Patient Advocacy

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 manager's primary obligation is to his or her patients, and with ideal collaborative practice, the positive patient outcomes of quality care will be achieved." Exactly! JMS Consulting holds high the Case Management Society of America's Standards of Practice in the realm of workers compensation claims. These standards bind us to put patient needs first.

While we do our best to give our customers excellence in service, we believe that we do that while working with all stakeholders to provide the best of care for the patient. In the end, positive patient outcomes are what ultimately bring file resolution -- and happy customers!

Comments

Case Management GPS

W The next time I purchase a new vehicle there are several features I have on my wish list. For as much as we case managers travel, Navigation is high on the priority scale to make life easier. Under the pressure of arriving at a physician appointment on time, it's never a good feeling to take a wrong turn or get lost. There are times our role as a case manager is much like a navigator. Deana Scott, RN had that experience just yesterday while attending a physician visit. After three years of treatment for a work injury, the physician had nothing further to offer, and there appeared to be issues of malingering and symptom magnification. There was a point at which the physician actually had a look in his eye of being lost as far as how to bring the treatment course to an end. Confusion centered around the injured worker's return to work goals. It's at times like this, a Case Manager is able to maintain focus and much like a navigato...

Crystal's Small Task Saves Big Bucks!

A very special customer to JMS requested a small task in obtaining an impairment rating from a physician. There seemed to be some communication issues, between the adjuster and the physician. The file initially did not have any case management services to help guide the treatment. and at the end of the process nearing file closure, there was a very high impairment rating assigned by the treating physician. Crystal Gilbert, RN got to work! Performing a file review, she found discrepancies with the past surgical history of the injured worker. The injured worker had failed to give an accurate medical history. We gathered and provided the treating physician with medical records showing a prior WC injury to the same extremity and prior surgery to the same extremity of injury. Crystal was able to get a face to face meeting with the physician - because she's just that awesome - and review the medical records and providing documentation of the prior impairment ratin...

A Brilliant Mind

Visit Our Website Connect with me on LinkedIn It’s kind of an inside joke around our office that I’ve been called “brilliant” by a physician for my interpretation of a lumbar MRI. This story happened several years ago when Stacy Mathis, RN working with me in training, and was my witness! This physician is known for his eccentric personality, and he went all out to make me feel as though my critical thinking skills really were brilliant! I was attending a clinic visit for MMI and PPI assignment of a shoulder and lumbar injury. The shoulder had been complicated by a postoperative infection, and was now healed. The lumbar injury had been diagnosed as a strain, although an MRI had been obtained to rule out a disc herniation. I was expecting a high ra...

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