Does anyone have any feedback on contractor/panel/part time work for a Wound Healing Center, specifically a Healogics/iHeal facility?
My employer intends for this to happen, but I'm trying to go in eyes wide open. Currently private practice - really no call expectations at all right now. I give my phone number to people I operate on, elective.
I was told compensation was either hourly or billed through my clinic. I'm leaning towards hourly because I'm skeptical I want it going back through my clinic though it opens all sorts of concerns about others doing my billing.
They appear to be semi-...obsessed with HBO in the area. I have minimal interest in monitoring dives but I think that's part of the expectation.
I keep writing paragraphs about some of my specific concerns, but I'll avoid biasing anyone - just hit me with what you think.
I work at 2 different Healogics facilities. I bill through my hospital group, even though the facilities are associated with different hospitals. I wasn't offered an hourly salary and probably wouldn't want to do it anyways. Might be different in private practice but since I'm paid in RVU, I get paid the same whether I see the patient at the wound center or my office and I'd just as soon bill through my clinic. My wound care day is typically my highest RVU producing day because, as was mentioned, it's a lot of procedures (debridements, graft applications, total contact casts, etc) and I can usually see more patients in the wound center than I can in my office during the same amount of time. I would also rather keep the majority of my wound patients at the wound center, keeps my clinic schedule open for more stuff I'd rather see in the office. I like wound care but I like to keep it separate from my office as much as I can.
I had the same concern about HBO and my facilities also seemed to push it as well. At one point I was told that I needed to show support to the hospital by finding patients for HBO. And I was pulled aside by the previous director and asked why I didn't use HBO and that I should be using it more. I made it clear that I would use it when I thought it was appropriate but I wouldn't go out of my way to find patients that would qualify if I didn't think they would actually benefit from it. As far as monitoring dives, I'm sure you've looked at it, but while some states may not allow it for podiatrists, it seems the bigger issue is usually with each individual hospital not allowing pods to monitor HBO. Neither facility I am at allows it and honestly, I have no interest in doing it. I'm probably also the provider there that uses it the least.
As far as bringing patients back to the wound center after surgery, for me it depends. My wound centers are not near my clinic so some of my decision making is influenced by geography but in general, I have a similar feeling as
@CutsWithFury in that if I bring someone from the wound center to surgery, they are typically following up there. The exception being if my surgery eradicates a wound, ie I amputate the toe they had a wound on. Then at least my wound centers don't really want them following up if they no longer have a wound. I still can for a visit or two, but they don't want them coming there for weeks on end if they don't really need wound care.
If you have other questions, feel free to PM me
