A buffet of education and networking being served up at MGMA10

According to New Orleans restaurant owner John Besh, it's perfectly OK to eat four meals a day while in his great city. As I gear up for my first-ever visit to New Orleans, I'm interpreting this suggestion as a minimum requirement.

Also offering plenty to sink your teeth into in New Orleans is the Medical Group Management Association's Annual Conference, taking place Oct. 24-27 at the New Orleans Convention Center, packing over 100 hours of networking and educational opportunities for medical practice professionals from around the country.

Always an invaluable event, the organizers of MGMA10 have made several exciting improvements based on attendee feedback. One of the most anticipated new features will be Sunday's Open Mike Live!, during which you will have a shot at the microphone to ask MGMA's featured experts, as well as your peers, your most burning practice management questions.

No doubt, the implications of health reform on medical practices will continue to dominate the discussion at the mike and beyond. As sparks shooting off of the Roman candle ignited by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other surefire hot topics will include EHRs and meaningful use, ACOs and other forms of healthcare integration, practice efficiency and up-to-the-minute compliance news and guidance.

In addition to the array of concurrent sessions covering a dozen content categories--cost containment, alignment and integration strategies and performance optimization, to name a few--MGMA10 is offering opportunities for even deeper, hands-on learning during its several extended learning sessions and workshops.

We're looking forward to meeting FiercePracticeManagement readers face-to-face and learning more about your challenges and ideas. Look for me and our Fierce publisher, Wendy Johnson, in the sessions. At the exhibit hall, also be on the lookout our sales team, Lee Petnick and Nikki Thompson. We hope you'll introduce yourselves and say hello. And no need to wait for this editor to stop chewing. - Deb