Once a month, we will be doing a spotlight on A4M’s upcoming Practice Management Certification Program. Part 1 will take place as a pre-conference workshop at the Las Vegas conference December 12, 2013. Part 2 will be in Orlando, May of 2014. An exam will follow each day of the course, successful completion will result in the achievement of a Certification in Medical Business Management from The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M).

First, WHY IS PRACTICE MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?
There is far more to a successful medical practice than diagnosing and treating patients. Both brand new and veteran practices can benefit from this course and will walk away confidently knowing the A-Z’s of opening and maintaining a thriving Anti-Aging practice.

Topics covered in this certification course will include: business operations, financial management, marketing & communications, website creation, human resource management, information management, organizational governance-legal, patient care systems, quality management, and risk management.

AUGUST PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SPOTLIGHT

Featuring:
-Business Operations
-Financial Management

Business Operations:
A medical practice may not be thought of as a typical business by many outside the profession, however medical practices need proper organization and business operations just as much, if not more than other businesses. Doctors care for other people’s lives, making business operations very crucial.

Topics to be covered within the course:
1. Develop, implement, and monitor business operation plans
2. Develop, implement and oversee systems for the purchase of materials and equipment
3. Manage facilities planning and maintenance activities
-Design, layout to ensure efficient work flow, storage, patient flow and patient safety
-Utility requirements and maintenance inspection schedules
-Regulatory compliance OSHA and ADA
5. Organization and Operations of a Medical Group Practice

Financial Management:
Every business; whether industrial, technological, or medical; needs correct financial management in order to function properly.

Topics to be covered within the course:
1. Develop and implement the organization’s budget
2. Understand types of accounting- financial, tax and managerial
3. Understand budgeting
4. Oversee accounts payable and accounts receivable
5. Depreciation
6. Understand accounting software systems
7. Capital financing
8. Payroll
9. Analyze and monitor financial performance
10. Insurance carriers/ negotiations
11. Coding
Stay tuned for next month’s spotlight on what to expect from this special and beneficial pre-certification program.

For more information on the Las Vegas Practice Management Pre-Conference workshop, please visit www.a4m.com.

Hundreds of medical professionals will convene September 18-21, 2013 for Board Certification Exams, Fellowship Modules, and Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy Symposium

The American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (ABAARM) written and oral certification exams will be held during this event. Also, physicians have the opportunity to sit for The American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners (ABAAHP) written exam as well.

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine’s (A4M) Fellowship on Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM) will host several modules including Module IV: Nutrition and Metabolism; Module VIII: Lab Fundamentals and Cancer Therapies; Module XVI (C): Cardiovascular; and The Fellowship in Integrative Cancer will host Module VII: Dietary Treatments of Cancer.

Some learning objectives for Module IV include learning about nutritional depletions caused by medications, nutrition’s role and impact on optimal health in aging patients, new treatment plans for osteoporosis and amino acid deficiencies, and how physical, psychological and spiritual health relate to metabolic and anti-aging medicine, among other lessons.

Module VIII attendees will learn advanced integrative approaches to cancer therapies, nutritional support for athletes, how nutrients affect psychiatric illness treatments, and new protocols for advanced stage cancers.

Module XVI (C) will teach its participants nutritional and dietary therapies for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, as well as sex hormone balance and function in regards to cardiovascular health in men and women, and also how nutrition plays a role in cardiovascular disease.

Cancer Module VII includes a literature review concerning diets high in Omega-6 fatty acids and the immune system, and how fat cells produce estrogen, among other topics.

The Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy Symposium (BHRT) will feature several well-known and distinguished experts in the fields of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine.

Some speakers and topics include Eric Braverman, MD covering the psychological effects of BHRT and how BHRT affects the brain. Jennifer Landa, MD, OB/GYN, FAARM, will discuss sexual dysfunction and estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone therapies in peri-menopause and menopausal women. Thierry Hertoghe, MD will explain reversing the aging process with BHRT and analyzing lab tests of complicated patients. Ronald Rothenberg, MD will discuss treating adult growth hormone deficiency and will lecture on Hyperthyroidism. Director of the Fellowship on Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Pam Smith, MD, MPH, MS, will kick off the weekend with an introduction to BHRT and how BHRT solves common female health problems. Lastly, Jonathan Wright, MD will explain women’s hormone replacement and adrenal fatigue, stress and cortisol.

For more information or to register for this CME event, please visit a4m.com or call 561-997-0112.

It is a common opinion that Omega 3 Fish Oil can benefit our health in numerous ways. Research in the past has shown that fish oil lowers triglycerides, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation which can help improve other serious conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, depression, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, bone health, artery health, and Dementia, among others. Therefore, many doctors suggest fish oil supplements and healthy diets consisting of fish to their patients.

However, there was recently a report released stating that Omega 3 raises risks of Prostate Cancer. A Life Extension article sums up this particular study with “this report was based on a single blood test of plasma fatty acids in a group of 834 men who were followed up to six years to assess prostate cancer risk (low- and high-grade disease). A smaller group of 75 men was followed up to nine years to assess only high-grade prostate cancer risk. The results showed that slightly higher Omega-3 plasma percentages from this single blood test were associated with a greater risk of low-grade (44%) and high-grade (71%) prostate cancers over the multi-year follow-up.”

At first word of this report, a media frenzy has had consumers believing that fish oil is bad for you and can cause prostate cancer. It is safe to say that this story is forgetting about all the proven benefits of Omega 3 fish oil.

The anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil and Omega-3s have been long believed to aid in everything from depression to asthma to autoimmune diseases. Even the American Heart Association recommends fish oil or fatty fish as often as twice per week, based on evidence that it decreases triglyceride levels and the risk of abnormal heartbeats.

The JNCI study supports findings from earlier studies linking prostate cancer risk and Omega-3s, but experts agree more research is needed to uncover exactly why the two are connected. It’s possible that higher levels of Omega-3s can actually damage a man’s DNA in a way that encourages prostate cancer tumor growth.

Dietary supplements seem to come in and out of favor with the latest research, magazine articles, and healthcare trends, making it difficult to decipher what helps and what hurts. For many, a balanced diet may be the best course of action as well as talking with a doctor.  A patient’s doctor will have the global perspective of the latest research, their patient’s individual health and risk levels related to various diseases.