Table of Contents

CMS Announces Details of Next Ambulance Open Door Forum

Healthcare and Technology Facts of Life
forwarded from Comcare

First Call for Articles - Summer 2006 Edition of Ambulance Service Journal

2006 Summer Reimbursement Conference

Member Question: Issues You'd Like to See Covered?

AAA News Clipping Service Renewals due by June 1!!!

Mark Your Calendar: August Audioconference

ASM 2007 Session

CMS Announces Details of Next Ambulance Open Door Forum

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just announced that the next Ambulance Open Door Forum will be held on Wednesday, June 7 at 2:00 p.m. (eastern).  To participate on the Forum, dial 1-800-837-1935 and provide the operator with the conference ID number of 8267182 and your name, organization name and the state from which you are calling.  Below are more details on the Forum.

CMS Ambulance Open Door Forum

Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Time: 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (eastern)
Conference Call Number: 1-800-837-1935
Conference ID: 8267182
Conference Leaders: Dr. Bill Rogers/Dr. Charlotte Yeh

TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the hearing impaired.  For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880 and for Internet Relay services click here http://www.consumer.att.com/relay/which/index.html.  A relay communications assistant will help.

ENCORE: Call Number 1-800-642-1687; Conference ID Number of 8267182
"Encore" is a recording of this call that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-642-1687 and entering the Conference ID number of 3102165.  You can access the recording of the call from 5:00 p.m. (eastern) on June 7 through 5:00 p.m. (eastern) on Monday, June 12, 2006

Healthcare and Technology Facts of Life

As you all know, COMCARE has been working since 1998 to improve emergency response by bringing together leaders from both the emergency response community and the private sector.  This month, the “Facts of Life” section on our homepage underscores the importance of building these types of relationships to improve healthcare. As we have seen in recent years, government leaders are starting to recognize the critical need to create an interoperable health information technology infrastructure for more efficient and successful healthcare.  However, as the statistics reveal on the COMCARE homepage, there is much more work to be done.  We hope that you will take the time to visit or to direct members of your own organization to COMCARE’s website at http://www.comcare.org.  If you have information that you would like to share or suggestions you would like to offer, please send an email to kmckellogg@comcare.org.

About COMCARE

COMCARE is a national non-profit coalition dedicated to advancing emergency response. COMCARE’s over 100 organizational members represent the wide diversity of the emergency response community.  We encourage cooperation across professional, jurisdictional and geographic lines, seeking to improve effectiveness by breaking down the walls that separate government, the public, private industry, and emergency professions. We promote the adoption of modern, interoperable emergency systems and the development of new procedures, training and tools to maximize their value for emergency responders.

We are always welcoming new organizations to join our diverse membership.  If you would like to become involved or learn more about COMCARE, please visit http://www.comcare.org/join_comcare.html or contact Kelly McKellogg at kmckellogg@comcare.org.

AMERICAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION

First Call for Articles -- Summer ASJ

The American Ambulance Association is now looking for articles for the Summer 2006 edition of the Ambulance Service Journal. Please contact Stacy Bromley at sbromley@the-aaa.org or 703-610-0247 with questions or articles.

2006 Summer Healthcare Reimbursement Conference

July 11 - July 15, 2006

Join us in Indianapolis for the American Ambulance Association’s 2006 Summer Healthcare Reimbursement Conference.

Indianapolis will host the American Ambulance Association’s 2006 Summer Healthcare Reimbursement Conference.

You will get the most up-to-date information on Medicare reimbursement with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to share their insight regarding industry issues and the most current Condition Codes changes.

David Werfel, Esq., AAA’s reimbursement legal expert, will share current hot topics for the ambulance industry and in two different panel discussions, ambulance industry experts will present their billing and collection “best practices” and how to avoid common problems in collections.
Former AAA President, Jerry Overton, will examine the IOM report and its impact on the EMS industry.

We invite you and your staff to join us in Indianapolis to participate in a dynamic educational experience by learning from the experts with proven track records of success. Through education, interaction and networking we are able to help you improve your company’s bottom line and optimize your service to your community.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS CONFERENCE:
- AAA Members
- Members of AAA Committees
- Billing Personnel
- Carriers and Intermediaries
- Ambulance Industry Professionals

Member Question:

This week's question: What issue(s) would you like to see covered more in depth in the Journal or at conferences? Please respond to sbromley@the-aaa.org

KEEP UP WITH CURRENT NEWS IN THE EMS INDUSTRY…

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Mark Your Calendar!

Industry Expert Ron Thackery, American Medical Response, will share with you the latest advances in EMS worker and vehicle safety. Effective strategies for negotiation insurance premiums and the management of safety in an EMS organization.

ASM 2006 Spring -> SOLD OUT!

ASM 2006 Summer -> SOLD OUT!

NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS FOR ASM IN 2007

Now accepting enrollment for the 2007 session of the Ambulance Service Manager (ASM) Program.  Reserve your place today!

2007 Ambulance Service Manager (ASM)
The ASM Program is sponsored by the American Ambulance Association (AAA) and is for aspiring, new, and experienced managers who wish to develop their leadership competencies and sharpen essential management skills.  The program provides a broad foundational curriculum matching cutting edge management theory with real-life practical applications.

The ASM Program is a certification course designed to immerse participants in an engaging learning cohort.  A small group of 40 participants moves together through two weeks of face-to-face instruction and experiential learning led by industry leading faculty bridged by several weeks of online discussion and group project work.

ASM Graduates will:

Dates for the 2007 program are:

• Online Session Begins: January 29, 2007
• On-site Week 1: February 25-March 2, 2007
• On-site Week 2: April 29 - May 4, 2007
  

Go to http://www.fitchassoc.com/Services/conferences.htm to download the brochure and registration materials. 

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