rectly billable activities completed by an NP or PA at areduced fee. To be paid, the NP/PA must have their ownprovider number and follow Medicare documentationrequirements.

Private payers may compensate these providers di­rectly or under the name of the supervising physician.

ConclusionAs our clinical practices grow and case volumes continueto rise, the use of physicians' assistants and nurse prac­titioners as professional colleagues makes sense. Theseindividuals compliment your practice, provide continu­ity, generate revenue, assume responsibility, and en­hance your ability to provide excellent, thorough patientcare.

References1. American Academy of Physician Assistants. Physi­

cian Assistants: Partners in Medicine (HOD 1303-01­01.). Alexandria, VA, 1991.

2. American College of Physicians. Physician assistantsand nurse practitioners (Position Paper). Ann InternMed 1994; 121:714-716.

3. Camp-Sorrell D, Spencer-Cisek P. Reimbursementissues for advanced practice. Oncology Nursing Fo­rum 1995; 22:31-34.

4. Jones PE, Cawley JF. Physician assistants and healthsystem reform. Clinical capabilities, practice activi­ties and potential roles. JAMA 1994; 271:1266-1272.

5. Keane A, Richmond T. Tertiary nurse practitioners.Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship 1993; 25:281­284.

6. Mundinger MO. Advanced-practice nursing-goodmedicine for physicians? N Engl J Med 1994; 330:211-214.

7. Pearson LJ. Annual update on how each state standson legislative issues affecting advanced nursingpractice. Nurse Practitioner: The American Journal ofPrimary Health Care 1995; 20:13-51.

8. Pearson LJ. The issue of third-party reimburse­ment-Advice for nurse practitioners from a nationalexpert. Nurse Practitioner 1990; 15:46-47.

9. Safriet BJ. Health care dollars and regulatory sense:The role of advanced practice nursing. Yale Journalon Regulation 1994; 9:417-487.

10. Sebas MMB. Developing a collaborative practiceagreement for the primary care setting. Nurse Prac­titioner 1994; 19:49-51.

3:30 pm

Reimbursement Analysis for InterventionalRadiologistsKaren A. Zupko, MBAKaren Zupko & AssociatesChicago, Illinois

Learning objectives: As a result of attending this ses­sion, attendees will be able to: (1) Analyze current ser­vices based on reimbursement; (2) Develop strategies toincrease revenue recovery; (J) Identify the most profit­able services.

• Are patients registered right? Why do you think so?• Are claims submitted on time?• Are claims submitted electronically and edited?• Who read the contracts the group signed?• Who understands the contracts the group signed?• Are the contracts filled with dangerous clauses?• Who knows if the plans are paying according to

the contract?

• Are all services captured?• If rebundled, is it according to CCI?• Have you ever seen an EOB?• Have you read a stack?• Who is in charge of appealing denials and down-

coding?• Do you code your own cases?• Do you attend courses? Read Medicare bulletins?• If the bi.lling service "lost" a stack of encounters,

how would you know?

• Do you receive useful reports?• Are accounts worked aggressively?• What's your best paid procedure?• Are patients counseled about financial obligations?• What could you do to improve your reimburse­

ment?

4:20 pm

Through a Marketer's EyesKaren A. Zupko, MBAKaren Zupko & AssociatesChicago, Illinois

Learning objectives: As a result of attending this ses­sion, attendees will be able to: (1) Identify key stakehold­ers and key services for their market; (2) Understandwhy an integrated marketing strategy is important.

What Does "Marketing" Mean to an InterventionalRadiologist?"Professional services marketing consists of organizedactivities and programs by profeSSional service firms thatare designed to retain present clients and attract newclients by sensing, serving, and satisfying their needsthrough delivery of appropriate services on a paid basisin a manner consistent with credible professional goalsand norms." -Philip Kotler, PhD, Professor, KelloggBusiness School, Northwestern University

Question: Do You Know Who Your Clients Are?

A Short Lesson on Distribution Networks

Advertising Advertising

Customer Customers79

80

Dealer Travel Agent Direct to (which one?) airline byphone or internet or in person

Lexus Airline Seat

You have (or will have) many clients!

Patients

"They do have choices about coverage and physi­cians."

• Active• Potential populations

• Past• Patient friends and familiesOther Physicians by Specialty• Who refer

• Who don't• Who can't• Who might• With premium dollarsInfluencers

• Hospital partners• Case managers• Hospital systems/networks• Health care professionals• Home health care nursesPayors"Know what each one's interest is!"

• Managed care plans• Medical directors• Professional relations

• Your IPNMSOs• PCP groupsEmployers

• Business coalitions• Benefit managers• Medical directors

OBF Chart• Prospective Customer• Proposed Action Plan• Customer Objectives

• Benefits• Features

4:35 pm

Marketing to the PublicBarry T. Katzen, MD, FACR, FACCMiami Cardiac and Vascular InstituteMiami, FloridaSince its inception in 1987, the Miami Cardiac and Vas­cular Institute has viewed marketing, advertising, andpublic relations to be integral pans of its growth plan.Because marketing is primarily a task of education, thishas resulted in the development of both internal market­ing and educational departments, with each oriented todifferent aspects of the population. Since the end resultis the development of increased volume of activity, it isimportant to analyze target audiences for various aspectsof the marketing campaign.

There have been significant changes in the healthcare environment in the past decade that have resultedin the need to reassess and redirect the focus of market­ing efforts. The principal potential sources for referralsnow include physicians, managed care companies, in­surance companies, and patients themselves. The con­tinued growth of the Internet and the general movementof consumerism "powerment" of patients, has led us toincrease direct efforts toward patients.

The development of marketing plans are best servedby the development of integrated groups of physiciansand experts within the fields of marketing, advertising,and public relations to develop a strategic marketingplan. With that in mind, the Institute and its marketingdepartment spent a considerable amount of time devel­oping a strategic marketing plan, with specific goals andmethods agreed upon by the physicians and manage­ment.

Marketing efforts are directed toward physiciansthrough educational programs and various types ofnewsletters to managed care companies, through ourmanaged care negotiating team, and to patients througha variety of methods.

Direct patient marketing is conducted through adver­tising and radio media with periodic use of video newsreleases. Additionally, increasing time and effort havebeen spent in informational sources to the general pa­tient population, particularly by using the Internet andthe Institute's website in conjunction with Baptist HealthSystems. The Internet has become an increasingly im­portant source of patient referrals, particularly in the areaof unique diseases and clinical applications in whichinterventionalists provide care.

There are hazards involved with direct patient mar­keting and advertising, including development of dis­content and resentment among the physician commu­nity. With that in mind, it is important when developinginstitutional methods of marketing, that there be a fairway to spread the benefit of marketing campaignsevenly to all physicians involved.

The methodologies incorporated by the Institute overthe past decade, including its most recent efforts, will bepresented in detail.

4:50 pm

Marketing to Referring Physicians: What WorksPeter T. Beatty, MDLegacy Meridian Park HospitalTualatin, Oregon

Learning objectives: (1) Discuss the challenges ofbuilding and growing an interoentional service; (2)Identify the decision makers who affect that growth; (3)

Enumerate three ways to reach those decision makers,affect their decisions, and generate growth.

Today's interventional radiologist faces several chal­lenges to practice growth and development:

• Decision making is shifting from specialists to pri­mary care physicians.