Being in an industry with perpetual and rapid shifting like healthcare, you keep busy responding to many rapid changes across the landscape – so busy that by the time you look up, it is already December. 2022 has been another eventful year of helping healthcare providers across the country tackle what is at hand and prepare for what is to come. As we look back on the highlights of this year, we realize we are even better prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow than we were just a year ago.
Medical Advantage Podcast Reaches a Milestone
In January, the Medical Advantage Podcast celebrated its one-year anniversary. Over 30 episodes have been produced with a listenership of around 180. We will finish the year with the compelling topic of clinician burnout. In March, the branding for the podcast was updated allowing us to present our episodes with a snazzy new look.
iHealthSpot Acquisition – Practice Marketing Powers Ahead
In 2020, Medical Advantage purchased iHealthSpot Interactive – a healthcare digital marketing agency. Two solutions-focused companies came together to make healthcare digital marketing a powerful and sophisticated tool for providers to reach specific patients. Many practices are faced with continued challenges in standing out in their respective markets and competing with new competitive threats such as retail-based clinics. In 2022, the merged teams worked diligently to hone in on what current and future clients need most when it comes to connecting with their target market.
Healthcare professionals are trained to help people lead healthy lives, and not on how to market a business competitively. Knowing that providers are often bewildered by so many advertising options and all the marketing jargon, our content development leadership enlisted a writer and designer (both with strong digital marketing backgrounds) to create a comprehensive guide that puts into simplified language how digital marketing works. With this guide, we aim to make it easier for providers to decide what marketing investment is the wisest for them.
Consortium of Independent Physician Associations (CIPA) Reports Significant Gains
In 2022, CIPA announced that $70 million in surplus revenue was earned and ready to be distributed among the participating providers. “Over the last five years, CIPA member practices have achieved the NCQA 90th percentile benchmark for an average of 16 measures and over 90 percent of CIPA practices have earned Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) designation, leading to additional value-based reimbursements, incentive opportunities and improved patient care,” says the press release. Services provided by CIPA consultants include:
- Quality performance review and improvement plan development
- Analysis of practice workflows to identify efficiency improvement opportunities
- Review of cost of care management and admission, discharges, and transfers data
- Electronic health record (EHR) integration for supplemental data and reporting
- Consultation for billing, coding, and revenue cycle management (RCM)
- Risk adjustment education, chart auditing, and pre-visit form development
100+ Providers Join Us for the 2023 Launch of Medical Advantage ACO
Our latest endeavor in the world of value-based care is the launch of the Medical Advantage ACO, our risk and penalty-free Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) Accountable Care Organization (ACO). We’re proud to partner with 104 dedicated providers to improve the lives of Medicare patients in Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, and to maximize the earnings potential for these providers.
For decades, the team at Medical Advantage has been assisting practices in making the most of their participation in value-based care arrangements. This has come in the form of running our Managed Service Organization (MSO) CIPA, supporting our friends at Professional Medical Corporation (PMC), and several engagements with practices to support their MIPS and quality program performance. We’re excited to leverage our long history of VBC support to improve the lives of patients and providers alike through the Medical Advantage ACO.
PMC ACO – Another Successful Year
We have had the pleasure of working with Professional Medical Corporation for years, supporting their efforts to improve patient care and reimbursement opportunities for physicians through their PMC ACO. It has been a privilege to see the impact they have had on the Flint, Michigan community, which has a largely underserved population. We are pleased to see them being rewarded for their hard work.
“For each of the last three years, PMC ACO received a shared savings payment of approximately $1.6 million from CMS. PMC ACO also earned shared savings from CMS five times in the last eight years, earning an average of $276 in shared savings for every beneficiary every year since its founding. Furthermore, PMC ACO has saved a cumulative $31 million under benchmark for CMS.”
Our ACO support services have made a significant difference in the ability for PMC providers to document care efficiently and accurately, enhance their reporting capabilities, and better coordinate care. We look forward to many more years of friendship and success.
Made the List of Best Places to Work – Again
For the fourth year in a row, Medical Advantage made the list of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. Employees completing surveys anonymously provides Modern Healthcare the metrics needed to select which organizations have the most satisfied workforce. Medical Advantage recognizes that without the right talent and expertise, we cannot provide the crucial solutions needed to resolve problems that plague the healthcare system. We are fortunate to have the best staff in healthcare consulting industry who recommend our career opportunities to family and friends.
Recognizing Women for Excellence in Healthcare
The American Medical Association made September Women in Medicine Month. We take the time to recognize the talented women at Medical Advantage who make a significant impact on healthcare quality. This year, the spotlight turned to Dr. Min Tao, Ph.D., MD, director of analytics at Medical Advantage. She ventured into healthcare analytics in her medical professional career, empowering fellow physicians to improve operations and care quality through the power of data insights. In 2023, Medical Advantage will celebrate Women in Medicine Month yet again by choosing another female medical professional to feature.
Simplifying the World of EHR Solutions with a New eBook
In September, we also published an eBook that provides a high-level summary of what EHR optimization can do for health systems. It has been reported that EHRs are a top contributor to clinician burnout, so it is inevitable that practice management will eventually ask themselves “Can my EHR be better and do better?” This eBook takes a complex prospect and simplifies into a condensed guide that covers the basics and providing real-world examples of how EHR optimization can be a powerful change agent for healthcare organizations of all kinds.
Over 500 Hours of Volunteer Work
In October, Medical Advantage held a volunteer drive to tally all the work our staff members do in their respective communities. 587 hours of volunteer work was performed by our amazing staff. Healthcare is all about fostering a healthy community and we recognize how offering a helping hand reinforces this principle.
Celebrating Excellence – Core Value Awards
In 2023, Medical Advantage awarded 28 staff members with a Core Value Award respective to one of the eight core values they significantly emulate. In addition to those winners, the HR department receives dozens of nominations throughout the year. Medical Advantage’s eight core values are:
- Assume Positive Intent
- Act Now
- Make Others Great
- Let’s Talk
- Take Risks
- Results Matter
- It’s All About the Customer
- Extreme Ownership
Recognizing exceptional performance and dedication to our core values reminds everyone of what our core values are and what they each mean in application.
Ready for 2023
In the blink of an eye, January will be here once again. Medical Advantage as a whole, and our individual teams look to the horizon with a focus on what we need to do to better serve current and future clients. We also enthusiastically welcome opportunities to the healthcare community in new ways that are a true game changer for independent providers, practices, groups, specialists, private equity, and FQHCs. Grateful for what we have achieved through our partnerships, we are excited for what is to come in 2023.
