Stephanie Whitmer began working at ACOEP in 2009, and currently serves as the Director of Affiliate Management.  She grew up on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and received her degree in Psychology from DePaul University in 2007, and her Masters in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in 2013.   She is currently engaged and has 2 dogs and 1 cat. Get to know a little more about Stephanie below! What’s a nickname your friends or family call you? “Beppy” because my little brother couldn’t pronounce Stephanie when he was a baby.  The [...]

Born in Milwaukee and raised in Brookfield, ACOEP's Sr. Coordinator of Database Management , Gina Schmidt is a Wisconsinite through and through. She attended UW-Milwaukee and graduated in 2007. Gina has lived in four different states in the past seven years with her husband and their two dogs. Get to know a little bit more about Gina below!   How long have you worked at ACOEP?  My 4 year anniversary was this past December. What was your very first job?  Cashier at a mom & pop style grocery store ... technically not the [...]

ACOEP's Director of Member Services, Sonya Stephens grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from the University of Florida. She moved to Chicago to attend grad school, decided it wasn't for her and then tried law school for a semester, before making the decision of not attending anymore school for a while! Sonya has lived in Chicago for 14 years, and 11 of those have been with her Italian Greyhound, Rocco. She spends her spare time doing silks, traveling, and running. Get to know a little more about Sonya below! What's a nickname your [...]

With another year soon coming to a close, ACOEP is very excited to welcome two new staff members to the team, Tyescia “Ty” Jackson and Lindsey Roden. Ty Jackson, who will be taking on the role of Manager of Continuing Medical Education, is a Chicago native, and comes to ACOEP with much experience in non-profit medical education, having worked with the American Medical Technologists, Emergency Nurses Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics in the past. Ty’s position includes ensuring that all educational activities are conducted in compliance with the standards [...]

This year's Resident Chapter Governing Board election will take place on Wednesday, November 2nd from 12:30-2:00pm at the ACOEP Resident Chapter Board Meeting at Scientific Assembly in San Francisco, CA. The Resident Chapter Governing Board is made up of 13 members, including five executive officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past-President), and eight committee members. Below are descriptions for each position on the Governing Board. If you wish to learn more information about the open positions below, please contact ACOEP Resident Chapter President, John Downing, DO, at john.downing@gmail.com. Voting for the Resident Chapter [...]

By Bradley Chappell, DO, MHA, FACOEP, FACEP The triple aim of healthcare, as defined by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is increased QUALITY, decreased COST, and PATIENT SATISFACTION.¹ If you work in a community setting, there is rarely a shift you work that patient satisfaction does not cross your mind. Many groups financially incentivize you to keep this concept at the forefront of your thought process. Often, the motivation is to avoid the principal’s office (your medical director) as they formulate a response to a patient complaint letter. So what is [...]

Megan Koenig, DO, MBA, MS New Physicians in Practice Committee Past-Chair We are pleased to welcome guest blogger Megan Koenig, Past-Chair of ACOEP’s New Physicians in Practice Committee, as she provides tips on maintaining and improving your credit score. Once a year it is smart to request your credit reports in order to do an annual “cleaning” of your credit to make sure there are no errors/fraud. And it is definitely a good idea to request a report 2-3 months in advance of any large purchases. Even just [...]

National Government Services, a Medicare billing contractor, has proposed a policy called a Local Coverage Determination (LCD), that will make it difficult to bill Medicare for any medical office visits when OMT is performed. If passed, this policy will automatically impact ten states including- Illinois, Minnesota, Connecticut, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Main and Rhode Island, and will most likely be a policy that many Medicare contractors and private insurers across the country adopt. This Local Coverage Determination policy goes against how DOs practice and restricts patients’ access to [...]

By Bradley Chappell, DO, MHA, FACOEP, FACEP It is that time of the year again.  July is the month we bid adieu to our experienced seniors, welcome the new juniors, and spend a little time enjoying the warm summer fun in the sun.  As you transition to a new stage in your career, there are many things to consider.  This month we will discuss professional and personal priorities, how to win friends and influence people, and when to draw a line in the sand.  Managing people will be a skill you [...]