Health Care Stewardship: Plan your emergency care
By Barry Clark · Apr 19, 2024
Most of us have journeyed through a home-improvement project. Maybe it was a small- to medium-sized, do-it-yourself effort. Or perhaps it was a major “sawdust-is-everywhere” project.
For either, upfront planning is involved. No matter the size of the project or emergency, we need to plan and prepare.
Health care decisions are no different. We should apply due diligence and upfront planning for care of our bodies and health care needs, especially when they are emergencies. Following are some recommended action steps you can take now to be prepared for emergencies when they happen.
Have a conversation
At your next primary care visit, discuss what medical situations should be handled through your primary care provider and which should be handled by alternate means. Ask for their input on recommended urgent care clinics and emergency room facilities.
Provider proximity
Identify two or three of the closest and most convenient options for both urgent care clinics and hospitals with emergency care facilities.
Research different providers
Schedule some personal time to contact providers to determine which one(s) your family will use in an emergency. As you do that, here are some things to consider:
- Urgent care clinics: Some urgent care clinics have the capability and expertise to perform multiple tests. Others may offer more basic but still excellent services by a nurse practitioner or someone similar. Each has its place, but be sure to factor in an essential awareness of their capabilities in deciding which one you want to use in an emergency.
- Emergency rooms: What recommendation did you receive from your primary care provider? Do you have an ongoing condition where a particular hospital’s expertise would be valuable in an emergency?
- Think about cost: There are often drastic differences in standard “chargemaster” rates between providers in a local area. Use Healthcare Bluebook™, which is accessible from your Samaritan Dashboard, and identify which providers are “green” fair-priced providers. Call the providers and ask them about their cash-pay patient billing practices, their standard self-pay discounts, and what additional programs might be available for cash-pay patients.
Samaritan Ministries is also available to assist. Contact Samaritan’s Provider Relations team with questions by emailing [email protected].
Review and compare
As you compare the results of your findings, what are your observations? Which provider is the best choice for you and your family for both quality care and fair pricing?
Inform and prepare your family
Have this mindset: “If we have an emergency medical situation in the future, here’s our family plan …”
- “We call our primary care provider at the following number …”
- “We will normally go to this urgent care provider whose address and phone number is ...”
- “When we need to go to the ER, the hospital we want to go to is …, and their address is …”
(iStock/JazzIRT)
For those in your family of driving age, do a family practice drive from your home to the provider(s) you have chosen.
Emergency room ‘paperwork’
When that emergency finally occurs, and you arrive in the ER, you or your family member will be presented with paperwork (digital or physical) to review and sign. One of the documents you will be asked to sign is a financial responsibility form. It will state that you, as the patient, accept full and ultimate financial responsibility for all billed services.
The fact that you need services in the ER means they, to a certain degree, have the upper hand already. And most of the financial responsibility documents are presented as if they are required and cannot be modified. Neither is true.
Before signing a financial responsibility document, it is recommended that you modify it by writing in (or requiring data entry of) the following statement before you sign:
I consent and acknowledge responsibility of payment for appropriate treatment with reasonable charges up to two times the Medicare rate.
Tip: Copy and paste this sentence into your phone, so you can access it to be used in an emergency situation!
Once you have inserted this statement and signed the document, take a photo of it with your phone and hold onto it. This type of modifier is not a slam dunk that ensures a fair price, but it will go a long way toward ensuring a fair price in the final outcome.
We don’t plan for emergencies, but by following a few easy steps, we can be prepared and receive quality care for a fair price when the worst comes.