Medlaw.com E-Bulletin -- October 26, 2006
Stephen A. Frew JD, Publisher

Topic 1: Question from the field -- Use of Urgent Care
Topic 2: Testing new format
Topic 3: Coming soon -- FAQ feature

QUESTION FROM THE FIELD

A frequent question from the field is whether it is permissible to send patients to an Urgent Care setting following triage.

Answer: It depends.....

1. Is the Urgent Care owned and operated by the hospital where the patient presented?

If the answer is NO, then you MAY NOT triage patients to the urgent care.

2. Is the Urgent Care classified as a Rural Health Clinic?

If the answer is YES, then you MAY NOT triage patients to the urgent care RHC.

3. Is the Urgent Care on the campus of the hospital where the patient presented?

If the answer is NO, then you MAY NOT triage patients to the urgent care.

Now, if your Urgent Care situation survived the first three questions, then we are ready to consider the other rules:

A. All patients of similar condition, complaint, and acuity must go the the same location. The purpose of this is to prevent unequal treatment (disparate treatment in the terms of the courts) and "cherry picking" of cases based on insurance or revenue issues.

B. There must be a valid medical reason for the movement. This requirement means that patients are not moved to the area for discriminatory reasons, revenue reasons, or physician convenience.

C. The patient must be escorted to the area, not sent. The reason for this is to prevent patients being sent out how you like it. For those that don't like this version,
we will make arrangements for you to continue to receive a
text version.

COMING SOON -- FAQ FEATURE

In an effort to keep up with all of the questions I get
from readers, I have recently added a SEARCH feature to the
website at www.medlaw.com to make information easier to
find.

The next effort will be to build a FAQ Knowledge Base where
frequently asked questions can be housed for easy access. I
have not decided on the format yet, but I will keep you
advised, and as always, I will appreciate your feedback on
any improvements we can make.