Debbie Bell
The Daily Record
Local physicians who take a few hours out of their busy schedules for a workshop this Thursday will benefit by becoming Medicare experts.
“It’s worth taking the time to show up and participate,” said Holly LeMaster, needs assessment coordinator for the project, which is sponsored by the Colorado Medicare Experts/Senior Access through a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. “We know physicians have really busy practices, but this is an amazing gift from the Colorado Health Foundation.”
The free workshop is intended to increase access to medical care for Colorado seniors. Sessions include Medicare documentation and coding, clinical guidelines and Alzheimer’s Association services. Dinner will be served to participants at no charge.
“Our philosophy is a lot of primary care doctors don’t feel they get paid appropriately by the Medicare system,” LeMaster said. “It takes a lot of time to care for seniors. We’re teaching some of the lessons that have been learned the hard way by Senior Care of Colorado, P.C.”
Senior Care is a Medicare-only private practice located throughout the Denver metro area. A total of 60 providers now participate in the organization that was founded in 2001 and now is one of the largest privately-owned primary care geriatric practices in the country.
The MESA training workshop will be taught by Dr. Mike Wasserman, a practicing board-certified Geriatrician and co-founder of Senior Care of Colorado.
“The workshops are being taught by the doctors who are the co-founders, so that’s a unique thing,” LeMaster said. “It’s a physician-to-physician program. These doctors want to take what they know and help other doctors be successful with Medicare.”
The Colorado Chapter Alzheimer’s Association is working with the program to provide a clinical dimension to the workshop.
“If a doctor can be comfortable dealing with a patient who has Alzheimer’s or related dementia, then that doctor probably will be comfortable dealing with any senior,” LeMaster said.
The workshops eventually will be offered throughout three regions of Colorado, but Colorado MESA is starting with the Pueblo area, including Cañon City.
“Workshops are coming up throughout this region, then we’ll focus on the Northeast region and also the Grand Junction area,” LeMaster said.
The workshop is offered to physician practice leaders/owners; physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses who care for seniors; practice administrators and managers; and billing office personnel.
The free workshop will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday at St. Thomas More Hospital Community Education Room. For reservations or more information, call LeMaster at (720) 855-8133 or e-mail holly@gen-en.com.
Reservations are accepted for the workshop but are not required. LeMaster said reservations primarily are used to ensure dinner for everyone who attends. Alternate workshop dates are offered throughout the Pueblo region from now through June for anyone interested but unable to attend Thursday.
