Newswise — The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today unveiled the AMGA Workshop and Retreat Service, which harnesses the expertise of leaders in AMGA’s member group to help medical groups and organized systems of care accelerate their learning curve in key strategic areas.

“Since the passage of recent health reform legislation, we have had many requests from our members for help in key areas,” said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, president and chief executive officer. “We felt that AMGA could be an ideal conduit for meeting these needs by tapping some of our members’ leaders for workshops and retreats. We have a diverse faculty with expertise in a wide variety of strategic and operational areas.”

AMGA recognized that medical group executive teams and boards frequently need an external voice or opinion to aid the organization in thinking strategically about the issues facing their group, community, or the healthcare system in general. In some cases, they are looking for a speaker to address an audience of board members, physicians, etc. for an educational program. In other cases, they are looking for a medical group leader with experience in a certain area to facilitate a board meeting or retreat.

The AMGA Workshop and Retreat Service assists organizations in maximizing their objectives by bringing together expertise in hosting educational programs and faculty experts with hands-on, day-to-day experience. AMGA harnesses the talents and expertise of the AMGA member leaders matching the desired retreat/workshop agenda. The program is designed for short-term engagements, such as board and management retreats as well as workshops on strategic planning, clinical integration, and creating the culture for accountable care.

AMGA discusses and affirms the areas of interest and goals; matches and customizes the requirements with faculty AMGA member experts; and coordinates and/or moderate the agenda and assists with facilitating group discussion. The faculty will present case material that responds to retreat objective, provides practical approaches and solutions to topic areas, and provides perspective on how a proposed approach relates to local initiatives and adds value to the patient experience, and will facilitate group discussion.

Potential topics of expertise include:

• Journey to accountable care• Restructuring the care process• Medical group/ hospital partnerships• Aligning financial incentives• Clinical integration • Quality metrics• Governance and culture• Leadership development

For more information, visit www.amga.org, click here to download a brochure, or contact the program coordinator, J. Peter Johnson, AMGA Northwest Regional Director, at (541) 297-0980 or [email protected].

The American Medical Group Association represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious medical practices, independent practice associations, and integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA's mission is to improve health care for patients by supporting multispecialty medical groups and other organized systems of care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to approximately 110 million patients in 49 states, nearly 1 in 3 Americans. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org