Two Years in, POMAA Looks to Build on Its Success

June 1, 2010 - PRLog -- “It can be done better.” With that statement in mind, Desiree Baylin set to work creating a new association for medical practice managers that blended education, networking and support as the driving force for its members. As a result of that vision, Physician Office Managers Association of America was born in June 2008.

POMAA is a national professional association for physician office managers, practice managers, practice administrators, billing managers, and any other supervisor in a healthcare management setting within a physician practice. The association is dedicated to providing education and networking with other colleagues in the medical field.

“Myself, the board and many of our initial members were not satisfied with the educational and networking opportunities other professional organizations in our field provided,” Baylin said. “Some focus almost exclusively on certifications, and, while that’s valuable, it’s not the be-all and end-all. We wanted to create an organization that provided professional certifications but, just as importantly, provided networking, information and support opportunities on both a structured and an ad hoc basis.

“With POMAA, we’ve managed to create a cadre of professionals and experts that lets our members get nearly immediate answers to their professional questions and feedback on their work-related issues. We have a listerv where members can post questions and get information and different viewpoints quickly.  We also are heavily involved in social media and member networking and ongoing education events. We’ve built our organization from the ground up to work around the deficiencies we noted in other groups and make POMAA a productive resource and outlet for our members and the practices they manage.”

Just two years after its official founding, POMAA boasts members representing practices of more than 1,000 physicians across the country.  The group also has a fledging   chapter-based program that continues to expand.  Chapters are located or are currently being formed in the following areas: Newark, DE, Leesburg/Lake County, FL, Ft. Lauderdale/Miami/West Palm Beach, FL, Orlando, FL, Tampa Bay, FL, Indianapolis, IN, Baltimore, MD, Frederick/Hagerstown, MD, Montgomery County, MD, Waldorf, MD, Oakhurst, NJ, and Utica, NY.  “One area of growth we didn’t originally count on in our planning is that we have gotten a lot of hospitals backing us and coming on board where physician liaisons are promoting POMAA full force,” Baylin said.

Its first national conference, in Baltimore in Sept., 2009, was a resounding success, particularly for a first-year organization.  “The first conference was astounding,” Baylin said, “both in terms of what we had to go through to pull it off and how well it was received. Both our corporate sponsors/exhibitors and our attending members found it to be a unique and rewarding event. It was definitely a learning experience, but we took those lessons and ran with them.”

Taking those lessons to heart, Baylin and the POMAA team are excited about the second Annual Conference, coming Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans.

Their 2010 Annual National Conference in New Orleans, LA will feature nationally known speakers who will speak on topics such as:

Lon Kieffer - "Get Out of Bed and Go To Work"
Laura Sachs Hills, M.A. - "Developing Your Leadership Potential" and "The Top Ten Medical Practice HR Dilemmas"
Wendy Lipton-Dibner, M.A. - "Get People To Do What You Want Them To Do"
Owen J. Dahl, FACHE, CHBC - "Disaster Planning for Your Medical Practice"
Don Self - "Using PQRI to Increase Your Practice's Revenue"
Janice L. Merrill, ESQ - "Risk Management for the Practice Manager"
Jamie Verkamp - "Marketing Initiatives to Improve Patient Referrals"
Maria K. Todd, MHA, PhD - "Building a Managed Care Contracting Strategy"

POMAA will also feature breakout sessions on topics such as: EMR and the Implementation Process, Coding and Auditing, Quickbooks and Your Practice, How to Implement a Budget for Your Practice, and roundtable sessions on HIPAA and sharing policies and procedures.

All conference attendees are invited to a welcome reception on Tuesday, September 21 from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. They will receive breakfast, lunch and beverage/snack breaks on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, along with a vendor appreciation reception on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 4:30 pm. Attendees will also receive a complimentary bag and portfolio for taking notes during the conference.

Corporate sponsors already committed to attend and exhibit at the conference include:

•   OAISYS – a leading vendor of call recording and voice documentation solutions in the healthcare industry
•   Greenbranch Publishing – publishers of “The Journal of Medical Practice Management” and many other well known medical practice books
•   Transcriptions Unlimited, Inc. – an industry leader in transcriptions services

Conference giveaways this year will feature products such as: the new Apple iPad, an Amazon Kindle Digital Reader, a Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, an Apple iPod Touch, and a free conference registration to the2011 Annual National Conference.

For more information on POMAA's 2010 Annual National Conference and how to register, please visit www.POMAA.net and click on the 2010 National Conference link or call them toll free at 1-877-782-5141.

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Physician Office Managers Association of America is a national professional association for medical office managers, practice administrators, and billing managers.