In this issue: Who’s treating whom? Physicians are at the forefront of urgent care, both as practitioners and as business owners. They’re not the only ones treating patients, however; perhaps more than in any other practice environment, mid-level providers physician assistants and nurse practitioners, in particular are charged with administering care to patients. It’s a good thing physicians have well-trained assistance, too, as respondents to the survey report- ed that their urgent care facilities see …
Read MoreHow to Use the Level 1 Established Patient E/M Code (99211)
DAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.What is the code 99211? A.The official description is as follows: “Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, that may not require the presence of a physician. Usually, the presenting problem(s) are minimal. Typically, five minutes are spent performing or supervising these services.” This is a low-level Evaluation and Management (E/M) service. The code requires a face-to-face patient encounter with a staff member …
Read MoreAnatomy of an Occupational Health Sales Call
FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH “Tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em, tell ’em, and tell ’em what you told ’em.” —Mark Twain Urgent care clinic operators would be well advised to keep in mind Mark Twain’s advice on how to approach a speech or a paper; the same sequence applies to an occupational medicine sales call. In Phase I, it is best to articulate a clear objective for your sales call and provide …
Read MoreSettling the Case
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP The deposition is over. Your counsel tells you that, despite your barely concealed disdain for the opposing counsel, you managed to hold your own and not say anything from which you can’t recover. Unfortunately, you had to burn your dark blue suit both for the bad memories associated with it and because you are not sure if even dry cleaning it would help. Nevertheless, you are feeling pretty good! …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: April, 2007
UCAOA’S Survey Committee drew two important conclusions from its first industry-wide survey: urgent care is a growing industry nationwide, and those within the industry are hungry for benchmarking data. In each issue of JUCM, Developing Data will seek to fulfill that need. In this issue: Answers to the question, “So how long have you been in business?” As a distinct practice environment, “urgent care” is relatively young and just now becoming a part of the …
Read MoreMaking Employer Advisory Councils Work for You
Whether you are just now incorporating occupational health into your service mix or have a burgeoning occupational health component, an Employer Advisory Council is an excellent idea. In general, a council should include at least 12 members (providing a cushion against no-shows) and consist of a mix of owners, company CEOs, and HR personnel that reflect your service area. Be certain to include both high-profile candidates and worker bees from both client and non-client companies. …
Read MoreHow to Prepare for and Give a Deposition
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP You are sitting at a long mahogany table in an unfamiliar, yetvery well-appointed, office wearing the same dark suit that you last wore at your cousin’s funeral. A pale, gaunt man with what looks like a small typewriter scrambles furiously to keep up with your rapid-pressured response to the question, “Doctor, for the record, please state your name and current address.” Is this a bad dream? Only if you …
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Medical Professional Liability Insurance: Limiting Cost While Maximizing Value
Urgent message: Liability insurance premiums continue to rise across the spectrum of medical practice environments. Urgent care practitioners can maximize the value of every premium dollar spent by understanding whom and what the policy actually covers. Terrence P. Coughlin, CPCU, ARM, AIC One of the more important andcostly aspects of running an urgent care center is the insurance coverage needed to protect the center and the medical staff working there. In recent years, all medical …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: March, 2007
UCAOA’S Survey Committee drew two important conclusions from its first industry-wide survey: urgent care is a growing industry nationwide, and those within the industry are hungry for benchmarking data. In each issue of JUCM, Developing Data will seek to fulfill that need. In this issue: Typically, urgent care providers are physicians/entrepreneurs. But they come from a wide variety of practice environments—family practice, emergency medicine, etc.—so what’s the breakdown of how urgent care practices are structured, …
Read MoreCode Compliantly But Differently, Based on the Payor
DAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.I have been told that I can get credit for a complete review of systems (at least 10 systems) by simply noting positive findings in certain systems and then noting “all other systems negative.” A.This is, indeed, a general CMS “guideline,” but two Medicare carriers have issued contradictory guidelines. TrailBlazer Health Enterprises (Medicare carrier for Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and Texas) and Wisconsin Physicians Services (Medicare carrier …
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