Practice News Updates for Colleagues
January 2011 Vol.2, Issue 1
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Greetings! | I held off a week before sending out this newsletter, because many of us spend that first week of the year wading through emails, and I figured you had enough in your Inbox.
This month brings us a new year, continued debate in health care reform, confusing payment structures and how it all will impact your practice. And it will.
But lest the issue become too bleak for the midwinter, we also have articles on psychotherapist rockers, life-saving games, and the playful power of guilds.
Oh, and there's a free minicourse from me to get your creative juices flowing with your private practice plan for 2011.
Take good care,
Mike
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Health Care Reform Update: Know Your ACOs |
If you aren't paying attention to the details of health care reform, you'd better start. Despite the current theatrics in the Capital, health care provision as we know it is changing. You need to understand what is at stake, and what the concept of the "Accountable Care Organization" could mean to you. An new layer of bureaucracy? The replacement for HMOs? The equitable result of parity? If some have their way, the model of fee for service may be replaced by a global payment model, which would be devastating to individuals in private practice. And what is "capitation" anyway? Check out what the Massachusetts Medical Society has to say about ACOs and global payment (even if you aren't in Massachusetts, because we have recently been setting the trend in reform.) And check out the latest issue of the Journal of Health Affairs, which is entirely devoted to the subject of what ACOs could look like. If you don't familiarize yourself with these concepts and you accept insurance, you are placing your business in jeapordy.
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Psychoanalysis Meets Indie Music!
| "Where Id Was Ego Shall Be," is just one of the allusions to Freud in my colleague Phil Fleisher's lyrics. When he isn't practicing psychotherapy, Phil is part of the band Sorry, & you can check out some of their music now on MySpace. Check out Phil's songs "Del Fuego," the funky "Wild Wind," & "Mirror." You won't be sorry.
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"A Game Saved My Life..."
| In August of 2009, Jane McGonigal suffered a brain concussion that disrupted her life to the point of contemplating suicide. At that pivotal point she decided that the only option to dying was to make her life a game. In this 5 min video (click on picture to see) Jane tells her story, and how games can not just be a diversion, but make our lives better. She has a forthcoming book "Reality is Broken," and you can learn more about it and her on her site.
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Leading a Guild
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 | (Photo: Angie Riemersma) |
If you or a patient of yours is leading or participating in a guild, this blog by Karen Bryan will provide you with a lot of insight into the intricacies and importance of guild life in MMORPGs. Recent posts include the similarities between being a teacher and leading a guild; how to deal with cliques in your guild, and more. Your patients will probably recognize themselves in these blogs, and you will gain insight into an social aspect of the online world.
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Free Mini-Course from Me to You
| This month I am giving away a free mini-course called "Tweaking Your Practice Plan." It gives practical tips and models on how to review your practice goals, develop action items to further those goals, and provide yourself with a practice that is balanced, valuable, and committed to social justice. If you subscribe to my blog you will get it free (current subscribers, you don't need to do anything, it's on its way!) Not only will this course get you energized and organized, you'll get a sample of what working with me is like.
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