Nursing home questions

[bonvivant07]

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Hi everyone,

I have a couple questions regarding nursing homes:

1. The Podiatrist I am shadowing does nursing home once a week. I was going to go shadow him during one of those days, what should I expect?

2. How does the whole nursing home work in terms of payment? I assume most of them are Medicare but Medicare doesn't cover clip and chip (with exceptions) so does the nursing home pay the doc a flat rate, or each individual patient pay out of pocket?

3. How does one go about getting those gigs? I know there are companies that have a contract and they hire you. But I also have heard to just simply try and get a contract yourself from the Nursing Home admin?

Thanks!

 

[347932]

Hi everyone,

I have a couple questions regarding nursing homes:

1. The Podiatrist I am shadowing does nursing home once a week. I was going to go shadow him during one of those days, what should I expect?
Most nursing home patients simply have their nails cut, but if the doctor has a good relationship with the in house MDs, he or she may also do wound/ulcer care as well.

2. How does the whole nursing home work in terms of payment? I assume most of them are Medicare but Medicare doesn't cover clip and chip (with exceptions) so does the nursing home pay the doc a flat rate, or each individual patient pay out of pocket?
My experience has been that most Nursing Home patients do indeed have the class findings necessary to qualify for "at risk foot care" as defined by Medicare. I can speak for myself by saying that these are services that I bill for separately, but some docs are paid directly from the nursing home on a flat rate. I would say that this is less common than just billing for the services you provide. If a patient does not qualify for "at risk foot care" they are informed as such, are asked to sign an ABN and are responsible to pay for the service before it is rendered.

3. How does one go about getting those gigs? I know there are companies that have a contract and they hire you. But I also have heard to just simply try and get a contract yourself from the Nursing Home admin?
Generally if you don't work for a company that contracts out to have you work in their nursing home, yes, it's a matter of pounding the pavement, meeting the "right" people and trying to get your foot in the door that way. Or if you've heard that a doc is retiring or leaving the area, you can contact the doc directly and ask them if they've thought of a replacement yet.

Thanks!

I hope that helps.