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NMMRA Medical Director Discusses Workforce Health at National Conference

John Seibel, MD, medical director for the New Mexico Medical Review Association (NMMRA), was among the invited presenters at the Institute for Health Productivity and Management’s (IHPM’s) Fifth Annual Health Management Conference, held April 6-8 in Orlando, Fl.  As a practicing endocrinologist in Albuquerque and past president of the American College of Endocrinology, Dr. Seibel spoke on the topic “Metabolic Health and the Workforce,” conveying the latest clinical and business thinking related to the prevalence and cost of diabetes, obesity and related cardiovascular health risks in the work place as well as successful approaches to improving risk factors and employee productivity.  Dr. Seibel drew part of his presentation from his experience in 2008 working with IHPM, Abbott Laboratories, and the City of Albuquerque on a metabolic health initiative for City employees. Data from that project showed improvements in a number of health indicators for those who participated. 

Among the more than 300 attendees at the conference were major employers such as Aetna, Intel, Pitney Bowes, and Navistar International, all interested in improving employee health and wellness.  IHPM is a national organization, based in Scottsdale, dedicated to making employee health an investment in corporate success. 

NMMRA is an Albuquerque-based, non-profit, physician-sponsored organization. Serving as a resource to the state's health care community and to Medicare beneficiaries, NMMRA seeks to fulfill its mission to facilitate demonstrable and continuous improvement in the quality of health care and achieve its vision to be a premier and innovative leader in improving health care. NMMRA has served continuously as the state's only federally contracted Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) since 1984. NMMRA also serves as the state's Medicaid External Quality Review Organization.