie Proulx, DNP, APRN, PNP-BC, M.S.N., Director of Advanced Practice Providers, Emory Healthcare

As the use of advanced practice providers (APPs) expands, leading healthcare organizations are strengthening their APP support structures to guard against inefficiency, role confusion, and costly turnover. Emory Healthcare, a large urban academic healthcare system with more than 1,000 APPs, is implementing a three-year strategic plan to boost quality and value at both the unit and system level. In just one year, it has succeeded in reducing costs and increasing productivity in targeted areas. Drawing on her extensive experience in provider coaching and performance, the speaker will share strategies you can use to identify gaps and develop an effective APP leadership structure.

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify gaps in supporting APPs
• Describe the foundation of building an APP leadership structure
• Identify organizational support for the importance of APP leadership, including issues related to financial significance, quality, retention, and compliance

Positioning Provider Compensation Models Beyond 2021 to Achieve Resiliency

Fred Horton, M.H.A., President and Wayne Hartley, M.H.A., Vice President, AMGA Consulting

Given the significant ongoing changes in the healthcare market, coupled with the challenges and impact of COVID and recent E/M code and conversion factor changes, it is imperative that medical groups reevaluate their compensation models. In this session, Fred Horton and Wayne Hartley will outline key topics to consider as groups explore changes to their compensation arrangements, in order to create more resilience, while engaging physicians and strengthening a culture built upon performance. They will discuss adapting compensation models to varying productivity levels, addressing low work RVU production, and setting performance expectations. This session also will cover methodology to adjust compensation plan mechanics in light of COVID impact and the recent E/M code changes. Through case studies and presentation of strategic considerations and survey data, attendees will be presented with real-world examples of new compensation models and compensation strategies in practice including emerging panel size and concierge medicine models. 

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe how to adapt compensation models to productivity and key trends in the marketplace
• Outline approaches to setting performance expectations and addressing low productivity
• Discuss the pros and cons of compensation models with risk-based components

How to Succeed in Commercial Value-Based Risk Contracts

Ashish D. Parikh, M.D., Chief Quality Officer; and Jamie L. Reedy, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Population Health, Summit Medical Group-CityMD

Often a medical group’s foray into risk contracts is through a Medicare or Medicaid alternative payment model. Because of the difference in ages, health risk, and social factors, the strategies that worked for Medicare or Medicaid value-based care programs frequently fall short in the commercial space. Groups that are already in risk contracts with commercial payers may find that the agreements are not structured to help them succeed or that the health plan falls short in supporting the patient population and the providers. Summit Medical Group has decades of experience successfully negotiating and operationalizing commercial risk contracts. The presentation will also cover strategies for successfully partnering with payers to fairly share both the responsibilities and the financial risks of managing a population. The presenters will then review how to build a clinical, operational, and information technology infrastructure that allows your medical group to succeed in commercial risk.

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify cost drivers of a commercial population and how they differ from a Medicare population
• Describe the data needed to assess the readiness of a group to take on commercial risk
• Explain the essential components of the contract that can drive success for the group

Addressing Workforce Needs and Staffing Shortages

James Demopoulos, M.H.A., Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Lehigh Valley Physician Group

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to rapidly deploy innovative processes to respond to the increasing demand of the nation’s sickest patients. However, the intensity of the support required to care for patients and lead organizations, on top of challenges—including organization financial losses and staff members’ demands at home—healthcare systems are facing dire situations in which they’re short-staffed and overworked. In this session, our speaker will share Lehigh Valley Physician Group’s framework to preserve and support their staffing needs using data and constant team communication to address hot spots. 

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify market dynamics and countermeasures to preserve and support staffing needs
• Describe ways to advance tools and tactics to ensure recruitment and retention of the workforce to fully meet needs of patients and colleagues
• Provide examples of how to ensure strong communication and accountability throughout a healthcare organization to address staffing needs

Caring for Our Caregivers in Crises

Heather Farley, M.D., Chief Wellness Officer, ChristianaCare

A pioneer in promoting provider well-being, ChristianaCare partners with its physicians and other caregivers to create a satisfying work environment that supports their ability to deliver high-quality patient care. The Center for WorkLife Wellbeing at ChristianaCare, established in 2016, is a national leader in these initiatives. Their dynamic concept encompasses everyone who works on the team, from the nurse at the bedside to the housekeeper who changes the sheets, because they are all part of a team doing their best to serve patients. Through this organizational-wide initiative, the leaders within ChristianaCare had a proven framework to address work-life balance and job stressors, mental health, and burnout, felt deeply within healthcare systems battling COVID-19. Join this session to learn how to shift your culture, create more substantial support systems for your care teams, and create a more resilient workforce as we move into the future. 

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify system changes to promote wellbeing while avoiding burnout to deliver high-quality patient care
• Describe steps to take to create substantial support systems for care teams