MGMA Week in Review: Summit Insights, Compensation Strategy, and the Future of Patient Tech
Download MP3Well, hi, everyone. Welcome to the MGMA weekend review podcast. I'm your host, Daniel Williams, senior editor at MGMA, along with cohost Colleen Luckett, editor and writer here at MGMA. And just as a note, with each of these week in review podcasts, what we intend to do is bring you the latest health care industry news. Maybe if there's a policy update, some expert insights, and quite frankly, just stories that Colleen and I find interesting out there.
Daniel Williams:Colleen, how are things going with you?
Colleen Luckett:Hello. We are busy over here with the, the MGMA Summit and MGMA Connection. Quarterly is coming out soon. So, yeah, we're busy. How about you?
Daniel Williams:Oh my goodness. Yeah. I am recovering. I'm trying to hope my voice is not gone. We have just concluded the summit here this week, and, we'll talk about that some more in one of our articles today.
Daniel Williams:But it's been a really fun, energizing week, and I'm ready for some r and r now as we're heading into the weekend. So just bring us up to speed. What's your article out of the gate today?
Colleen Luckett:Alright. Hello, everyone, and happy June. So if your practice compensation strategy still says, we'll figure it out later, this week's MGMA stat poll is your sign from the universe or at least from us to get on it. So in our June 3 poll, we asked medical practice leaders how often they review compensation benchmarks for staff, and 64% said they do it annually. Another 13% take an even closer look twice a year or more, while 19% said they do it every two years, and 4% gave us an other.
Colleen Luckett:So digging into the comments, we saw that many practices benchmark all staff positions annually, with mid cycle reviews for roles that are high turnover or tough to fill like medical assistants, nurses, front desk staff, and clinical techs. Smart move. Right? Strategic compensation reviews can be a major boost for retention and morale. And if you're not already doing this, now's a good time to get on board.
Colleen Luckett:Benchmarking not only helps keep pay competitive, it directly supports practice performance, patient satisfaction, and your financial health. Do you want the full breakdown and the tools to do it right? Check out the article and also check out MGMA Data Dive Management and Staff Compensation, our report for industry benchmarks that actually fit your practice. And hey, if you're not already part of our weekly text polls, be sure to sign up for MGMA stat by texting s t a t or stat to 33550. Or you can visit our website, mgma.com/mgma-stat.
Colleen Luckett:Your insights help us shape the data we share, so it's super important to have your input. Okay, Daniel. Over to you.
Daniel Williams:Alright. So for our next article, let's turn our attention to something we were discussing earlier, and that's MGMA's Summit Digital Conference. That was held June this week. I'm recovering from it. That I don't get as worn out as I am if it's a face to face event and fly across the country and all that, but still, it's really interesting.
Daniel Williams:In total, we had my last count, 3,700 attendees registered and took part in this. That's just an incredible turnout. And if you were there and I got to chat with you or if you were there and I didn't, just wanna say thank you so much for being part of that, if you participated, if you presented, if you contributed to the conversations, anything else, really neat. It's just a great way to really bring people together virtually, and that's the preferred way to come together for some people, sometimes myself. But it was just a really cool event.
Daniel Williams:If you did register and you weren't able to attend every session, you missed some that you really cared about. Just as a reminder, I'm sure you heard this from myself and other people who were there. These are available on demand throughout the month of June. You can also go out to mgma.com/events to access more information. But I will say any additional information either I or Colleen come up with, we'll drop that in the episode show notes as well.
Daniel Williams:So the reason I bring that up is I really wanted to put a spotlight on one particular session. It was one that I was part of, and I was actually just a fly on the wall. Not literally. I was just me, a human being. I was not participating in it.
Daniel Williams:I was actually just taking notes, and that was an operations discussion group that was facilitated by our senior adviser, Christie Good, who y'all have heard on our ask MGMA podcast. This sort of originated from those MGMA community live sessions. If that sounds unfamiliar to you, again, we'll put direct links to our community live sessions in the episode show notes. I'll just say one thing about those. Think of it as a webinar, but it's not one of those you're registering for in the sense where you have a presenter presenting to you.
Daniel Williams:These community live gatherings, it's a way for your voice to be heard. You can unmute. You can have your camera on. You can be part of the discussion. You can drive the discussion.
Daniel Williams:They're really cool. Let's just talk about the one that we did. So let's just walk through some things that came up, starting with pain points, working through some of the creative solutions that people shared there. So up was employee engagement. A lot of practices said they struggle to keep staff engaged beyond onboarding in those annual surveys.
Daniel Williams:The answer, several folks shared they're doing monthly one on one check ins, they're rotating pulse surveys, and importantly, building action plans with the staff, not just about them. One participant put it well, we let the team own the changes. They even learn to fail and to pivot. And that's how you build buy in. Then they talked about recognition.
Daniel Williams:We heard loud and clear that surface level praise doesn't cut it. The old participation trophy when it just feels a little bit hollow, everybody gets recognized, nobody gets recognized. So people want it real. They want personalized appreciation. One person from a Washington medical practice shared that she has every new hire fill out a survey on how they want to be recognized and what small things they love.
Daniel Williams:So when it's time to give thanks, it actually means something. Next, providers need love too. Another standout topic providers often get overlooked in the engagement game. Some groups are blocking time weekly for providers to chart or catch up on admin without eating into lunch or evenings. Others are including them in wellness events and even running friendly goal based competitions with rewards like gift cards.
Daniel Williams:Or in one case, I'm not kidding about this, a cruise. Wow. That's a cool place. I might wanna work there but not go on a cruise. Let's do a couple more here because there was so much information here y'all, and I just wanna share some of it with you.
Daniel Williams:What if you have budget constraints? These folks got creative. From Five Below thank yous to Spirit Week hot dogs and $10 per person pooled Nespresso machines, the emphasis was on low cost, high impact appreciation. As one person said, if it makes them happy, let's do it. So last one here, productivity matters as well.
Daniel Williams:Leaders shared that fun and recognition doesn't have to derail patient care. Many are weaving morale into existing routines that looks like daily huddles, lunch hour shout outs, and team led pilot rollouts before launching new workflows practice wide. I'll say this, these weren't just ideas, they were battle tested. And the spirit of sharing, adapting, and celebrating your people really came through. So, if you're feeling stuck in your own practice, there's a lot to borrow here.
Daniel Williams:And if you want to revisit this session or others from the summit again, all sessions are available on demand through the month of June. Just head over to MGMA Summit Event site or hit the link in our show notes. Colleen, that was so much. I'm gonna take a sip of water now. So what's next with you?
Colleen Luckett:That was a lot of good information, though. So we're getting a little more serious here. This next article comes from Fierce Healthcare, and it was published on June 3. It's titled CMS Rescends Guidance, Letter on Hospitals Obligation to Provide Emergency Abortions. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has now officially withdrawn twenty twenty two guidance that directed hospitals to provide abortion as stabilizing care under the EMTALA laws, even in states with abortion bans.
Colleen Luckett:So the original guidance issued under the Biden administration after the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v Wade clarified that emergency abortion care was protected under federal law in situations involving life threatening pregnancy complications. But as of May 29, that guidance and a related provider letter had been rescinded. The Trump administration now says those documents, quote, do not reflect the policy of this administration. The move has already reshaped the legal landscape. Conservative legal groups like Alliance Defending Freedom are dropping lawsuits they had filed to block the Biden era guidance, and the Department of Justice previously withdrew from a major case involving Idaho's abortion ban.
Colleen Luckett:The legal landscape is shifting, and the practical effects may be chilling. Without clear federal direction, hospitals may hesitate to provide stabilizing care out of fear of violating state laws even in critical emergencies. This rollback also raises serious questions about the rights of physicians to provide evidence based care. In states with restrictive abortion laws, clinicians may find themselves caught between legal risk and their ethical obligations to protect a patient's health or life. For our practice leaders, this development would mean revisiting emergency care protocols and legal guidance, not just for patient safety, but to protect the clinical judgment and professional integrity of your care teams.
Colleen Luckett:Okay, Danielle, over to you.
Daniel Williams:Alright. Thanks, Colleen. And for our next article, I wanna bring attention to something that's impacting hospitals in a big way, and that's violence against health care workers. This story comes from chief health care executive. It was written by Ron Southwick and published on June 2.
Daniel Williams:And the headline says it all. Hospital violence cost more than $18,000,000,000 last year, and that's probably a low estimate. This report released by the American Hospital Association and researchers at the University of Washington's Harborview Injury and Prevention Research Center puts the 2023 cost at $18,270,000,000 Most of that, over $14,000,000,000, was money spent after the violence happened. Think treating injuries, repairing property, and covering the cost of lost productivity when someone gets hurt or needs time off. What's sobering is that the report doesn't even factor in the cost of replacing staff who leave because they no longer feel safe.
Daniel Williams:And let's be real, that's happening. Hospital leaders say they're losing good people who are just tired of being assaulted while trying to care for patients. Erin Wazelowski from the said, it really just recognizes the reality that hospital leaders have been facing for a few years, and that reality has only gotten worse since the pandemic. Here's a stat that really stuck with me. In 2022, nearly seventeen thousand hospital workers suffered injuries or illnesses from violence that were serious enough to require days off.
Daniel Williams:And according to a recent Emergency Nurses Association survey, more than half of all emergency nurses say they've been assaulted, threatened, or harassed just in the past thirty days. Ryan Oglesby, president of the ENA, said it bluntly, if anything, it's getting worse. This kind of environment doesn't just drive people away. It sends a message to future health care workers that they may not want to step into this profession at all. Claire Zangerle, CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, put it this way.
Daniel Williams:They see what others have gone through, and they're like, yeah, I don't think I want to do that. There's bipartisan support in congress for legislation that would increase penalties for assaulting health care workers similar to protections flight attendants already have, but those bills have been stalled in the past. Advocates are pushing again. But that doesn't have to be a federal issue. As Jennifer Minsick Kennedy, president of the ANA said, I've I'd encourage people to look at wellness and well-being and workplace violence in their own organizations.
Daniel Williams:So here's your takeaway. Talk to your staff. Find out where the weak spots are in your security. Make violence prevention part of your culture, not just part of compliance. And invest in your people's safety with the same energy you invest in their productivity.
Daniel Williams:It's not just about cost. It's about trust, retention, and whether people feel safe doing the work they've signed up to do. Wow. Colleen, I'm gonna turn it over to you now.
Colleen Luckett:That is those are some scary stats. Thank you for sharing. Okay. To wrap things up this week, let's talk about what your patients expect before they even walk through the door. According to a MedCity News article published June 4 entitled The Connected Three Tips to Empower Healthcare Delivery Through Innovation, more than 1 US adults are now using wearables or health apps to monitor everything from heart rate to sleep patterns.
Colleen Luckett:In other words, the quote connected patient isn't a future trend. It's actually already here. So for practice leaders, this shift means moving beyond episodic care. Today's patients want convenience, personalized insights, and the ability to engage with their health data continuously, not just during a once a year visit. The article highlights three key strategies for staying ahead.
Colleen Luckett:So number one, align with rising expectations by recognizing that patients now see themselves as active participants in their care. Two, address roadblocks like data privacy concerns and tech accessibility, especially for less tech savvy populations. And three, build trust and integration through secure, user friendly platforms that turn raw data into meaningful, actionable insights. As generative AI and remote monitoring tools continue to evolve, medical groups that embrace this shift will be better positioned to engage patients, improve outcomes, and remain competitive in a rapidly changing health care world. And that's a wrap for me, Daniel.
Colleen Luckett:Back to you.
Daniel Williams:Thanks so much, Colleen. And that's a wrap for this week in review podcast. So good to interact with so many of y'all this week at the summit conference. Be on the lookout because as Colleen said, there's gonna be content coming out based on many of those discussions at the conference this week. So until then, thank you all for being podcast listeners.
Colleen Luckett:Thanks, everyone. See you next time.
