As HotDoc’s Events and Community Manager, I’ve spent a good part of this year looking into all of the general practice events coming up in 2019. While primarily I was doing research on which events HotDoc should attend, I also took the time to investigate what individuals would get out of each and every event. After all, the best events are those that give individual attendees the most value.
After investigating every workshop, every conference, every Australian healthcare event of any kind, I thought it would be a waste not to share my top 5 events coming up in 2019 (and the reasons why). It’s worth noting that I’ve chosen these 5 because I think they have a great balance of education, fun and networking opportunities.
1. AAPM’s Practice Manager Symposiums
When & Where: May 3 – June 7, Australia-wide
Who: Practice Managers
Cost: $180 – $290
Why attend? AAPM’s Practice Manager Symposiums are great for those interested in learning more about things like up and coming technology, accreditation requirements and changes to legislation. You can expect to see talks running on everything from My Health Record to PMS integrations and Medicare. Typically events range from 100-150 attendees and speakers tend to be fellow practice managers. I rate these particularly for the networking opportunities.
2. Business for Doctors Conference
When & Where: May 31 – June 2, Brisbane
Who: all Doctors including Hospital and specialists, GPs, Registrars, Contractors, as well as Practice Owners (even non Doctors) and Practice Managers.
Cost: $87.71 – $1,675.84
Why attend? The Business for Doctors Conference is a fantastic opportunity for all doctors in hospital and specialists, practice principles, contractors and registrars to skill up on all things related to the business side of growing a successful general practice. Topics delve into everything from finance and business development to leadership and technology. BFD’s events typically attract 500-600 attendees and a big component of the conference is the social aspect with an illustrious Gala Dinner being hosted on the Saturday night.
3. QLD/VIC Healthcare Week
When & Where: Jul 23-24, VIC Nov 27-28, QLD
Who: All professionals in healthcare, including clinical, finance, IT and design
Cost: FREE – $1,549 excl GST
Why attend? Healthcare Week tends to attract clinical, corporate and technology professionals, but is well known for being an event open to all people. Each event covers a gamut of topics centred around helping attendees discover and connect with the newest innovations in healthcare. Speakers range from everyday GPs to high-profile politicians. This year the event will focus on how to create healthcare facilities that are digitally enabled, flexible, scalable and patient-centric.
4. HotDoc Masterclass Roadshow 2019
When & Where: May 22 – Sept 25, Australia-wide
Who: Practice Managers, Practice Principles, Nurses, Care Coordinators and GPs
Cost: HotDoc Customers $500/ Non-HotDoc Customers $600 (Members of our Facebook Group For the Love of Healthcare receive $50 off their ticket price)
Why attend? Hosted by HotDoc’s Clinical Director, Magali De Castro, these two day events involve small groups of 15-30 guests. Concentrating on the top 3 health assessments – chronic disease prevention & management, PIPs & SIPs and financial viability – Magali takes attendees through the components of these checks that make the biggest impact to patient health outcomes. She focuses not only on what to do to get patients in for these health assessments, but also how to keep the conversation going.
5. AAPM’s 40th Anniversary National Conference
When & Where: Oct 1 – 4, Brisbane
Who: Practice Managers, Aspiring Practice Managers and Practice Owners
Cost: Approx. $2,000 – $2,800 (We’ll be giving away 4 x registrations to this year’s conference, Join our Facebook Group For the Love of Healthcare and keep an eye out for details)
Why attend? According to AAPM “this one is going to be big”. Based on previous AAPM Conferences, and the fact that this is AAPM’s 40th anniversary, I’m sure it will live up to the hype. Expect upward of 600 attendees and some big name speakers. Targeting practice managers and aspiring practice managers, AAPM’s National Conference tackles a range of topics from clinical to finance, HR to risk management. One of the best things about this event is the social aspect. With several sideline evening events, there are plenty of opportunities for attendees to let their hair down.
How to convince your boss to pay for your event tickets 😉
As valuable as all of these events are, I often hear from healthcare professionals that they find it difficult convincing their employers to pay for tickets. Being such a common problem, I’ve put together a little pitch that might help you get your boss to say ‘yes’ when it comes time to convince them to pull out the credit card.
“Dear boss,
Is there any chance of me attending [event] on [event date]. I think it’s the perfect way for me to skill up on X, Y and Z. They’re also delivering a lot of industry updates for best practice, so we’ll be more prepped for accreditation. And it’s a good opportunity for us to build our professional network. I really think what I’ll learn will help us grow the practice. How about it?
Thanks,
Soon-to-be event ticket holder”
If that doesn’t work, we invite you to join our Facebook group For the Love of Healthcare where we often give away tickets to the big events.
