In Michigan’s dynamic healthcare landscape, collaboration is essential to address the growing complexities of medical practice, regulatory compliance, and patient care. Physician organizations (POs) and the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) are uniquely positioned to complement each other, creating a robust support network for healthcare professionals. By aligning their efforts, these entities can ensure physicians are better prepared to meet industry demands, advocate effectively for policy changes, and deliver high-quality patient care.
One of the critical roles of MSMS is advocating for payer and healthcare policies that promote sustainable medical practices and improved patient outcomes. However, effective advocacy requires strong, unified voices from the physician community. Partnerships between POs and MSMS amplify these voices, ensuring that local concerns are integrated into statewide and national policy conversations.
POs offer valuable insight into the operational challenges that physicians encounter, such as reimbursement issues, staffing shortages, and administrative burdens. MSMS can leverage these insights to shape policies that benefit healthcare providers. This collaborative approach ensures that Michigan physicians are not only represented but also actively involved in influencing the policies that affect their work.
“In the current environment independent physicians and the POs working with the independent physicians need all “hands-on deck” and that includes MSMS membership to stay current with all the requirements to remain successful” says Marie Jannausch-Hooper, the Executive Director for Novello Physicians Organization.
Navigating Michigan’s regulatory environment and managing day-to-day practice challenges can be overwhelming for physicians. Changes in billing requirements, insurance policies, and telemedicine regulations require constant adaptation. Partnerships between POs and MSMS provide physicians with the tools and resources they need to manage these complexities effectively.
MSMS offers legal expertise and policy updates to help physicians stay compliant with state and federal regulations. Meanwhile, POs provide hands-on support with practice management, including billing, staffing, and technology adoption. Together, these organizations empower physicians to focus more on patient care and less on administrative burdens.
“Membership with MSMS allows us to create economies of scale for issues that effect the whole state, and it takes some of the work of the plate of the PO, overall, providing MSMS membership for our physicians creates a positive ROI for our group.” – Shay Raleigh, Executive Director for Great Lakes Physicians Organization
The healthcare environment in Michigan is evolving rapidly, and collaboration between physician organizations and the Michigan State Medical Society is essential to meet these changes head-on. These partnerships strengthen advocacy efforts, enhance professional development, support physician well-being, and advance public health initiatives. Through these synergies, POs and MSMS can foster a healthcare system that is resilient, sustainable, and centered on delivering high-quality care to patients across the state.
A recent example of the success of this collaborative approach was to address some challenges surrounding the transmission of admit, discharge, and transfer (ADT) documents across healthcare systems in Michigan. Effective ADT communication is critical to ensuring seamless patient care transitions, reducing readmission rates, and improving care coordination among providers. However, many healthcare providers face difficulties with timely and accurate document sharing due to variations in electronic health record (EHR) systems, workflow inconsistencies, and technical barriers. Through this partnership, POs and MSMS were able to identify barriers and issues in the transmission of the ADT document and work with MiHIN to address these issues. These joint efforts aim to enhance the quality and continuity of patient care across the state.
“MSMS membership gives our physicians and PO access to MSMS staff and recourses, but also connections to groups that they advocate on our behalf to such as payers, the state and legislators.” Angela Vanker, Executive Director for GMP Network.
As the challenges facing healthcare continue to grow, the value of partnerships between physician organizations and MSMS becomes even more evident. By working together, these entities ensure that physicians in Michigan have the support, resources, and voice they need to thrive—ultimately benefiting not only healthcare providers but also the communities they serve.
For more information about the collaboration between MSMS and the POs in Michigan reach out directly to Dara J. Barrera, Director, Health Quality, Equity and Technology. For information on how you can invest in the work that MSMS is doing in the state on behalf of physicians and their patients reach out to membership@msms.org.
