Enroll in AOPAversity
By Kathy Dodson, AOPA Government Relations Department

You may already have a college degree. But to stay profitable and better manage your O&P business, you want to keep learning. You told us what you needed—and we listened.

For many years, AOPA has provided various educational opportunities to O&P facilities, such as the Coding & Billing Seminars and various audio conferences. But many of you told us that you wanted something new…perhaps a more in-depth session for those who have attended a Coding & Billing Seminar, or a chance for practitioners and office staff to have separate classes.

AOPA has also expanded its educational topics over the years to include documentation, profitability and other issues of the day. However, we wanted to be able to offer members a more up-to-date, better-organized learning experience. We also wanted to make obtaining this information as affordable as possible so that more facility staff could be involved.

This has led us to where we are today: the introduction of AOPAversity.

Orientation
AOPAversity is an organization of AOPA’s educational opportunities, both current offerings and new programs, into a unified program that will provide our members with increasingly comprehensive business education. Some courses will be immediately available, while others will be built over time.

Course I: Mastering Medicare

Section A: Coding and Billing Basics and Principles (replaces the previous Coding & Billing seminar)

This new Webcast seminar series will cover the basic information contained in the old Coding and Billing Seminar. The course will consist of nine one-hour sessions, with a quiz at the end of each session for anyone needing continuing education credits. You will be able to take these courses online at your convenience, in your own office, through a link on the AOPA Web site. This will allow more of your staff to participate in this valuable learning experience at a greatly reduced cost to your business.

Section B: Advanced Coding and Billing Techniques

Starting in April, this new in-person two-day seminar will take off from where Section A stops, giving more in-depth information on topics such as appeal strategies and how to deal with denials. It will also cover what to do if you are under review, how to bill for repairs and replacements, and proper coding for complex devices. Information previously given in a separate documentation seminar will now be rolled into Advanced Coding and Billing Techniques, along with information on compliance with Medicare regulations and other common problem areas.

In addition, a portion of this seminar will provide break-out sessions, separating practitioners and office staff, to ensure that each group can concentrate on information relevant to its own responsibilities. Practitioners will examine a number of devices hands-on and discuss appropriate coding, while office staff will discuss detailed billing questions.

Course II: AOPA Audio Conferences
In addition to what you learn in Course I: Mastering Medicare, you can pick up more detailed knowledge on other topics through our continuing one-hour Audio Conference series. Some of the topics that will be covered in 2008 include:

•    How to get paid
•    Complying with quality standards
•    Handling difficult patients
•    VA issues
•    New codes for 2009

You will continue to earn one hour of continuing education credit for each session, upon completion of the accompanying quiz.

Course III: Meeting Medicare Quality Standards
This one-day, in-person session will walk you through the Medicare Quality Standards, helping you assess whether or not your facility meets these new requirements—and helping you decide what to do if you don’t meet them. Included in the course will be a workbook to take you, step-by-step, through the process, and checklists to ensure that you don’t miss any of these mandated criteria.

Course IV: Practice Management and Legal Issues
Under development now, this course will be available in early 2009. It will deal with such topics as assessing the general financial health of your business, handling accounts receivable, hiring and training staff, dealing with legal issues involving insurance billing, personnel and malpractice, and other timely concerns.

Course V: Profitability
This course will build on the foundation of Course IV, giving you a specific methodology (the Business Optimization and Analysis Tool—B.O.A.T.) to do a thorough analysis of your business. Once you are familiar with B.O.A.T., you will receive practical advice on how to deal with any deficient areas in your practice.

Apply early and often
AOPAversity is ready for students now. Anyone can register for any course. Those who have been to the previous basic Coding & Billing Seminar and now want to enhance their knowledge might take Course I, Section B—Mastering Medicare: Advanced Coding and Billing Techniques. Section B will be presented for the first time April 17–18 in Las Vegas.

To obtain a registration form or more information, contact Erin Kennedy at (571) 431-0810. The cost of Section B will remain at the original AOPA seminar price of $550 for members. Register by March 21 to receive the early-bird discount of $525 for your first attendee. Additional attendees from your facility will pay only $500 each. Non-members pay $750, with an early-bird discount bringing their cost down to $725.

There will be two other presentations of this course, one in Boston June 9–10 and one in Orlando, Fla., December 1–2.

Once this set of courses is complete, new ones will be added as the need arises, so that AOPA can continue to provide a comprehensive, up-to-the-minute business education for the O&P profession.

Kathy Dodson is the senior director of government affairs for AOPA. Questions? Call (571) 431-0810 or visit www.AOPAnet.org.