CHICAGO, July 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Medical Association (AMA) today launched a new online community to help physicians improve their contracting strategies in a rapidly evolving health care system. The Cutting-edge Contracting Group allows physicians, practice staff and contract experts to connect and share tips, know-how and resources about contracting with managed care organizations.
"Commercial health insurers have long benefited from their resource advantage in contract negotiations with physicians, and a bad contract decision can have a very disruptive effect on a medical practice," said AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, M.D. "The AMA stands ready with innovative tools that help physicians move forward with confidence when negotiating managed care contracts."
The AMA Practice Management Center offers nuts and bolts resources geared to the needs of physicians involved in evaluating and negotiating payment options and contracts. The AMA's resources include the National Managed Care Contract and its supporting database, the most comprehensive managed care contracting tools available to physicians.
To supplement discussions on the new online community, the AMA is offering a new webinar series describing hot topics in managed care contracting and resources available from the AMA that will help physicians achieve better results in the contracting process. The initial webinar at noon (CT) today offers an introduction to managed care contracting.
"Managed care contracts are changing with the emergence of new payment models and integrated delivery systems," said Dr. Lazarus. "The AMA's new practice management resources will help physicians understand the new contract terms and achieve healthier business relationships with insurers."
The Cutting-edge Contracting Group is the second of AMA's online discussion communities devoted to medical practice management issues. The Paperless Practice Group was launched in January to allow physicians and practice staff to share best practices on automating and streamlining the medical practice.
For other innovative AMA resources for solving practice management issues, please visit the AMA website at http://www.ama-assn.org/go/pmc.
Media Contact:
Shannon (O'Brien) Breymaier
AMA Media Relations
(312) 464-4443
shannon.breymaier@ama-assn.org
About the American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional, public health and health policy issues. The nation's largest physician organization plays a leading role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org.
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