The 2026 APMA National Conference opening session highlighted some top-of-mind concerns for podiatrists and their partners.

APMA President Patrick DeHeer, DPM, FACFAS, FFPM, RCP welcomed attendees to the 2026 National Conference in Nashville with news about the organization’s new approach to these gatherings.

Nashville leaned way into its Music City moniker during the APMA Conference from August .6-9.

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Next Point LLC has released a new guide that helps physicians understand practice valuation, buyer options, deal structure, and post-sale considerations before entering the market.

Source: Globe NewsWire

Placing an account with an agency is a decision to accept a fraction of the balance. Once that is understood as arithmetic rather than escalation, the last call before placement gets more interesting, because the practice can afford to be generous and still come out ahead of what an agency working on contingency would return.

Give staff three things to offer on that call: a retroactive payment plan on terms the patient can actually meet, a one-time reduced settlement within a preapproved range, and a screen for financial assistance or charity care. HFMA supports routing patients to financial counseling and making assistance policies known, in its patient financial communications best practices. Document which offer was made and when. An account that was never given a realistic path to resolution is not a collection problem, it is a process gap, and it will keep showing up in the same bucket next quarter.

Source: Keith A. Reynolds, Physicians Practice

Prior authorizations and denials slow down care and drain revenue and staff time. Join MGMA for demos showcasing smarter, tech‑enabled solutions that help practices prevent denials before they happen, streamline prior auth workflows, and protect reimbursement. See how leading vendors are turning one of healthcare’s biggest administrative burdens into a competitive advantage. 

Thursday, August 20, 2026, noon EST

Source: MGMA

Charging for missed visits is now common. About 4 in 10 medical groups use a no-show fee, an MGMA poll found, yet the effect on attendance tends to be modest and more than half of patients consider the fees unfair. A blanket fee can cost you goodwill for very little gain.

Aim the tool narrowly instead. Reserve a card on file or a deposit for the small group of patients who miss repeatedly, and remember that no-show fees are not permitted for Medicaid patients. For everyone else, a deposit is less about the money than about creating a small, upfront commitment. Used sparingly and paired with a clear policy, it nudges chronic no-shows without punishing the patients who already keep their appointments.

Source: Keith A. Reynolds, Physicians Practice

Investment capital still pursues defensible specialty groups with durable physician alignment, robust compliance, and local market power, even as distressed platforms face maturity-wall refinancing risk and delayed exits.

Source: Medical Economics

Amazon’s announcement that its pharmacy would distribute GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to eligible Medicare patients for $50 a month has slashed the cost of these medications by as much as 97% from their peak price—which could mean more business for DPMs treating “Ozempic Feet”.

Source: Forbes

Clinical/Medical: 44%

Practice Management: 22%

Technology Updates (incl. AI): 12%

Coding: 12%

Social Media/Marketing: 10%

(135 total responses)

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