When it comes to sales and marketing, the involvement of a physician can make or break an occupational health initiative. Physicians project credibility and can easily win the respect of employers and employees. In many cases, a sales effort can go “over the top” simply by bringing a physician into play. I know many physicians who exude charm and would be an asset in virtually any sales scenario. On the other hand, a physician who …
Read MoreIn Consideration of Binding Arbitration Agreements
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP Otter: Point of parliamentary procedure! Hoover: Don’t screw around, they’re serious this time! Otter: Take it easy, I’m pre-law. Boon: I thought you were pre-med. Otter: What’s the difference? Otter: Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests—we did. In contrast to the dispute resolution procedure regarding the Delta house’s …
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Urgent Care Occupational Medicine Defined
A joint International Labor Organization/World Health Organization committee defines occupational health as the “promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental, and social well-being of workers in all occupations.” This article will refine that definition as it applies to urgent care occupational medicine (UCOM) and explore the rationale for incorporating products and services of value to employers within an urgent care clinic. Scope of Practice Clinics that offer occupational medicine services are uniquely …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: January, 2008
As an emerging distinct practice environment, urgent care is in the early stages of building a data set specific to its norms and practices. In Developing Data, JUCM will offer results not only from UCA’s annual benchmarking surveys, but also from research conducted elsewhere to present an expansive view of the healthcare marketplace in which urgent care seeks to strengthen its presence. In this issue: How do the experiences of patients who sought treatment for …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: December, 2007
As an emerging distinct practice environment, urgent care is in the early stages of building a data set specific to its norms and practices. In Developing Data, JUCM will offer results not only from UCA’s annual benchmarking surveys, but also from research conducted elsewhere to present an expansive view of the healthcare mar- ketplace in which urgent care seeks to strengthen its presence. In this issue: How is patient satisfaction affected by the length of …
Read MoreFollow-up Questions Regarding Post – operative Care and ‘Established’ Patients
DAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.I was curious about your response to a case listed in Coding Q&A in the November issue of JUCM. The case described a patient who returned for reopening of a wound due to infection. The physician then cleansed and re-sutured the wound. Although I agree about the postoperative care in general, I wonder if modifier -79 would be appropriate in these circumstances. According to instructions by the AMA, this modifier …
Read MoreCustomer (and Patient) Service is Key in Occupational Health
“Let sales people sell” should be more than a cliché; it should be a way of life. Unfortunately, though, many occupational health sales professionals spend a disproportionate amount of time engaged in client maintenance and customer service at the expense of direct sales. This is not to say that customer service and patient service are unimportant, however; in truth, maintaining good relationships both with customers and patients is crucial to the success of every occupational …
Read MoreCompliant Management of Non-Compliant Staff
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP Are you from the era where Spare the Rod, Spoil the Employee was the title of the disciplinary section in the employee manual? Most urgent care centers in the United States discontinued the practice of caning employees after Michael Fay received his licks for vandalizing cars in Singapore in 1994. Now-a-days, you may want to consider following a few simple rules when it comes to employee remediation (as opposed …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: November, 2007
As an emerging distinct practice environment, urgent care is in the early stages of building a data set specific to its norms and practices. In Developing Data, JUCM will offer results not only from UCA’s annual benchmarking surveys, but also from research conducted elsewhere to present an expansive view of the healthcare marketplace in which urgent care seeks to strengthen its presence. In this issue: The 2007 Professional Research Consultants National Consumer Survey asked patients …
Read MoreAddressing Problem-based Coding and Other Challenges
Q.We are a fairly new urgent care center and could use some help on E/M coding. I have read on various urgent care websites that we can bill each visit as a new patient visit (as long as it isn’t a follow-up to an existing problem). Can you please give me some direction on where I can find this information? A.What you are referring to is “problem-based coding.” Never code in this way unless you …
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