Members Only | 11.06.25
Golden Legacy, Powerful Future: A Message From Your Incoming NAMSS President
By Alison Webster, MBA, CPCS, CPMSM, CPHQ, FMSP
Hello, NAMSS members!
I’m honored to introduce myself as your incoming NAMSS President and excited to share what’s ahead as we move toward our 50th annual conference in 2026. For those who were fortunate to be in Portland for the 49th annual conference, what an amazing conference it was, Cultivating Excellence and Empowering Tomorrow’s MSP®. If we were able to connect or you caught my remarks during the closing session, you already know I bring both enthusiasm and a little bit of adventure to this role.
To share a little about my own journey as an MSP — I’m originally from northwest England and started my career in the British National Health Service. I then spent several years working in Saudi Arabia as a contracted medical secretary before relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s. My first position in the U.S. was an admin assistant at a community hospital in Orlando, Florida. I soon discovered the medical staff office down the hallway, and I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I started volunteering with my state and local chapter. Fast forward several years, and a job posting on the NAMSS website led me to the University of New Mexico Health in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today, I’m proud to serve as the director of CVO and medical staff affairs — and even prouder to be the first NAMSS President from the Land of Enchantment.
Like so many of you, I didn’t plan to become an MSP. But once I stepped into this profession, I knew it was more than a job. It’s a calling — one that has challenged, stretched, and inspired me in every season of my career. I’ve worn many hats: from mentee to mentor, from specialist to director, from state president to NAMSS Officer. And through it all, NAMSS has been my professional home — a community that continues to inspire me and makes me “Proud to Be an MSP.”
To every colleague, mentor, and leader who encouraged me and helped me grow, thank you. Serving as your president is the greatest honor of my professional life.
Looking ahead to 2026, I want to highlight some of the major initiatives NAMSS is working on.
Lead the Change
NAMSS stands ready to Lead the Change. We will continue to build and strengthen our strategic partnerships to advocate on behalf of the profession. Our commitment includes strengthening existing relationships, and building new ones, to highlight the value of the medical services profession with top-priority strategic partners.
The Standards Occupational Task Force continues on its journey to have MSPs recognized by the Department of Labor. With the upcoming SOC public comment period tentatively opening in 2026, NAMSS will ensure our collective voice is heard.
Transforming the Profession
Innovation is the key to progress, and NAMSS is committed to leading the transformation of our field. Our Benchmarks Task Force continues developing national industry standards to provide meaningful, data-driven insights into credentialing and provider enrollment. Meanwhile, our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force is exploring how AI technologies will shape the future MSP workforce, ensuring we are informed, prepared, and empowered to adapt. And through our NAMSS PASS Task Force, our goal is to reach 2 million provider affiliations by the end of 2026, primarily through expanding our electronic connectivity with software vendors.
Amplify Our Presence
We also plan to Amplify Our Presence. The “Proud to Be an MSP” campaign will continue to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary impact MSPs make behind the scenes in healthcare. Whether your focus is credentialing, privileging, licensing, provider enrollment, practitioner data management, CME management, medical staff management, compliance, peer review, or quality, YOU are an MSP.
We’re especially focused on supporting the next generation — members under 40 or new to the field — ensuring NAMSS remains a vibrant, inclusive home for professionals at every stage of their career. Initiatives are underway to further engage new members ensuring our association reflects the full spectrum of the field.
Education and Leadership Development
Our commitment to education remains at the heart of everything NAMSS does. In the coming year, we’ll introduce new learning pathways for those in provider enrollment and ambulatory care settings. We’re also exploring innovative methods of content delivery to meet the needs of a changing workforce — one that’s increasingly mobile, digital, and diverse.
We will again host the Tomorrow’s Leaders Program and the Speaker Development Program as we invest in, and prepare, our upcoming leaders for the future. As we plan for the 2026 State Leadership Conference, I’m looking forward to some excellent content that will strengthen our collaboration with state affiliates to continue building a strong, vibrant NAMSS community.
And of course, we’ll continue celebrating #MSPWeek® and engaging across social media to highlight your stories and successes. Every tweet, post, and photo shared helps amplify the reach of our profession — and shows the world the excellence that MSPs bring to healthcare.
Golden Legacy, Powerful Future
As we prepare for our 50th annual conference in New Orleans, we’ll be honoring five decades of progress, leadership, and community. Our 2026 theme “Golden Legacy, Powerful Future” captures it perfectly. It celebrates where we’ve been while energizing us for what’s next. We’ll honor our founders and trailblazers, celebrate our achievements, and look ahead to how NAMSS will continue leading the change for the next 50 years. I can’t wait to celebrate with you in true New Orleans style — mark your calendars for Oct. 18–21, 2026.
As we look toward NAMSS’ Golden Anniversary, we have so much to celebrate and even more to accomplish together. The world of healthcare is evolving faster than ever, and NAMSS is leading the charge to ensure MSPs are recognized, empowered, and equipped for the future. I’m excited and energized for 2026 and look forward to celebrating our Golden Legacy and Powerful Future with you in New Orleans.
Together, we’ll continue to cultivate excellence, empower Tomorrow’s MSP, and honor the profession and community that connects us all — the work of the MSP.