Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Sounds like an onion where there may be a ton of layers deeper than what you see on the outside. Â Motives are key. Â Are the workers afraid of their jobs being taken? Â Is there management pressure to minimize time away from the line? Â Are there cultural reasons for them not showing? Â Do they value physical therapy? Â Do they take a pay hit while on workers comp? Â Etc. If you rely on this company's business to a great deal, think of creative ways to take your therapy to them. Â Not all therapy needs to be performed within your walls. Respectfully, Â Alan Petrazzi, MPM, MPTRehab DirectorPittsburgh, PA Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows To: PTManager Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011, 7:29 PM Â Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Sounds like an onion where there may be a ton of layers deeper than what you see on the outside. Â Motives are key. Â Are the workers afraid of their jobs being taken? Â Is there management pressure to minimize time away from the line? Â Are there cultural reasons for them not showing? Â Do they value physical therapy? Â Do they take a pay hit while on workers comp? Â Etc. If you rely on this company's business to a great deal, think of creative ways to take your therapy to them. Â Not all therapy needs to be performed within your walls. Respectfully, Â Alan Petrazzi, MPM, MPTRehab DirectorPittsburgh, PA Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows To: PTManager Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011, 7:29 PM Â Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Sounds like an onion where there may be a ton of layers deeper than what you see on the outside. Â Motives are key. Â Are the workers afraid of their jobs being taken? Â Is there management pressure to minimize time away from the line? Â Are there cultural reasons for them not showing? Â Do they value physical therapy? Â Do they take a pay hit while on workers comp? Â Etc. If you rely on this company's business to a great deal, think of creative ways to take your therapy to them. Â Not all therapy needs to be performed within your walls. Respectfully, Â Alan Petrazzi, MPM, MPTRehab DirectorPittsburgh, PA Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows To: PTManager Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011, 7:29 PM Â Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Usually we report frequent no shows to the insurance and the MD, and they sometimes assist us in patient compliance, as non-compliance may jeopardize their claim. If this is not sufficient, we occasionally bill a no-show fee (our code is 99049 for CA, not sure if it is the same in other states), but this uses up an authorized visit. We only do this when the patient misses so much they would never really use all their visits, and it gets recorded by the insurance. Sandy Schall, PT President Health-Pro Physical Therapy, Inc. 110 La Casa Via, Suite 100 Walnut Creek, CA 94598 Fax: www.HealthProPT.com <http://www.healthpropt.com/> HealthProPT@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thanks for the reply . We do not have a contract with the plant. There are 2 other clinics in town and the plant nurses send the patients to our clinic and another clinic. We are a contracting provider for the plant's WC carrier, Prime Health Services, but there is no exclusive contract between our clinic and the plant in any way. Thanks. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of M. Howell PT, MPT Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 2:29 PM To: PTManager Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho <mailto:thowell@... <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> > thowell@... <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Sometimes very very convenient and exclusive can have very similar meanings. Steve Marcum PT Outpatient Lexington KY Sent from my Windows Phone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Thanks Wes. First I would contact the plant nurses and see if you can work together to find a solution. If they are knowledgeable about their own employees, you might be able to come up with innovative solutions or at minimum find out what the barriers are. It sounds like part of that is being sensitive to important cultural issues that need to be addresses as well. Sometimes the simplest solutions work the best and you may find those solutions by asking the nurses and have them ask the workers. This discussion must also involve you looking at your own systems and making whatever changes you need to: do you have good communication lines?, are they getting appointment times that are appropriate? (bottom line, be open to improving your own customer service if you need to). If that does not work, then get in touch with Prime Health Services and see if they have a case manager who is in charge of the contract. You could go through the same process with them to come up with solutions. In any discussion, you might need to have financial figures available with what it costs your clinic for missed appointments and any general figures on how consistent PT can result in return to work quicker and less lost days at work. Most employers perk up when you can show them what kind of money they are losing when people don't show for PT, blow it off and/or don't complete their course of PT and return to work quickly. You mentioned about them coming to your clinic without translators. It is actually your clinics responsibility to provide some means to translate. This could mean hiring a bilingual staff member, to paying into a translator service, training your staff in basic language translation to even using cell phone apps. There are good apps for both iPhone and Android markets that you can speak into and it will translate in many different languages. It is slow but works if you don't have translation readily available. Bottom line, it is your responsibility to provide a way to translate. As a business owner myself, the cancellations and no-shows get to be frustrating but the first step that helps is to take the frustration out of the loop, look at it not as an adversarial us versus them situation. Look at it as one in which there are opportunities to improve your own systems and come up with ways in which your clinic is the clinic that these employees want to come to, like to come to and get the service and results they are looking for. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho thowell@... This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of Wes Wickwar Sent: Friday, May 13, 2011 12:05 PM To: PTManager Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows Thanks for the reply . We do not have a contract with the plant. There are 2 other clinics in town and the plant nurses send the patients to our clinic and another clinic. We are a contracting provider for the plant's WC carrier, Prime Health Services, but there is no exclusive contract between our clinic and the plant in any way. Thanks. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of M. Howell PT, MPT Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 2:29 PM To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: RE: Cancel/No Shows Hi Wes, I think it would help to know more about how these WC clients are steered to your clinic. For instance, does your clinic have a contract with the plant to handle the business or do they come there due to proximity? Does your clinic have an agreement with their WC carrier or with the plant management itself? Knowing these things would help us give appropriate advice because there would be additional options other than just a charge for no-shows. For instance, if your clinic has a contract with the plant itself, you could build in incentive in the contract itself that would increase or decrease payment based on no-show and late appointment rates. Just let us know. M. Howell, P.T., M.P.T. Howell Physical Therapy Eagle, Idaho <mailto:thowell@... <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> > thowell@... <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> <mailto:thowell%40fiberpipe.net> This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email. From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:31 AM To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: Cancel/No Shows We're having a problem with cancels & no shows with a large meat-packing plant nearby. They frequently cancel, no show, show up 15-20 minutes late, or show up without their interpreter to their appointments. They are 50% of our WC load, but a huge pain in the rear. I've talked to the plant nurses, doctors, case managers and higher ups in the company and it always improves for a while, but eventually goes back to the same. I think I know the answer to this question, but is there any financial penalty we can impose on them for these missed appointments? This would be an easy decision if they weren't such a big % of our WC. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Wes Wickwar PT/Owner Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS 67846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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