Cheryl's Blogspot

Stacy Mathis, RN Because JMS Consulting is the premier provider of case management services in Arkansas, we are approached frequently by out of state companies with a service request to work files under the guise of their namesake. As long as our business philosophy and standards align, we do this for a few companies. We recently parted ways with one such "national" company after they asked us to change wording in our reporting, as "the carrier might think we were advocating for the patient and not the customer" -- REALLY??? Of course, we were! At JMS, we believe in getting our patients the best treatment, with the best providers. Our professional networking and resourcefulness help fill in gaps of care and move things along to reduce the costs of recovery from a work injury. Today I read an article in CMSA Today on " Collaboration in Case Management " that deftly explains  the case manager's role in the managed care system; "A case mana...

A work injury is NO vacation!  Most of us would agree with that statement.  It's never fun to get hurt, yet it doesn't stop an injured worker from trying to turn recovery time into paid time off.  It is very common to have clients make requests to postpone procedures, therapy and return to work for personal reasons.  If this request is made to a physician under their group health insurance, it is not really an issue.  However when such a request is made during healing timeframe from a work injury, this is not an appropriate or reasonable request. As Case Managers, we must remind both the injured worker and providers that during recovery and rehabilitation time the injured worker's "job" is to heal and comply with appropriate treatment and work status.   Just this week, Deana Scott, RN had a client to request postponing her light duty return to work until she could finish outpatient therapy.  What Deana reminded her of, was that the activity of...