Vegas, baby. Will I see you there next week? Whether or not you plan to attend this year's Medical Group Management Association Annual Conference, taking place Oct. 23-26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, look to FiercePracticeManagement to bring you the meeting's top takeaways to benefit your practice.

For starters, inside this special conference preview issue, you'll find summaries of the sessions you won't want to miss, based on our knowledge of what topics resonate with you most.

The top picks featured inside, in no particular order, include sessions on optimizing the use of social media in your practice, creating effective physician compensation plans, amping up your practice's efficiency, lessons from a professional mystery patient, and the latest scoop on what accountable care organizations mean to you.

I've attended several MGMA conferences during the past 10 years and found it to be a great learning experience from the time I was brand new to the practice management beat, and even more so once I thought I knew a thing or two. With sessions targeted specifically to beginner, intermediate, and advanced audiences, there really is something to benefit every level.

After attending a handful of these meetings, one thing that struck me as different about last year's conference in New Orleans was that the audience had grown slightly more diverse. Rather than sitting in a sea of mostly practice managers and administrators (and a few fellow reporters), more people I encountered seemed to be from hospitals or health systems. With healthcare affiliations at that point picking up some real steam, these folks were there for almost the same reason I attended my first MGMA conference: to get a crash course in what's involved in running a medical practice.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed. In fact, this year for the first time, MGMA will be offering an entire track of programs for health system professionals. This year, you'll find an even greater emphasis on physician alignment and integration strategies.

"If you're an administrator whose practice is merging with a larger system, or if you're part of a system that is acquiring a former private practice, openly discuss the strategy for integration with the affected physicians," urged a Sept. 1 post from the MGMA In Practice blog. "Present the information in an applicable, concrete way to give them a clear understanding of the bottom line. Talk about increases in revenue and improved operations that may come along with integration and, most importantly, get their opinions and feedback on the future of their practice." For more advice along these lines, be sure to check out the session (D2) entitled "Emerging Models of Physician Engagement: Strategies for Effective Resource Utilization," presented by MGMA consultant Ken Hertz and healthcare attorney Bruce Johnson.

In addition to such emerging and hot topics, this year's conference offers plenty of practical advice on perennial topics, such as HIPAA compliance, addressing disruptive behavior, preventing fraud and embezzlement, and of course, physician compensation.

Like last year, we're looking forward to meeting more FiercePracticeManagement readers in person and learning 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 for our sales team, Lee Petnick and Nikki Thompson. We hope you'll introduce yourselves and say hello. - Deb