RE: questions about workman's comp

[Guest guest]

We avoid WMC at all costs, although we

have a few patients that pre-designate us. It pays OK, but we have to get

approval before seeing any of them, and there is more paperwork involved. You

will probably get some sort of notice from the patient if she is awarded WMC

and then you would have to bill WMC for all visits relating to the thyroid

cancer, but not for anything else. We require our patients to come in for

visits on separate days for WMC vs non-WMC issues. For example, if we have a

back pain patient (WMC) who also has hypertension, we bill WMC for the back

pain and the health insurance for the hypertension but we require the patient

to come in for 2 separate visits. It’s sort of a pain for the patient,

but insures that we will get paid for everything and also makes the notes

cleaner when the attorneys come back 2 years later and ask for all records

pertaining to the WMC issue.

Pratt

Office Manager

Oak Tree Internal Medicine P.C

www.prattmd.info

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Helen Yang

Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011

2:43 PM

To: IMP Group

Subject:

questions about workman's comp

A new patient who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a

year ago is applying for workman's comp. She said she had listed me as her new

PCP and they just need the medical record from me. She has health insurance (we

bill her insurance for her office visits) and she also recently received

disability approval.

I have not dealt with workman's comp before since previous clinics all avoided

doing it.

Could any of you please share your experience with workman's comp? Is it time

consuming?

Should we bill her workman's comp instead of her health insurance for her

visits if she gets it?

Thank you very much.

Helen