hospital contracts

JOY CHARLTON

Description

Title:

hospital contracts

Creator:

JOY CHARLTON

Date:

12/12/2007

Text:

To those of you out there that have contracts to provide services to inpatients at local hospitals, how do you deal with non-insured patients? We may have been living in a fantasy land, but up until a few days ago, the hospital reimbursed us for services we provided to non-insureds. They are now saying that they will no longer be doing this and we should direct bill the patient. In the past when we have done this we were never able to collect from the patient. We are a small O&P shop and absorbing this loss would be a big issue.
 
My biggest question is how do we get consent from a patient to accept a device and the financial responsibility for the device when the patient is incapacitated (unconscious, altered mental state, etc.)? And, isn't the hospital required to provide any medical care the patient needs regardless of insurance status? Many of the patients we fit are unable to leave their beds without the ordered brace, so they essentially have no choice in whether they receive the brace or not. Why should we become financially liable for a patient that they have assumed responsibility for when they admitted them? On a side note, we do give a significant discount to the hospital when we bill them.Joy W. CharltonOffice ManagerCentral Texas Orthotics and Prosthetics, LP2112 E. Villa MariaBryan, TX 77802979-731-1985fax 979-776-8447
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Citation

JOY CHARLTON, “hospital contracts,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/228814.