Guest guest Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 i would not have someone fax prescriptions to a pharmacy "in my name" or from my emr. that's putting your liability in someone else's hands. LLAnnie Skaggs wrote: Hmmmmm…Take call for eachother…That’s an interesting idea Jean. I never really considered it before, as I never “thought outside the box” enough to even consider someone out of the area as a back up for calls… I don’t very often really get in a situation that requires a back up, though someday I might actually take a vacation. I do have a colleague in town (not an IMP, but solo) who has agreed to see patients if needed when I am gone. She is a nice gal, and I don’t have a great deal of reason to distrust her, but I have been unwilling to let her have access to my EMR, on the oh-so-unlikely chance that she would decide to send letters to all my patients inviting them to come see her if she had access to all my data… But now, someone in, say, Maine, is far enough away that my patients are not going to leave me to go there, no matter how much they like the Maine doc….so I would not be so nervous about giving online access to my emr…. With a virtual desktop connection and passwords, a doc in a remote location could see a patient’s chart, and could also fax prescriptions to local pharmacies in my name. Still does not address the issue of what if the person really needs their lungs listened to…..but would be OK to cover about 90% or more of calls that come in, at least as a temporizing measure…. I’m going to ponder this some more. What does everybody else think? Annie Re: Re: IMP practice call failureThanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys are so wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some timeago, although I am solo, I am definitely not alone.I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall throughthe cracks.I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours of hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age 87.Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there can be aprice to pay.I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public eye. I gaveout that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at home,and in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change that. Certainly children answering the phone is another place where messagescould disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if this is a medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me before,but I guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phonesolution, even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would I haveto remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? Soundslike I could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to review how tocontact me with patients during the first (and subsequent visits). Ithink the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient handout, Iam going to develop one.It's a process...Lynn__________________________________________________________The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 byExperian. http://www.freecred<http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I don’t share in a call group anymore, but when I did, on weekends I would be taking call for a dozen family docs and a couple NPs/PAs and >99% of the calls were for patients I had never seen before, and often whose charts were locked up in some building I had no key to, even if I was willing to drive 30 miles to another town to look. I just had to do the best I could, and not infrequently phoned in prescriptions for new problems because that was the best I could do under the circumstances and that was the “standard”. I think they still do it that way. Now why, just because of state licensing issues, would it be better for patients to have a local doc with no access to info treat them over the phone, than it would be for in Maine to talk to them on the phone, while she had access to see their entire chart on line to treat them, or if based on the info in the chart she can identify people who really should go to the ER or UTC? I’m not arguing that there may not be laws against such over state lines, but thinking just in terms of what is commonly done, and what is better for the patient, I would vote for looking at the chart over LMD with no info except what the patient tells him… Just musing, Annie Re: Re: IMP practice call failure Thanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys are so wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some time ago, although I am solo, I am definitely not alone. I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall through the cracks. I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours of hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age 87. Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there can be a price to pay. I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public eye. I gave out that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at home, and in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change that. Certainly children answering the phone is another place where messages could disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if this is a medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me before, but I guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phone solution, even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would I have to remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? Sounds like I could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to review how to contact me with patients during the first (and subsequent visits). I think the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient handout, I am going to develop one. It's a process... Lynn __________________________________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred/> < http://www.freecred <http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT ERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE _____ Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m ailbeta> - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I am not in any call groups any longer either. I just take call for myself 24/7. I frequently go to San Diego where my parents, who are in their mid 80s, live. From where I live in Tulare, it's about 300 miles, and I just cover my own calls from there by cellphone. I can get into my EMR from away if I can get on-line, and I can fax Rx's and check records if I need to. In fact, I went there this weekend. I got one call over the weekend. My stress level is so much better than when I was in a 6 doctor call group with high practice volume docs! I would stress out so much anticipating the upcoming night or weekend on call that even the 5 days off was not enough to mentally recover. The only problem I still have is that I'm on the hospital staff, so if I have a patient in house when I leave, or I get an admission through the ER, I do have a problem. We have a back up ER call system that we get paid for 2 times a month and I've asked several of the people in that ER back up system if they would mind if one of my patients came in while I was gone to do the admission and follow them until I get back. Most have said it was fine, since they are on call anyway, and they get paid by the hospital, plus if my patient has insurance, they can also bill the insurance. We don't have any full time hospitalists at our facility. Caldwell Tulare, CA > > Hmmmmm...Take call for eachother...That's an interesting idea Jean. I > never > really considered it before, as I never " thought outside the box " enough > to even consider someone out of the area as a back up for calls... > > I don't very often really get in a situation that requires a back up, > though someday I might actually take a vacation. I do have a colleague > in town (not an IMP, but solo) who has agreed to see patients if needed > when I am gone. She is a nice gal, and I don't have a great deal of > reason to distrust her, but I have been unwilling to let her have access > to my EMR, on the oh-so-unlikely chance that she would decide to send > letters to all my patients inviting them to come see her if she had > access to all my data... But now, someone in, say, Maine, is far enough > away that my patients are not going to leave me to go there, no matter > how much they like the Maine doc....so I would not be so nervous about > giving online access to my emr.... > With a virtual desktop connection and passwords, a doc in a remote > location could see a patient's chart, and could also fax prescriptions > to local pharmacies in my name. Still does not address the issue of > what if the person really needs their lungs listened to.....but would be > OK to cover about 90% or more of calls that come in, at least as a > temporizing measure.... > > I'm going to ponder this some more. What does everybody else think? > Annie > > Re: Re: IMP practice call failure > > Thanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys are so > wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some time > ago, > although I am solo, I am definitely not alone. > > I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall through > the > cracks. > I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours of > hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age 87. > > Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there can be a > price > to pay. > > I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public eye. I gave > out > that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at home, > and > in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change that. > Certainly children answering the phone is another place where messages > could > disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering > machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if this is a > medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me before, > but I > guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phone > solution, > even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would I have > to > remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? Sounds > like I > could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to review how to > > contact me with patients during the first (and subsequent visits). I > think > the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient handout, I > am > going to develop one. > > It's a process... > > Lynn > > __________________________________________________________ > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. > http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred/> /> > < http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > ERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE > > _____ > > Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta > <http://us.rd. > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m > ailbeta> - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 Wow, you get paid by the hospital to be on backup call? It is written into our hospital by-laws that we will take backup call as part of being on staff. It is about every couple of months I guess, but I sure don’t get paid for it! Re: Re: IMP practice call failure > > Thanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys are so > wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some time > ago, > although I am solo, I am definitely not alone. > > I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall through > the > cracks. > I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours of > hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age 87. > > Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there can be a > price > to pay. > > I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public eye. I gave > out > that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at home, > and > in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change that. > Certainly children answering the phone is another place where messages > could > disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering > machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if this is a > medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me before, > but I > guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phone > solution, > even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would I have > to > remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? Sounds > like I > could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to review how to > > contact me with patients during the first (and subsequent visits). I > think > the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient handout, I > am > going to develop one. > > It's a process... > > Lynn > > __________________________________________________________ > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. > http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred/> /> > < http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > ERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE > > _____ > > Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta > <http://us.rd. > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m > ailbeta> - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Well it's actually a fairly new thing here. I started here in 1983. The ER backup call was always mandatory as a condition of being on the hostpital staff, and non-reimbursed until about 2 years ago. You were allowed to opt out at age 60. They decided to make call voluntary about 2 years ago and felt they needed to make it reimbursed in order to attract enough volunteers. It seems to be working, as they have not had problems getting people to volunteer to be on the schedule. They were basically following the lead of a nearby somewhat larger hospital which is one of our hospital's major competitors and only a few miles away. So they were afraid of losing doctors who would drop off the staff because of the non-reimbursed ER backup and send their patients to the other hospital. I'm not sure what the impact has been on the hospital financial picture, but it seems to be surviving so far. From my standpoint, it makes it much more palitable to admit " self-pay " patients. And when they turn out to actually have insurance in a few cases, it doesn't seem too bad at all. The regular check did help me when I split off from my former group a while back and started my own solo office. Also when Medicare held my payments for 3 months when I changed my tax ID no. I just moved out of my former building over this past Christmas week into a new building that was a former dentist's office. When I notified Medicare of the address change, they have again been holding my payments for over 8 weeks. So the ER call check has really helped keep me afloat (barely). I wish I could get retroactive pay for the 22 years I did it for free! Caldwell Tulare, CA > > > > Hmmmmm...Take call for eachother...That's an interesting idea Jean. I > > never > > really considered it before, as I never " thought outside the box " enough > > to even consider someone out of the area as a back up for calls... > > > > I don't very often really get in a situation that requires a back up, > > though someday I might actually take a vacation. I do have a colleague > > in town (not an IMP, but solo) who has agreed to see patients if needed > > when I am gone. She is a nice gal, and I don't have a great deal of > > reason to distrust her, but I have been unwilling to let her have access > > to my EMR, on the oh-so-unlikely chance that she would decide to send > > letters to all my patients inviting them to come see her if she had > > access to all my data... But now, someone in, say, Maine, is far enough > > away that my patients are not going to leave me to go there, no matter > > how much they like the Maine doc....so I would not be so nervous about > > giving online access to my emr.... > > With a virtual desktop connection and passwords, a doc in a remote > > location could see a patient's chart, and could also fax prescriptions > > to local pharmacies in my name. Still does not address the issue of > > what if the person really needs their lungs listened to.....but would be > > OK to cover about 90% or more of calls that come in, at least as a > > temporizing measure.... > > > > I'm going to ponder this some more. What does everybody else think? > > Annie > > > > Re: Re: IMP practice call failure > > > > Thanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys are so > > wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some time > > ago, > > although I am solo, I am definitely not alone. > > > > I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall through > > the > > cracks. > > I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours of > > hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age 87. > > > > Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there can be a > > price > > to pay. > > > > I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public eye. I gave > > out > > that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at home, > > and > > in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change that. > > Certainly children answering the phone is another place where messages > > could > > disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering > > machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if this is a > > medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me before, > > but I > > guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phone > > solution, > > even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would I have > > to > > remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? Sounds > > like I > > could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to review how to > > > > contact me with patients during the first (and subsequent visits). I > > think > > the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient handout, I > > am > > going to develop one. > > > > It's a process... > > > > Lynn > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > > Experian. > > http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecred/> /> /> > > < http://www.freecred > > <http://www.freecred > > <http://www.freecred > <http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx? sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT> > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > ERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx? sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE > > > > _____ > > > > Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta > > <http://us.rd. > > <http://us.rd. > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com /m> > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> > > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http://advision. > <http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> webevents.yahoo.com/m > > ailbeta> - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 I am actually somewhat surprised myself that it is so far working as well as it is. A few years ago, I too would not have thought it would work to make the call voluntary. I've been here for 23 years. The staff has changed a lot in that period of time. The older docs and administrators of the WWII generation would never have bought into the concept, but they are all gone now. We have a bunch of new people now from a younger generation. I'm somewhere between. I think there is somewhat of a trend to this voluntary call idea at least in California. As I mentioned in prev. post, there is a nearby hospital about 8 miles away that went to a voluntary system a couple of years before we did, and many of the docs are on the staff at both hospitals. There are an couple of articles here about a study done by the Calif. Medical Association about ER Backup services in Calif. http://www.csus.edu/calst/government_affairs/reports/Emergency_Room_O n-Call_Coverage.pdf http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/research/healthresearch/images/pdf_re portspapers/On%20Call%20Physicians%20At%20CA%20Emergency%20Depts.pdf Our administrator feels that he tries to work closely with doctors. I think there was some pressure to match what the other hospital was doing in order to keep them happy. We also have 2 physicians on our board of directors, who ultimately were the ones that approved the reimbursement, although it was the Medical Staff By-Laws that had to be changed to remove the requirement for ER backup as a requirement of staff membership. The administrator really had no power to stop the Medical Staff from changing the By-Laws, but without the reimbursement from him and the board of directors, I'm sure it would not have worked. Only time will tell how it all works out in the longer run. There is bound to be an effect on the The main issue we have actually had is not the idea of the call being voluntary or the idea of reimbursement itself, but rather the relative value of taking call for one specialty vs. another, i.e. is a pediatrician night on call equal to an F.P. or an Internal Med? Our surgeons have agreed to take 10 nights on call a month, but we only have 2 on active staff, so the hospital has been paying to get a locum tenans to take the other 10 days of the month. Caldwell Tulare, CA > > > > > > > > Hmmmmm...Take call for eachother...That's an interesting idea > > Jean. I > > > > never > > > > really considered it before, as I never " thought outside the > > box " enough > > > > to even consider someone out of the area as a back up for > > calls... > > > > > > > > I don't very often really get in a situation that requires a > > back up, > > > > though someday I might actually take a vacation. I do have a > > colleague > > > > in town (not an IMP, but solo) who has agreed to see patients if > > needed > > > > when I am gone. She is a nice gal, and I don't have a great deal > > of > > > > reason to distrust her, but I have been unwilling to let her > > have access > > > > to my EMR, on the oh-so-unlikely chance that she would decide to > > send > > > > letters to all my patients inviting them to come see her if she > > had > > > > access to all my data... But now, someone in, say, Maine, is far > > enough > > > > away that my patients are not going to leave me to go there, no > > matter > > > > how much they like the Maine doc....so I would not be so nervous > > about > > > > giving online access to my emr.... > > > > With a virtual desktop connection and passwords, a doc in a > > remote > > > > location could see a patient's chart, and could also fax > > prescriptions > > > > to local pharmacies in my name. Still does not address the issue > > of > > > > what if the person really needs their lungs listened to.....but > > would be > > > > OK to cover about 90% or more of calls that come in, at least as > > a > > > > temporizing measure.... > > > > > > > > I'm going to ponder this some more. What does everybody else > > think? > > > > Annie > > > > > > > > Re: Re: IMP practice call failure > > > > > > > > Thanks for the virtual wall of support and feedback. You guys > > are so > > > > wonderful. As Brady pointed out in his usual pithy way some > > time > > > > ago, > > > > although I am solo, I am definitely not alone. > > > > > > > > I just hate it when the really old, young, or vulnerable fall > > through > > > > the > > > > cracks. > > > > I can't help perseverating somewhat about those extra 12 hours > > of > > > > hypothermia. I am sure that is generally not good for you at age > > 87. > > > > > > > > Of course I know I should take vacations, but - oy vey! there > > can be a > > > > price > > > > to pay. > > > > > > > > I think I need to get my home phone number out of the public > > eye. I gave > > > > out > > > > that number before, in case my cell phone was off while I was at > > home, > > > > and > > > > in case of cell phone failure, but now think I need to change > > that. > > > > Certainly children answering the phone is another place where > > messages > > > > could > > > > disappear. I think I also need to add that line to my answering > > > > machines/messages that instructs people to please call 911 if > > this is a > > > > medical emergency. (It seemed blatantly obvious/alarmist to me > > before, > > > > but I > > > > guess it is not.) I wonder if I should look into a onebox phone > > > > solution, > > > > even though it sounds expensive and somewhat complex, but would > > I have > > > > to > > > > remember to forward it everytime I move my physical location? > > Sounds > > > > like I > > > > could easily screw that one up! Sounds like I also need to > > review how to > > > > > > > > contact me with patients during the first (and subsequent > > visits). I > > > > think > > > > the contact me emergency sheet is a good idea for a patient > > handout, I > > > > am > > > > going to develop one. > > > > > > > > It's a process... > > > > > > > > Lynn > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > > > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > > > > Experian. > > > > http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred <http://www.freecred > > > <http://www.freecred/> /> /> > > > > < http://www.freecred > > > > <http://www.freecred > > > > <http://www.freecred > > > <http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx? > > sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT> > > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > > > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > > > > itreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOT > > > > ERAVERAGE> itreport.com/pm/default.aspx? > > sc=660600 & bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE > > > > > > > > _____ > > > > > > > > Check out the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta > > > > <http://us.rd. > > > > <http://us.rd. > > > > > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com > > /m> > > > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> > > > > yahoo.com/evt=43257/*http://advision. > > > <http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/m> webevents.yahoo.com/m > > > > ailbeta> - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done > > faster. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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