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Join us this week as we dive into the Landscape of Healthcare Enforcement in 2021 with two very special guests.I am thrilled to welcome Linda Wawzenski, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, and Lisa Noller, former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago and current Chair of the Government Enforcement Defense Investigations at Foley & Lardner, LLP. Linda primarily supervises civil fraud work especially healthcare fraud.  I asked Linda and Lisa about what to expect from Healthcare Enforcement in 2021 and I’m so glad I did! They shared so many interesting stories that illuminate a picture of a promising year ahead for the healthcare industry. These stories include: How the Department of Justice (DOJ) is using data and analytics for enforcement, the focus on abuse of COVID funds and waivers, and what to expect in the Biden administration.To our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties, thank you for your time and attention. We are truly grateful for your support! Send us an action shot of you or your team listening to the podcast and you will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win limited edition Working Smarter merchandise. Not only can you work smarter, but you’ll look great doing so! Send all entries to sharon@villagemd.com.Don’t forget to click the follow/subscribe button to get regular updates when we release episodes. We’d also like your help in spreading the Working Smarter lifestyle - share this episode with your friends, colleagues and loved ones. We are now available on multiple platforms including Apple, Spotify, and any other place you get your podcasts, so buckle up and get ready to Work Smarter.Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

If you're confused about the various CMS Quality Programs and their corresponding ratings, you are not alone! On this episode, we decided to ask an expert: Joanna Losier, Director of Quality at VillageMD. Joanna shares the 2021 quality payment criteria for physicians and ACOs, and explains how these work with the Medicare Advantage Plan quality programs. This is an essential guide to any physician practicing in primary care! Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

We are honored to be joined this week by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel for a discussion around the evolving healthcare policy landscape. On this episode, he shares his experience to help craft the Affordable Care Act (ACA), how it has changed over time, and what to expect in the next few years. Join us as Dr. Emanuel predicts healthcare priorities under the Biden administration, gets candid on his regrets during the Obama administration, and relays his conversations with Trump about stalling the ACA repeal.About our guest: Dr. Emanuel is an expert on the ACA and innovative valued-based care programs. He served as a healthcare reform advisor during President Obama's administration. He is the author of several must-read books for the primary care workforce including "Prescription for the Future" and "Reinventing American Healthcare". He also serves as a board member for VillageMD.We have a special giveaway! Share our episode on social medial for a chance to win a copy of Dr. Emanuel's book. We will be choosing five lucky winners!

Heads up! A new rule effective January 2021 takes hospital price transparency to the next level! If enforced, it will open up a new source on hospital charges, and will shed light on some of the most closely held pricing information in healthcare. In this episode, we give a summary of what you can expect to see over the next 1-3 years. We also used our best detective skills to see how some hospitals are adapting to these rules.  Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

On this episode of Around the Village, we are highlighting an intern from our VillageMD internship program. Zach Hattig is currently an pre-med undergraduate student at Northwestern University. During his time with VillageMD, he concentrated on a research project with our clinical team. He was identified as an exceptional intern through the program, we are talking with him about his experience, and what he learned throughout his time with us. If you are interested in future VillageMD internship opportunities, listen to the end of the podcast for more details! Or you can email our team at talent@villagemd.com.Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

If you think Usain Bolt is fast, you should see how fast the federal government (especially CMS) have been pushing out regulatory changes! Our team has been keeping up with this “Regulatory Sprint", and we condensed the most significant  changes into a manageable summary. In this episode, we provide you a recap of these changes, and discuss what we are expecting to see from the new Biden administration. If you liked this summary, stay tuned for our deep dive episodes that we will be releasing throughout this year. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.   If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

In this episode, Erdest Jenkins and Doctor John Torontow provide a deeper dive into the simplified documentation requirements for physician office visit coding. Previously, the CMS requirements for medical decision making have been widely criticized by physicians for requiring documentation that is not clinically relevant. CMS reduced the required elements of the Medical Decision Making documentation starting in January 2021. Tune in to learn about these important changes!You can find the link to the one pager for this podcast below:https://sway.office.com/pkqEW1ecwzU9s9cv?ref=LinkThank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

At VillageMD Working Smarter, we have been closely watching CMS proposals to reduce the burden of coding and documentation for physician office visits. CMS finalized two significant changes that will impact the primary care workforce in late 2020: 1) a reduction in the number of levels for established patients and 2) simplification of the documentation required to support the level. In this episode, Erdest Jenkins and Doctor John Torontow of VillageMD summarize E&M coding proposal. These changes emphasize value based care and show that it’s a good time to be at VillageMD!Access our one pager for this content below: https://sway.office.com/CRK46ZCPimqOvh1A?ref=Link&loc=playThank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

Medicare Advantage diagnosis coding remains a high enforcement priority for CMS and OIG and we’ve seen several new developments this year. These cases have some things in common, and a picture is emerging of critical elements that providers should know. Tune in for a summary of the key details, including some best practices and conversely some things to avoid. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

“This rule is widely seen as a game changer that will have far reaching effects on how information is accessed, exchanged, and used….” – The National Law Review. The information blocking rules, which take effect in 2021, are the biggest regulatory change related to sharing patient information since the passage of HIPAA. These rules will allow patients to view their information in third party applications of their choice. In this episode, we summarize these changes, and indicate the steps that primary care providers need to take to prepare for this change. We are joined by two experts, Dan Walsh, our VillageMD Chief Information Security Officer, and Nick Merker, CISSP, CIPT, and Partner at Ice Miller LLP. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/     

Social media can be a powerful tool, but it can be daunting to learn. There are also risks associated with these accounts. In particular for physicians, social media can be a way to communicate with patients, and hear their feedback/comments. On this episode, we are joined by Molly Lynch, who leads Lynch Communications. She shares some guidance on how to best use social media and also how to avoid pitfalls and cringe moments! Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

We are thrilled to be joined by Todd Park on this episode! Todd is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Devoted Health, which is a Medicare Advantage plan. Todd was formerly the Co-Founder of athenahealth, and served as Chief Technology Officer for President Obama’s Administration for 5 years. Todd is inspirational in his passion to change healthcare, and the way he thinks about serving the customers for Devoted Health. Tune in to hear this engaging conversation! Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

You may remember us telling you about the Medicare Direct Contracting Program last year. Direct Contracting is a further iteration of the Next Generation ACO model, and will allow entities to participate in risk agreements directly with Medicare. Since then, we’ve learned a lot more. Medicare gave us even more updates this past week! This week, we are thrilled to welcome one of our favorite Smarties, Lucy Sola. Lucy has been involved with our implementation of this program for VillageMD, and she gives us the inside scoop on recent updates in light of COVID-19. Tune in to find out this new information!Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

During this pandemic, our Village Medical front line clinical workers have shown great tenacity, dedication, and commitment to their patients. We wanted to honor their work by interviewing some of our shining stars in our different markets across the country. They tell us what it has been like, what gives them hope, and what has been challenging in these times. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

We were inspired by The Weather Girls for our first episode back since the COVID-19 pandemic started. We have seen a torrential downpour of regulations and guidance from the government. in the last few months It truly feels like it's "Raining Regs"; everything from $2 trillion in stimulus money through the CARES Act to Telemedicine regulation changes. In this episode, we explore the changes that impact primary care physicians. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Our references and other show notes are on our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

If you are wondering why we are quoting Robert Frost when discussing a CMS rule change, it’s because of the broad sweeping impact of the proposed rules for healthcare pricing transparency. If this becomes law, it will be an earthquake…..but there are miles to go before we will actually see this change. Rather than stopping by the woods on a snowy evening, we sat down with one of our experts Susan Zook, Founder of Mason Street Consulting, to discuss all the details. (And generally to see if she would spill the tea about how things are going in DC these days).Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

We are always wondering how primary care medicine has changed over time. We think talking with physicians directly about their experiences is the best way of figuring this out. On this episode of Around the Village, we sit down with Dr. Perlmuter a primary care physician who has been practicing medicine in Chicago for 31 years.  Tune in to hear his thoughts about primary care and how his practice has been positively affected by VillageMD. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

In a surprising turn of events, the FDA released a consumer advisory warning about the potential harmful effects of CBD. CBD is available now at every corner store, but these products are not approved by the FDA. On this episode, we are joined by VillageMD’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Clive Fields. He explains what he advises patients about these types of supplements and the science behind this FDA advisory notice.Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

Pop quiz: Imagine a patient just left you a terrible online review on Yelp. What do you do?! We are joined by one of our experts, Amanda Skerski, who is VillageMD Vice President of Marketing and Communication. We will walk you through what you can do, what you shouldn't do, and some practical tips……and what Barbara Streisand has to do with all of this!  Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch. If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/

Heads Up! CMS is now reporting incidents of abuse and neglect at nursing homes. Your patients and their families can see this report, and probably have some questions! We are joined this week by Andrea Osborne, VillageMD Vice President of Post-Acute Care. In a few short minutes, Andrea tells us what we need to know about this new tool and how it can be used to inform/answer patients. Thank you to all of our loyal listeners, or as we call them, Smarties! Send us a picture of you listening to sharon@villagemd.com, and you will be entered for a chance to win Working Smarter merch.If you enjoy the podcast, we want your help in spreading the word! Share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We are now available on Apple, Spotify, or our website: https://vmdworkingsmarter.com/conversations/