Nearly 500 psychology leaders from the United States, its territories and Canada will gather in Washington, D.C. from March 14 to 17 during the 2015 State Leadership Conference (SLC) to learn, network and gather ideas to take home.
The annual event, sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA) and APA Practice Organization, provides an important opportunity for leaders to engage in advocacy efforts that are vital to professional psychology. On the final day of the conference, SLC attendees will take four advocacy messages to meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and their staff:
- Repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula
- Allow psychologists to practice without unnecessary physician supervision.
- Make psychologists eligible for Medicare electronic health record incentive payments.
This year’s conference — with its theme of practice innovation — will explore how changes in health care financing and delivery are driving the demand for innovation. APA Executive Director for Professional Practice Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, will welcome participants with an address that sets the stage for the theme and showcases professional psychology’s advocacy wins on the national and state levels. Opening session keynote speaker Jason Hwang, MD, will present his model of “disruptive innovation,” detailed in his book, "The Innovator’s Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care" (co-authored with Harvard Business School’s Clayton M. Christensen).
Videos of both addresses will be available online at the APA Practice Organization’s Practice Central website.
Highlights and content from the conference relevant for practitioners will be featured in issues of this PracticeUpdate e-newsletter and the APA Practice Organization’s Good Practice magazine, as well as APA’s Monitor on Psychology.