JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP Let’s be honest, we have all done it: hired someone who, in retrospect, had only two brain cells, both of which turned out to be mutually inhibitory. Have I told you about the time (many years ago) when I hired a provider who, on a busy day, locked himself in the bathroom and screamed, “If you don’t get me some more help, I am going to start drinking?” Since …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: September, 2007
UCA’s Survey Committee has conducted two annual member surveys, to date, designed to establish benchmarks in an industry for which data have been sorely lacking. Each month in Developing Data, we will share one or two tidbits from the second annual survey in an effort to help readers get a sense of what their peers are doing, and what kind of trends are developing as urgent care evolves. In this issue: How much time do …
Read MoreCoding for Removal of Impacted Cerumen (69210)
Q.What is the correct use of CPT code 69210 (removal impacted cerumen [separate procedure], one or both ears)? – Question submitted by Kathy Partenheimer, Medical of Dubois A.In the July 2005 issue of CPT Assistant, the AMA clearly indicates that you should report 69210 onlywhen the following two criteria are both met: “the patient had cerumen impaction” “the removal required physician work using at least an otoscope and instrumentation rather than simple lavage” [emphasis added]. …
Read MoreTop Communicators Apply These Principles
Who among your network of colleagues and friends do you consider to be “great communicators?” What characteristics do they have in common that make them great? Consider the following principles underlying one’s ability to communicate effectively: Keep it simple. Break every message down to a simple, easy-to-digest concept. Avoid too much detail or trying to jam too many concepts into a single interchange. Use basic, short words. Assume your subject has a minimal attention span. …
Read MoreEmployment Contracts Part 2: Troublesome Clauses
Congratulations, you have found the perfect job! The chemistry is right, the pay is adequate, and the working environment is somewhat better than a sweatshop. So what’s missing? Ah yes, the contract—that little document designed to protect both parties in the event of a disagreement. Although that description sounds innocuous, employment contracts are usually written by employers and tend to be slanted to their needs, as opposed to those of the employee or contractor. Therefore, …
Read MoreTest the Waters Before Signing an Employment Contract
It sounded like a great job. You saw the ad in the back of JUCM and contacted the person listed at the bottom. He seemed pleasant enough on the phone and the pay was what you thought was the market rate for the area. The next day, you drove over for the interview, which consisted of only four questions (the first being “If you were a tree…” and the last being “When can you start?”), toured …
Read MoreRules & Regulators
Occupational Medicine- August, 2007
The art of using the “right” words and avoiding words that tend to harm one’s sales effort is undervalued. Consider these recommendations: Use strong, descriptive, positive words. Your choice of words should reflect the image you wish to portray of your urgent care clinic, and the attributes that go along with such an image (e.g., energy, confidence, focus, and warmth). How about asking your staff to list the 10 words that reflect the most positive …
Read More
Management of Distal Radial Fractures
Urgent message: Distal radial fractures in children can often be treated by non-orthopedists without the need for full casting in an urgent care center that can perform simple splinting, thus sparing hospital referral. Deena R. Zimmerman, MD, MPH, IBCLC, Scott Fields, MD, and Nahum Kovalski, BSc, MDCM Introduction Wrist fracture is a com-mon injury in children. Many of these fractures are buckle or torus fractures. Traditionally, treatment for buckle fractures has been short-arm casting for …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: July/August, 2007
UCA’s Survey Committee has conducted two annual member surveys, to date, designed to establish benchmarks in an industry for which data have been sorely lacking. Each month in Developing Data, we will share one or two tidbits from the second annual survey in an effort to help readers get a sense of what their peers are doing, and what kind of trends are developing asurgent care evolves. In this issue: How are some clinics employing …
Read More