MGMA Announces New Body of Knowledge Framework

Dear MGMA-ACMPE Community,

Surviving changes in our industry and building a sustainable medical practice that will succeed into the future has become especially challenging. This year, MGMA’s mission to serve members, customers, and the healthcare community as a trusted partner by delivering insights, solutions, and advocacy to achieve medical practice excellence has felt more critical than in any other year of our history. In response to our ever-changing industry and as the certifying body for standards of excellence in medical practice, the American College of Medical Practice Executive (ACMPE) identified the need to update the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for medical practice administration.

Based on certification standards from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), we conducted an extensive survey analysis of our industry and gathered insights from subject matter experts representative of our membership’s entire demographic to identify and prioritize the critical tasks of our profession. This data was used to identify key subject areas, or domains, and create the corresponding tasks under each domain. This transpired to a new BOK framework covering the updated domains of Operations Management, Financial Management, Human Resources, Transformative Healthcare Delivery, Risk and Compliance, and Organizational Governance.

As the healthcare industry and medical practice evolves and changes, the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE) is committed to continually reviewing and updating our resources and examinations related to the Body of Knowledge to ensure that content remains current and relevant and our certification program continues to serve as the gold standard for medical practice expertise.

The ACMPE Board Certification examinations will begin reflecting the new BOK framework December of this year.

Please click the button below to review the new BOK framework, FAQs, and the differences between our new framework and the previous version.

If you’re interested in pursuing your certification or fellowship, reach out to the NCMGMA ACMPE Liaison – Michelle Wallace at mwallace@gapgi.com or visit the ACMPE website.

Thank you for leading our industry,

Tracy Bird, FACMPE, CPC, CPMA, CEMC
ACMPE Certification Commission

Bill Hambsh, CPA, FACMPE
MGMA-ACMPE Board Chair

Click Here to Learn More

Apply for Medicaid/CHIP Provider Relief Fund payment by July 20

Originally published in the July 16, 2020 issue of MGMA’s Washington Connection
Reprinted with permission from MGMA

July 20 is the deadline for eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers to apply for funding via the Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) expects to distribute $15 billion to eligible providers that did not previously receive a payment from the $50 billion General Distribution. The portal will allow such providers to report their annual revenue data to HHS and apply to receive a payment equal to at least two percent of reported gross revenues from patient care. For additional information on eligibility and the application process, providers can refer to the program’s application instructions.

Data Show Independent Physicians are More Productive

2018 Alliance sponsor article courtesy of Athena Health

By Chris Hayhurst | July 11, 2018

Primary care physicians who are owners or partners in independent practices are more engaged and more productive than PCPs who work as employees.

That’s one of the key findings from a recent survey of 1,029 physicians on the athenahealth network. The survey asked PCPs a variety of questions to assess their engagement and their perceived “capability“— that is, their determination of whether they have the tools, resources, and latitude to properly care for patients.

That information was then combined with athenahealth data on productivity, including the work Relative Value Units (wRVUs) physicians generate each day.

Within independent medical groups, the survey found, PCPs who are owners or partners are 11 percentage points more likely than those who are employed to report being engaged in their jobs (37.5 percent vs. 26.3 percent).

And independent owners and partners are nearly 20 percentage points more likely to feel engaged than physicians employed by health systems. (Engaged physicians are those who agree or strongly agree that they are willing to go above and beyond in their jobs and to recommend and stay with their organizations.)

On the productivity front, it’s a similar story: On average, the data show PCP owners and partners generate 16 percent more wRVUs per day on average than their employed counterparts (26.9 wRVUs per day vs. 23.1 wRVUs). Likewise, owners and partners generate 29 percent more wRVUs than doctors employed by health systems, who logged an average of 20.8 wRVUs per day.

When it comes to physician burnout — defined as frequent or very frequent feelings of emotional exhaustion or depersonalization — the numbers flip slightly. Physicians employed by independent practices reported the least amount of burnout, at 40 percent, followed by owners/partners of independent practices, at 42.9 percent. Doctors employed by health systems were the most likely to report symptoms of burnout, at 45.5 percent.

While the survey doesn’t get to the reasons for the differences between the three PCP groups, athenahealth vice president of research Josh Gray notes that ownership or partnership entails a connection to one’s practice that employed physicians are less likely to feel.

“That employee relationship may dilute some of the passion of being an owner or partner,” Gray says. “When you have a personal stake in a practice’s success, you’re probably going to feel more engaged, and that may lead you to be more productive.”

Chris Hayhurst is a writer based in Northampton, Massachusetts.