Carson-Tahoe Emergency Physicians, Carson City, NV, has been in practice for over 35 years. In 2020, the group expanded to 26 emergency bays and has six FastTrack emergency bays. And Carson Tahoe Health is the first and only organization in Nevada to receive the esteemed Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association. The ENA recognizes just 25 emergency departments worldwide that exemplify exceptional practice and innovative performance. Here’s more information on The Lantern Award and for information on Carson Tahoe Emergency Physicians, please click here.

Excerpts from a conversation with David Strull, MD, Chief Business Officer
Dr. Strull began his career with Carson-Tahoe Emergency Physicians (CTEP) and worked clinically for over 33 years. He continues to lead the business side of the group. Dr. Strull said 2020 was the most challenging year he has seen given the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the clinical challenges with the introduction of a new disease into the community, David said, the personal risk to doctors, nurses and the whole team combined with the sudden decline in patient volume, particularly in March-April, added up to an unusual and difficult year. Dr. Strull points out that most of the volume returned later in the year but it still has not returned fully to pre-COVID levels.

Dr. Strull was aware of EDPMA but it was the COVID-focused information that pushed him to join. EDPMA provided detailed information about COVID relief packages and advocated for emergency medicine throughout 2020. (See 2020 EDPMA Advocacy Successes.) Dr. Strull realized that he needed to better understand the various Federal programs and take advantage of the webinars that helped clarify the Paycheck Protection Act, the CARES Act and other programs, and he was pleased that EDPMA was a leader in advocating for emergency medicine physicians and participating in likeminded coalitions. In addition to all of the Coronavirus-related information, Dr. Strull discussed the critical importance of the Surprise Medical Billing (SMB) Act and the need to get involved in the operationalizing of this legislation. Dr. Strull is aware that this will be a top priority for EDPMA in 2021. And David points out that Nevada has its own Surprise Medical Billing bill. Thus, how the state and Federal bills will work in a real-world environment is of critical importance.

Dr. Strull also discussed that one key challenge in emergency medicine is that cognitive services are undervalued as compared with procedural services. David said, “emergency medicine physicians are often reimbursed at a lower level because they did not perform a procedure, such as surgery, but instead, provided an analysis and recommendation to treat the individual.” Dr. Strull believes this imbalance in the House of Medicine should be addressed. David also commented on the important work that EDPMA does in fighting commercial payers who try to limit reimbursements without reasonable justification. Dr. Strull appreciates the work that EDPMA does to rectify these situations. While David has not yet had time to join an EDPMA Committee, he plans to do so in 2021 so he can be directly involved in the idea generation and action plans for this year.

Chris Conway started Premium Asset Recovery Corp. (PARC) in 1997. The firm’s mission is to provide smart, profitable solutions with the highest level of customer service while respecting and maintaining excellent patient relationships. The firm focuses exclusively on healthcare debt buying and offers services nationwide. For more information on PARC, please click HERE.

Excerpts from a conversation with Chris Conway, CEO and Founder

Chris Conway has spent over 31 years in collections and receivables management, including 10 years as General Manager of a hospital-owned collection agency. Chris understands the intricacies involved with increasing recoveries while maintaining a high satisfaction level with senior executives, physicians and patients. Chris has run several private companies and sold one company to a publicly traded organization. Chris’s company provides liquidity at any stage in the accounts receivables lifecycle while primarily focusing on late-stage receivables.

Mr. Conway became involved in EDPMA when his company exhibited at two Solutions Summit conferences. He found the conference and exhibit hall attracted many senior level people in emergency medicine. Chris said the networking events with EDPMA, as compared with other associations in healthcare, were always topflight. Mr. Conway also attended several conference sessions (as exhibitors are welcome to attend the conference) and he found the content to be relevant, timely and focused on the needs of the ED practice. Plus, as the conference is a reasonable size, it’s easy to find people and continue important conversations.

Mr. Conway highlighted that EDPMA’s focus on state and federal advocacy and, in particular, taking into account the needs of independent practices, is a key reason why PARC became a member. Chris said that EDPMA “gives a voice and a presence to the small and mid-sized independent practices that he doesn’t see elsewhere.” Chris said that EDPMA “creates a coalition of like-minded professionals in advocacy.” He has found many of his clients are EDPMA members and that was another reason his company joined. He realized the importance of being “in the know” about what is happening in advocacy and what his clients (and prospects) are focusing on regarding the challenges faced on the legislative and regulatory front at both the state and federal levels. Mr. Conway said that “one of the challenges in emergency medicine is the increasing need for self-pay and the decrease in reimbursement.” He finds this troubling and is concerned about the long-term affordability and quality of healthcare.

Mr. Conway plans to exhibit again at the upcoming Solutions Summit from September 26-29 in Fort Worth, TX. He looks forward to reconnecting, in person, with colleagues, clients and prospects. And he knows the conference sessions will be timely and informative.

CompMed is a medical billing and practice management company founded in 1993. Mr. Stearns started the company with six employees focusing on one medical specialty. Almost 30 years later, it has over 200 employees, operates in almost every state and supports over 25 specialties. CompMed focuses on these core principles: hard work; providing quality education and training for employees, and maintaining cutting-edge technology and ongoing, face-to-face client engagement and communications. All of CompMed’s operations are based in the U.S. For more information, please click HERE.

Excerpts from a conversation with Mike Stearns, CPA, MBA, President and Owner

Mike Stearns has worked in healthcare for over 30 years. Early on, he worked for an anesthesiology group practice and quickly saw the opportunity for a billing and practice management firm working as a separate entity supporting independent group practices. Over time, Mike expanded the firm from one specialty to many, adding emergency medicine, hospitalists, geriatrician groups and more.

Mr. Stearns heard about EDPMA through a member at a healthcare event. He then took an interest in learning about the association and spent some time doing research. Mike decided to have his company join EPDMA last year and encouraged many of his employees, particularly the coding staff, to add their names (and emails) to EDPMA’s distribution list so they receive EDPMA’s weekly ED newsletter, monthly Advocacy and Membership newsletters, News and Action Alerts directly. (Direct employees are welcome to receive EDPMA’s benefits directly, there is no need to join separately.) This information enables many people in the company to stay on top of what is happening in emergency medicine and use this knowledge to help guide their clients.

Mr. Stearns is especially interested in the legislative and regulatory issues impacting emergency medicine at the state and federal levels. He knows that the providers expect them to know what is happening with current legislation, reimbursement changes and other issues. Mike said, “EDPMA is the best at providing information on key legislative and regulatory issues on emergency medicine.” And further, “EDPMA is unique in its ability to stay on top of the issues, to explain the issues clearly and provide tools to take action.” Mike said EDPMA’s focus on emergency medicine legislation and regulation was a key reason why his company joined the association.

Another important benefit in being a EDPMA member, according to Mr. Stearns, “is the networking opportunities, the chance to talk to potential clients, experts in the field and learn what is top-of-mind in emergency medicine.” As the owner and President, Mike enjoys talking with his clients, is accessible and wants to learn about their needs and concerns. While he looks forward to getting back to in-person events, he also said that the EDPMA webinars have provided information on “hot topics” and has found these to be a productive use of his time.