Report from Vail: Physicians gathered to network, learn and advance CMS policy

Saturday, May 11, 2013 10:42 AM

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.