Home

AUPHA/MGMA Academic Forum



AUPHA and MGMA will be hosting a joint Academic Forum at the 2018 MGMA Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. The Academic Forum, with peer-reviewed papers, will be held on the morning of September 30th from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. In addition to MGMA's theme of “People & Possibilities", the Academic Forum will be focused on “The Consumerism of Health Care – Through the Lens of Medical Group Practice and Ambulatory Care" to encourage practitioners and vendors to observe current research that has a practical application to the world of practice management broadly. 

If you are planning to attend MGMA, this is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate you current research or practice related activities. If you can’t attend all of the MGMA Conference, you can still attend and participate in the Joint Academic Forum by registering here.


Keynote Speaker
 

PamelaHeadshot.png
Pamela Ballou-Nelson, RN, CMPE, MA, MSPH, PhD
Principal, MGMA Consulting 

Join Pamela Ballou-Nelson as she speaks about The Patient as Consumer - New Expectations for Clinicians and ConsumerThroughout her presentation she will discuss: (1) Differentiating consumer versus patient - a paradigm shift; (2) Discussing consumer expectations; (3) Recognizing levels of activation that influence consumer health behaviors; and (4) Managing consumer expectations in a value-based world. 

Pamela Ballou-Nelson, has over 30 years of experience in healthcare management focusing on practice process transformation, PCMH, workflow analysis, quality measures, including PQRS, HRSA, Medicaid and CMS outcome measures, care management, population health, and patient activation, across the continuum of care. Dr. Ballou-Nelson has worked with both provider and payer organizations working toward alternative care and payment models.

As Clinical Quality Director for Adventist Health Network in Chicago, Dr. Ballou-Nelson was responsible for leading physicians and hospital directors in their clinical integration process. This work involved over 600 physicians, four hospitals, and an IT vendor developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, collecting and measuring outcomes from inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, and ancillary services to meet MU and PQRS programs. Dr. Ballou-Nelson has also worked with numerous commercial payers on quality outcomes and effectiveness measures including compliance for Medicaid care management programs, and Medicaid insurance contracts, as well as high-risk and dual eligible patients’ programs. 

More recently Dr. Ballou-Nelson is involved in new practice start-up and providing practices with education, training and implementation for MACRA QPP MIPS and APM. In addition to implementing Patient Activation programs in practices or health systems using PAM® in partnership with Insignia Health.

Dr. Nelson has a BSN from University of Utah, an MA from Wheaton College, and an MS and PhD in Public Health from Walden University. In addition, she frequently speaks on Patient Activation, PCMH transformation for ACO and population health initiatives, as well as MACRA QPP MIPS and APM programs.




Session Highlight

There is No ‘I’ in Change – Or is There?

by Dr. Gail L. Bullard

Fast food, fuel-efficient cars, express lanes at the grocery, and pay-at-the-pump gas stations are found in most communities across America. Consumers of these services have a set of expectations, expectations which may well change over time as one aspires for faster service, or fewer clicks at the pump to pay for gas.  Patients as consumers of health care have changing expectations as well, with delivery models adapting to meet these demands through implementation of new concepts such as virtual patient visits and self-selected appointment scheduling.

Marketing of goods and services influences consumer change; however, how will we leverage patient expectations to influence change within the individual for health care?  While commercial products are sometimes considered to be fads, health care and one’s involvement in personal health and wellness lasts a lifetime and can be life changing.  Health literacy is a key element in understanding the impact of behaviors on personal health. 

This session will discuss Dr. Gail Bullard’s current research in health literacy and open conversation with the audience regarding the value of understanding patient behavior using change models, such as the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change and Behavior Economics.

Gail Bullard, DHEd, MSHA, RN, LBBH, currently serves as Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Master of Healthcare Administration degree and Lean Healthcare programs for Ferris State University. She has a wealth of experience in nursing practice, both clinical and management, in the areas of obstetrics, pediatrics, and adolescent mental health. Beyond clinical nursing, Dr. Bullard has done extensive work in healthcare administration to include being the Medical Practice Manager for Blue Care Network/Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Executive Director for a subsidiary company of hospital-employed physician practices including an accredited Rural Health Center.

Dr. Bullard's higher education experience includes teaching, being Dean of Health Sciences, and holding a state-wide executive position for a private, non-profit career college. She remains active in the healthcare arena, serving as Chair of the Northwest Michigan Chronic Disease Council, and Chair of the Patient and Family Advisory Committee for Spectrum Health BR-RC. In addition, she leads the national Medical Practice and Ambulatory Care Faculty Forum Leader for the Association of University Programs of Healthcare Administration (AUPHA), is Chair for the College of Health Professions Graduate Leadership Council, and serves in member capacities for other university committees as well as local, regional, and national committees.  Dr. Bullard is a Lean Black Belt in Healthcare and a certified trainer for Bridges Out of Poverty and Bridges to Health and Healthcare. She received her Doctorate of Health Education from A. T. Still University, Master of Administration, Healthcare and Bachelor of Science, Community Development – Healthcare from Central Michigan University, and Diploma of Nursing from the Butterworth Hospital School of Nursing.