Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1013186
17 Executive Briefing that could potentially affect their business. For example, a physician in Boston would receive updates on legislative changes occurring in Massachusetts and at the federal level. To help ensure physicians and healthcare administrators do not miss the opportunity to share their input on legislation, ZPAC's platform provides several easy ways for them to share their expertise and insight with lawmakers. One option is to send a pre-written email message directly to state and federal legislators. This allows physicians and healthcare executives to engage in public policy without spending hours drafting letters. The ZPAC platform also provides physicians and healthcare executives with an easy way to make phone calls to lawmakers about bills under consideration and gives them the ability to address social media messages, posts, or Tweets directly to state and federal representatives. The unfettered access to lawmakers provided by social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, can yield powerful and sometimes viral results, especially when leveraged in combination with phone calls, emails, and letters on each issue. "We're trying to mobilize our clients in coordination and in conjunction with many societies that we interact with to really bring to bear the physician and healthcare executive voice at both the state house and the federal level," Mr. Isenberg said. "Essentially, we're giving people all the information and tools they need to take political action on legislation that impacts their business, in two or three clicks of a button." He emphasized that physicians and healthcare executives need to ramp up their advocacy efforts to ensure their voices are not drowned out by input from groups and individuals with conflicting agendas. "Physician and healthcare administrators' voices have been muted to some extent over the years primarily because of who they're fighting against," Mr. Isenberg said. "If you look at insurance carriers, they carry a big stick. They spend a lot of time, money, and effort lobbying in state houses and Washington, D.C." Without insight from physicians and healthcare leaders, state and federal lawmakers may be unaware of how their proposed legislation might negatively affect the healthcare community. Physicians and healthcare executives have a powerful voice, and the ZPAC platform provides them with intuitive, time- saving tools they can use to be heard. Healthcare organizations must swiftly adjust to new laws and regulations When new laws or regulations are implemented at the state or national level, it is vital for healthcare organizations to quickly make the changes necessary to comply. In addition to making physicians and healthcare administrators aware of legislative proposals that could affect their businesses while giving them simple ways to take action, ZPAC's other main objective is to provide alerts when new laws and regulations are passed. "Once these laws are signed, it's incumbent upon everyone to follow them," Mr. Isenberg said, "and we at Zotec Partners need to make sure our RCM clients are aware of them since some regulations could impact their business, for better or worse." It can be difficult for healthcare providers to keep up with every new law and regulation enacted, especially if they operate in more than one state. Rolling out new policies and procedures at their facilities to comply with new mandates can also be complicated. By providing timely notifications to physicians and healthcare administrators, ZPAC helps ensure these stakeholders are aware of changes their organizations need to make in order to comply with new legislative and regulatory requirements. Conclusion Due to the sheer volume of legislative and regulatory proposals, it is extremely difficult for physicians and healthcare administrators to track all of the potential changes in their industry and nearly impossible for them to provide input on each one. The ZPAC platform addresses this challenge by alerting stakeholders of new legislation that could affect their businesses, providing them with legislative notifications and multiple ways to take political action in the click of a button. Physicians and healthcare administrators have not fully leveraged their influence in terms of political advocacy, but it is critical for them to get more involved because it can greatly impact their business, according to Mr. Isenberg. "They need to get off the bench, and they need to start participating because their business could be changed by the stroke of a pen," he said. For more information or to get involved, visit www.zotecpac.com. n Zotec Partners is an industry leader in revenue cycle and practice management services for physicians and health systems, managing in excess of 80 million medical encounters annually. The company is committed to the continu- al pursuit of excellence, delivering effective solutions through its proprietary technology, personalized service and measurable client results. Currently, Zotec Partners serves more than 9,000 physicians in all 50 states.