At the next Management in Practice Event, held at London’s Business Design Centre on 3 September, expert speakers will provide advice on all aspects of modern practice management, including legal, finance, IT and HR issues.

The event will also consider the future direction of primary care in the changing Darzi-led climate. MiP Events Programme Manager Shivani Pala looks ahead to this September event, and explains why practice managers should attend

Management in Practice Events are now in their third year, and, after a successful event at Manchester, we now look to bringing a wide range of current topical issues to practice managers across the south of the UK.

With practice managers now expected to possess expertise in more areas than that demanded from other sectors, our London event will gives you the opportunity to interact with fellow managers, exchange ideas and share your diverse skills sets with each other.

At this event, we have the privilege of hosting Dr Kieran Sweeney, a GP in Exeter (in the sixth doctor–nurse partnership in the NHS) who is also a senior lecturer at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, the current lead GP on the consortium that delivers the leadership programme of the RCGP, a member of the recently formed BMJ discussion group on primary care, and a spokesperson for the NHS Alliance on policy and leadership.

Dr Sweeney’s keynote speech asks the crucial question, “What will Primary Care look like in 10 years’ time?” Dr Sweeney will address some of the imminent challenges facing our healthcare professionals and practitioners in the context of the current economic climate and the pace of technological advancement.

He will present an interesting insight into the future of healthcare, where the private sector may have a substantial share of the delivery of services, where we may see a coalescing of small practices into larger organisational units and where the traditional role of the GP may be challenged by telemedicine and transactional medicine.

As well as looking to the future, Management in Practice London will address your needs today. Experts in the field communicate their views at a selection of talks with the view of helping you to deliver better, safer care for patients at a primary care level.

Solicitor Alison Oliver will discuss matters to consider when undertaking mergers and acquisitions of new practices, including how to deal with the PCT, employment law implications, property issues, documentation requirements and differences between GMS and PMS contracts – all essential matters.

You will also be updated on a number of NHS IT initiatives, such as the Summary Care Record (SCR) and HealthSpace and GP2GP. We will be delving deeper into how and when SCR/HealthSpace is being used and how it can benefit patients, clinicians and practices with Caroline Tait, a clinical advisor for the SCR at NHS Connecting for Health (CfH).

CfH’s GP Clinical Lead John Williams will tackle GP2GP and the challenges managers face implementing a strategic roll out of electronic health records for all NHS patients, while IT training expert Fiona Lawson will give delegates an understanding of the rules behind the recently announced changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and how you can apply these in practice.  She will also give you hints and tips on how to manage this complete QOF year, moving you forward past the many obstacles put in your way.

We continue to deliver sessions that provide sound advice on practice-based providing and practice-based commissioning, as well as risks in general practice. Additionally of high importance in a society currently under economic strain, David Clough, the current chairman of AISMA (the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants), will deliver a session on managing finance in a GP surgery. David will focus on the profitability of medical practices through efficient organisation of practice records and accounts.

In today’s society, one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the space of one year, and we are lucky to host Mark Beadle, the CEO at Capio Nightingale Hospital, who will give us an overview of the common mental health problems in the practice and also a look at professionals and services available to help practice employees.

Moving on to softer skills, we are delighted to host Hilary Haman, author of Good People, Good Practice: a practical guide to managing personnel in the new primary care organisations. Hilary’s session, entitled “Motivating your staff through effective delegation” will focus on the principles of effective delegation, and how it can transform staff motivation.

As well as attending presentations, delegates will have the opportunity to partake in forum discussions covering topics such as continuing professional development (CPD), practice management qualifications, human resources, customer service, teambuilding, practice accounting, and many more. Here, you have the chance to share your experiences with others.

As well as the forum discussions, we invite you to submit questions to our panel of experts on what it means to be a practice manager and how to get support from PCTs and the government. If you would like to submit questions for this session in advance, please do so via the Feedback box below.

As practice managers, you have the power to direct and define your role.  By attending Management in Practice London 2008, you will have already been involved in influencing change. Management in Practice is accredited by AMSPAR, recognised by the Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM) and supported by the RCGP. It is a “must attend event”, so do not miss out on an informative, thought-provoking day.

I look forward to seeing you there.

For more on this event, including free registration details, click here.