11/08/2016

Public & Population Health Task Force

The Public & Population Health Task Force was formed at the House of Delegates last spring.  The purpose of this Task Force is to prepare the NYSPMA membership for upcoming changes in New York State’s healthcare delivery system. Many of the state proposed healthcare reforms focus on improving population health.  As such, it is imperative to strengthen podiatry by exploring opportunities to participate in the public health initiatives that policy makers are interested in. Therefore, the goals of this task force include securing podiatry’s role in the State’s healthcare system, educating and preparing its membership for upcoming changes and proactively influencing those changes through legislative and advocacy efforts.

The entire Task Force has met via conference call 4 times to date.  The first order of business has been to search for, vet and select a consultancy firm that can help achieve these goals.

In addition to the formal conference calls, there has been extensive research and communication via internet, calls, texts, and emails in the past 4-5 months between the task force members and various consultants.  We have researched advocacy groups and other possible resource groups and organizations including the APMA to determine how they can assist with our directives.  We have also addressed other various related information which helped us formulate and identify how this important task force can best meet and exceed the expectations and goals set forth by the resolution.

Five firms with expertise in healthcare delivery models and health care legislation have been identified and researched.  Of these, 2 firms have shown the greatest promise.  Conference calls with the key people from each firm have been conducted.  The Task Force intends to make a recommendation on the best firm for NYSPMA’s purpose at the Board of Trustees meeting scheduled on November 16.  Once the winning firm has been selected, work will begin to achieve these goals.

Advocating for healthcare policies and legislative changes to ensure patient access to podiatry care and appropriate reimbursement for our members in new delivery models is an essential function of NYSPMA.  We envision the work of this task force will support our insurance, legislative and public relation agendas.  It will also benefit our members by providing education on new heath care policies and reforms.  We welcome any comments or questions as we embark on this very important initiative.