LUGPA has taken on a new look in 2014. We’ve adopted a new name and logo, and are now simply LUGPA—the name is no longer an acronym. It reflects our inclusion of urology practices of all sizes—large and small—and preserves the brand recognition we’ve earned. We’ve also extending our strategic initiatives in a new direction.

Thanks to Immediate Past President Deepak Kapoor, our previous board members, our management team at WJ Weiser & Associates, and our strong lobby team, much of our previous success has been in the area of advocacy, and, in particular, support for ancillary (we prefer to call them ­integral) services. 

Under this year’s leadership, our latest efforts are aimed at developing new and helpful sources of information and strengthening the flow of information to and from our membership. Our goal is to provide ongoing relevant resources and services to LUGPA members.

One of the first initiatives we launched in 2014 was the Your Numbers Matter public awareness campaign, a part of our Men’s Health Initiatives, designed to guide member practices in men’s health outreach efforts and education. Campaign resources, such as postcard templates and social media imagery, which are free to all member groups, are available on our Web site for any practice that wishes to incorporate the information into its marketing plans.

While the Your Numbers Matter effort was underway, we also began a Group Champions Initiative to develop key contacts among our member groups, who will take responsibility for advancing our legislative efforts and other important issues. We have already registered over 32 Group Champions.

Led by Communications Committee Chair Dr. Jonathon Henderson of Regional Urology in Shreveport, Louisiana, we have begun to distribute the weekly LUGPA Media Monitor to keep members abreast of relevant health policy and urology news. We are increasing our social media presence and are posting almost-daily tweets via the LUGPA Twitter handle (@Urology US), reaching over 700 followers. We have also collaborated with Dr. Neal Shore to craft blog posts for Urology Times on topics such as the value of appropriate use criteria, efforts to reform the sustainable growth rate, and the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.

Another very new and exciting effort is the Practice Administrator’s Corner Committee. LUGPA has some of the brightest and most successful administrators who serve our groups throughout the country, and we are leveraging this knowledge base to provide pertinent information. The Practice Administrator’s Corner will provide ongoing valuable information via our Web site. Via a secure login, the Practice Administrator’s Corner will offer best practices ideas, informational resources, peer-to-peer chats, and a job board posting for both public and private display. Next steps include practice management moderated discussions, industry/partner facilitated programs, benchmarking, patient advocate programs (patient stories/LUGPA impact), and an ongoing ideas laboratory. The Administrator’s Corner committee is headed up by codirectors Bob Asinof, the CEO for The Urology Center of Colorado (TUCC; Denver, CO), and Kathy Hille, PhD, the COO for the Houston Metro Urology (Houston, TX).

Though not a new effort, our Clinical Benchmarking Committee has had major success this year with an active surveillance project that has been awarded a grant for $350,000 by Genomics Health (Redwood City, CA). This committee is chaired by Dr. Alec Koo of High Line Urology Group in Torrance, California.  We are very excited about the progress this group is making. Thanks go to Dr. Neal Shore for helping us secure this wonderful grant.

Lastly, our Data Integration Committee, chaired by Dr. Kapoor, is gathering nonclinical information for benchmarking so that we can all share the value of these important data. The committee has spent a tremendous amount of time gathering information from 10 LUGPA groups for the past 18 months. We will soon be reaching out to other LUGPA groups to develop a more significant and relevant database. 

All of this has been accomplished in the first 6 months of 2014, and I am excited that much more will be achieved prior to the national meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2014. 

 I am pleased to share a brief summary of the LUGPA 2014 meeting with you. The program continues to grow each year. Register early: this is a program you don’t want to miss! (Please note that speakers and times are subject to change.)

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

11:15 am to 12:30 pm

Industry-sponsored lunch.

12:30 pm to 5:50 pm

The Continuing Medical Education program this year is Diagnostics and Prognostics in Prostate and Bladder Cancer. The program chair, Dr. Neal Shore (LUGPA Secretary), promises to provide cutting-edge information in genomic-driven diagnostics. The program will summarize many of the pertinent new laboratory tests that assist us in diagnosing and treating our cancer patients. The invited faculty brings a wealth of knowledge to the program; we are pleased to have Samir S. Taneja, MD, Michael S. Cookson, MD, Peter R. Carroll, MD, MPH, Alan W. Partin, MD, PhD, E. David Crawford, MD, and Elaine K. Jeter, MD, lead the timely and informative sessions. 

12:30 pm to 5:30 pm

For nonphysicians, the annual Practice Administrators Workshop will have a new format. This program will be by run Bob Asinof and Kathy Hille, PhD.

4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

LUGPA Lab Directors Working Group, run by Lester Ruff, MD, of UroPartners in Chicago, Illinois. 

5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

Networking reception. 

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Industry-sponsored dinners.

Friday, November 8th, 2014

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

The LUGPA Annual Meeting begins at 8:00 am with an update from the Committee Chairs. It is an opportunity to hear firsthand about all the exciting initiatives the committees are working on. There will be a Questions & Answers session as well. 

Keynote Address: US Healthcare Policy under the Patient Protec­tion and Affordable Care Act and Beyond

Robert Laszewski

President, Health Policy & Associates, Inc., Washington, DC

Group Collaboration and Subspecialization 

Steve Berkowitz, MD

President, SMB Heath Consul­ting, Austin, TX

The Psychology of Change Management

James Feldman

Chief Innovation Officer, Shift Happens!®, Chicago, IL

The afternoon program features topnotch Breakout Sessions. Each session is presented twice so attendees have the opportunity to hear them more than once. Sessions include

• Marketing: Online and Social Strategies to Enhance Patient and Brand Value

• Urology Through the Eyes of the Primary Care Physician

• Physician Collaboration: Moving from a Group of Successful Physicians to a Successful Medical Group

• Branding Yourself and Your Urology Practice: Sculpting Your Practice by Attracting the Patients You Would Like to Treat

• Understanding the Implications of Medicare’s Physician Value-Based Modifier

11:50 pm to 12:50 pm

Industry-sponsored lunch.

LUGPA Annual Business ­Meeting

When the Government Comes Knocking: Best Practices for Protecting Your Group from the Unannounced Federal or State Investigator

LUGPA Partnership in Leader­ship Series Sponsored by Dendreon (Seattle, WA)

The Honorable Scott Walker (R-WI)

Governor, Wisconsin

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm 

Welcome reception.

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Industry-sponsored dinner.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

6:55 am to 7:55 am

Industry-sponsored breakfast. Options for Independent Practice, Michael Blau, JD, Foley and Lardner, LLP (Boston, MA). 

Breakout Sessions

• Maximizing Advanced Practice Providers in a Urology Practice

• International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10): Update for Urology

• Mergers and Acquisitions, Legal, and Reimbursement Considerations

• Challenging Practice Scenarios (Open Mic)

• Why Have a Men’s Health Clinic?

11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Industry-sponsored lunch.

12:30 pm

Adjournment.

Keep an eye out for Annual Meeting updates and be sure to check the Web site for meeting information. I look forward to seeing you in November!