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A brief summary of the qualifications of
our professional staff follows:
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Mr. Thomason established Medical Management Associates in 1982 having been involved in practice management consulting since 1977. He received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he participated in the Program in Hospital and Medical Systems. He began his career in the Health Systems Research Center at Georgia Tech and was on the faculty of the School of Health Systems from 1975 through 1986. Mr. Thomason has expertise in all areas of medical practice management, with particular interest in physician compensation, managed care, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and facility design. |
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Russ is the Executive Vice President of Medical Management Associates in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Still has been involved in healthcare management for 30 years, 24 of those advising physicians on private practice issues. He has assisted hundreds of clients in a full range of management services including practice start ups, operations, profitability, financial controls, revenue cycle management, regulatory issues, coding and reimbursement, employment agreements, compensation models, buy-sell agreements, income distribution models, organizational development, strategic planning and practice mergers. In addition to client management, Russ manages Athens Specialty Group, Inc., a multi-specialty group. Russ also serves as the Executor Director for the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology.
Mr. Still earned an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of South Alabama. He previously served as controller with several hospital management companies, as well as an area manager for a national chain of urgent care centers. He is a certified charter member of the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants. Russ is an active speaker in Atlanta and in the Southeast for groups including Georgia Medical Group Management Association, Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Southeast Quality Care Practice Administrators Association, Athens Specialty Group Management Association, Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, Georgia Anesthesia Administrators Association and area practice manager's associations. |
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Lawrence Geller is Vice President of Consulting Services for Medical Management Associates, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.
With more than 30 years of experience in the health care field, and more than a decade and a half of full-time professional experience representing physicians, Mr. Geller focuses almost exclusively on advising physicians on physician employment agreements, buy-sell agreements and hospital recruitment agreements, valuation/appraisal of physician practices, physician compensation; strategic planning as well as practice assessments.
Mr. Geller has led a number of consulting projects with physicians and hospitals involving a broad range of physician-related issues. His clients include solo physicians, physician groups, community hospitals, healthcare systems and attorneys.
He has provided expert witness testimony in various matters and is a frequent lecturer.
Mr. Geller obtained an undergraduate liberal arts degree from Rider University in 1973, a Master of Health Services Management from the University of Missouri in 1975 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit in 1986. Mr. Geller's experience includes employment as a health care policy analyst, ambulatory care manager and a hospital administrator. He is a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers ("IBA"), American College of Healthcare Executives ("ACHE") and Medical Group Management Association ("MGMA"). |
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Mr. Lyle holds a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Certificate in Health Systems Planning from Georgia Tech and has completed an Executive Program in Management at The Wharton School. Mr. Lyle has been in management consulting and healthcare planning since 1988 and has expertise in all areas of practice management. His areas of concentration include mergers; employment, buy-sell and compensation agreement planning; total practice management including organizational re-engineering, operations, business financial planning, information systems, compliance programs, personnel management and managed care contracting. |
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Terrence A. Knight is Director of Facility Planning Services for Medical Management Associates, Inc. In his years with the firm, he has been involved in all aspects of MMA's services, but now concentrates on practice startups, space planning activities, construction management, equipment planning, practice valuations, equipment appraisals, development of OSHA compliance manuals and performance of OSHA training for client practices.
Mr. Knight has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Georgia in Zoology and a Master of Science in Health Systems from Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Knight has been involved in health care consulting since 1982 and has been with the firm since 1987. Prior to joining MMA, Mr. Knight worked with other health care consulting and practice management firms and has been a practice administrator. Mr. Knight served four plus years in the U.S. Army as a German linguist and interpreter to the base commander and S-2 functions, while based in Augsburg, Germany. |
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Mr. Luke has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting from Augusta State University (formerly Augusta College) and has held the position of Chief Financial Officer of a number of healthcare facilities and as a practice management consultant prior to becoming associated with MMA. Mr. Luke has been involved in various aspects of healthcare management since 1976 and his expertise includes ambulatory surgery center development (state regulatory issues, licensure, Medicare certification and accreditation), practice reviews, staffing, practice valuations, work distribution, personnel, internal financial controls, accounts receivable management, operational analysis and practice establishment. Mr. Luke is a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers (“IBA”) and has recently completed the IBA Advanced Theory and Applications of Business Valuation course. |
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Rainey Thompson holds an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration with a healthcare concentration from Boston University. Ms. Thompson has worked in the healthcare field since 1980 as both a financial manager and as a consultant. She has been with Medical Management Associates, Inc. since 1996. Her areas of expertise include practice operations, including mergers and practice start-ups, financial analysis and compensation planning. Ms. Thompson also coordinates recruitment services for MMA. |
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Ms. Beard has been with Medical Management Associates, Inc. since 1992
where she has provided a wealth of experience in managed care contracting, provider relations, physician reimbursement and CPT coding.
She is a popular and highly rated presenter for MMA for seminars and workshops, and is the chief
meeting planner for physician Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programs for MMA's physician network clients.
She is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), certified by the American Academy of Professional Coders in CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9-CM
coding for physicians, as well as a Certified Healthcare Compliance Consultant (CHCC). Ms. Beard also has over thirty years of
experience in healthcare financing through her previous positions with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia and United Healthcare of Georgia.
Ms. Beard is involved in all aspects of physician network development, managed care, Medicare and Medicaid credentialing, and is the network administrator for a fifty-practice OB/GYN network with over 180 physicians. Ms Beard is also the Director of The Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology, an MMA Client. She has specific expertise in physician practice compliance with state and federal billing guidelines, and all aspects of HIPAA Privacy, Security and Electronic Transaction standards. She has been a contributor to or a resource for "Ask the expert" sections of compliance, coding and practice management newsletters. |
![]() | Mr. Shrago holds an undergraduate liberal arts degree from Grinnell College, a Master of Arts from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Business Administration with a finance concentration from Georgia State University. His healthcare experience includes work in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. He has served as CEO of a federally-funded health systems agency, CFO of a hospital consortium, and Director of Contracting for a health maintenance organization. His expertise includes network development, risk-based managed care contracting and physician reimbursement. |
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Ms. Black has been with MMA since 1996. She has a Master's degree in Business Administration and a Master's degree in Health Administration from Georgia State University.
Ms. Black is certified by the American Academy of Professional Coders as a Certified Professional Coder and a Certified Evaluation/Management Auditor.
Ms. Black was previously in charge of a national health services study based out of the Atlanta Veteran's Administration Medical Center.
She has experience in managed care contracting, CPT code documentation requirements, CPT code utilization, physician reimbursement, mid-level providers and provider relations.
Ms. Black presents many seminars regarding Medicare and CPT Coding. She is also the network administrator for a large management services organization in North Carolina, which represents over 200 physicians in 50 practices. She is the chief meeting planner for this organization's administrators and organizes the CME programs for the physicians. Ms. Black also has extensive experience with ambulatory surgery center development, accreditation and licensure including the development of policies and procedures instrumental for an ambulatory surgical center's successful operations. Ms. Black is a resource for such coding newsletters as Part B News. |
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David Swink is the Director of Internet Services for Medical Management Associates and has been with the firm since 2000.
Mr. Swink has over eight years experience providing medical practices with complete full web site services including web site design & development, management & tracking,
hosting, email, and support services. Mr. Swink also provides search engine optimization, medical practice web site marketing,
and secure services such as online bill payment and online patient submission forms.
Mr. Swink also provides custom web development and programming services for clients seeking to bridge the gap between their legacy practice management system and electronic health records. Mr. Swink earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Western Carolina University. Before joining MMA, he worked four years in product engineering for a software development company developing asset management systems. |
![]() | Mr. Richards has been a consultant with Medical Management Associates, Inc. since 2001. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. While attending Georgia Tech, he was employed by MMA as an Analyst for four years. While working at MMA, Mr. Richards has been involved in many aspects of physician practice management and healthcare valuation. He has prepared valuation assessments of physician practices, physician compensation arrangements and professional service arrangements across a broad scope of physician specialties. Mr. Richards is a certified healthcare business consultant and a charter member in the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants. |
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