LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
IMS JOB BANK Member Benefits
For detailed information on these member benefits, please contact:
1001 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-223-1401
Collection services - Green Flag Profit Recovery by Transworld Systems, Inc., provides effective debt management for improved cash flow, fewer write-offs, lower internal collection costs, and increased profit margins. This flat fee service provides a diplomatic approach for delinquent accounts and lets you keep more of the dollars actually collected. For more information, please contact Steve Burgett, Transworld Systems at steve.burgett@transworldsystems.com or 515-321-4324.
Medical Professional liability insurance - Midwest Medical Insurance Company (MMIC) is the endorsed medical professional liability insurer of the Iowa Medical Society. MMIC provides medical professional liability insurance to physicians, clinics, hospitals and facilities in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. MMIC has an A.M. Best rating of A (excellent) for financial stability. The company is recognized in the industry for its proactive approach to designing services and coverage that meet the individual challenges of its health care policyholders. Input and direction from practicing physicians complements the work of the professional staff. Iowa physicians are members of the MMIC Board and participate in many of the Board committees. For more information, contact MMIC Account Executive Derek Briscoe at 800-798-9870 or visit our website at www.mmicgroup.com.
Financial planning - Foster Group is the endorsed IMS service for investment and retirement planning. Foster Group has been an approved affinity program with the IMS since 1989, providing wealth management services. As a fee-only advisory firm, their services include comprehensive financial planning, estate planning, charitable giving strategies, investment management, and qualified retirement plan management. Foster Group is consistently recognized by Medical Economics and Worth Magazine as well as numerous other publications as one of the top financial firms in the country. Contact Foster Group at 800-798-1012 or visit their web site at www.fostergrp.com for more information.
Health insurance - Bernie Lowe & Associates, Inc., the endorsed insurance broker for the physician members of Iowa Medical Society, offers a variety of health insurance carrier options. Whether your clinic is large or small, Bernie Lowe & Associates, Inc. offers a dynamic range of funding and benefit offerings that are at the cutting edge of the healthcare market.
Long-term care insurance - Bernie Lowe & Associates, Inc. is proud to offer the IMS-sponsored Long-Term Care program. This product offers catastrophic style benefits that are affordable and enrollment is easy.
Life and disability insurance programs - These member benefits are also available through Bernie Lowe & Associates, Inc. Consultation is offered to interested physicians and clinics to ensure their current coverage is stable and provides optimal benefits and competitive rates.
Workers' compensation - IMS Services offers workers' compensation through Farm Bureau. This IMS program stresses safety in the workplace and is a cost-effective way to provide coverage with a pro-active risk management approach.
Tamper-resistant prescription pads - IMS has arranged for Standard Register to provide IMS members with a discount on tamper-resistant prescription pads that meet the higher security standards that have been in place since October 1, 2008. The Standard Register pads have multiple layers of security integrated into their ScripPlus prescription forms. These forms exceed CMS requirements as well as Iowa's state requirements. IMS has negotiated special member pricing so that you can order ScripPlus pads and paper at a discount of 36% to 44%, depending on your order quantity. This means IMS members will be able to purchase the industry's leading prescription pads for less than most pads with fewer security features. To order online, just select "Iowa" as your state (look for the map of the U.S. under the words "ScripPlus for your State) when you visit the Standard Register Web site. Questions? Call Standard Register at 1-866-741-8488.
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Practice management education/special seminars - Physician members of IMS and their staff receive valuable programs, workshops, seminars and assistance to address the mounting complexities of managing efficient and cost-effective practices. These programs and workshops cover current topics relating to third-party reimbursement, government regulatory measures and the basic topics of coding and collections. Special emphasis continues to be placed on education for physicians and their staff in the area of E&M coding and Medicare audits of E&M coding documentation. View our seminars.
Credit card programs - The IMS Gold Master Card program has operated for over 10 years and has over 300 cardholders. Member offices may also have patients pay by credit card with the Professional Services Account (PSA) program.
Magazine subscription service - This member benefit lets offices save up to 50-60% on subscriptions for popular/newsstand periodicals.
Specialized medical periodicals - We offer member discount subscriptions through Decision Health for publications such as Part B News, Physician Practice Coder, Managed Care Fee Watch, Part B Answer Book and more.
Specialty society services - IMS Services assists, for a fee, various Iowa medical and surgical specialty societies with membership programs and activities. Services offered include: dues billing and collection, membership and financial maintenance, member mailings, communication/newsletter services, legislative assistance, meeting planning for education, business and exhibitors, assistance for education grants from private and public sources and more.
CME accreditation - The IMS is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education as the in-state accreditor of CME providers. The IMS demonstrates its long-term commitment to improving the quality of health care in Iowa through the administration of this local accreditation program. Accredited CME offerings are critical for licensing, credentialing, hospital privileges, and for compliance with JCAHO.
iowadocs.com - members are provided a free listing on the IMS online directory. Many patients call the IMS for referral to a physician in a certain geographical area, or for a particular specialty. The public may also use the online directory to search for physicians by several criteria. Update your information by logging onto www.iowadocs.com.
NPI data base - physician offices may need to include the National Provider Identifier (NPI) number of other physicians on insurance claim forms. The IMS has made it easy for you to find the NPI numbers of any Iowa physician. Go just to the IMS home page and select the NPI data base icon in the lower right part of the page. This is password protected for members only. To obtain your password, call the IMS office at 223-1401 or 800-747-3070.