Non Emergency Medical Transportation business

Everyday, thousands of patients and their families are faced with the challenge of arranging non emergency medical transportation for their loved ones. The federal and state government recognizes the importance of meeting the transportation needs of medically frail patients who do not require emergency medical transportation. The United States Congress enacted Section 6083 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to allow the introduction of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (“NEMT”) brokerage systems for Medicaid recipients at the state level.

Non-emergency medical transportation involves getting a patient to and from the source of
medical care when the medical condition is not life threatening. This includes non-emergency
ambulance, medi-car, taxicab, service car, livery or private automobile. The Non-Emergency Medical Transport (NEMT) business service is a growing Industry as the need for this specialized service continues to grow. Many existing companies and new businesses are venturing into the NEMT business as an additional source of revenue or as a stand alone profitable business. However, the start up process for Non emergency Medical Transportation business is moderately difficult. Recent study published in a business journal in 2009 indicates 69% of businesses that venture into the NEMT business abandon the start up process. This is due to lack of correct information or unavailability of information to help with the start up process.
There is more to non emergency transportation management than getting from one location to the next. The NEMT business is heavily impacted by laws and regulations that are specific to states, counties or municipalities. Businesses that start an NEMT business with an informative and detailed start up guide have a higher chance making it past the start up phase.
NEMT services are a good business by all accounts. This is a service that is needed. The elderly, disabled people including veterans, people with chronic medical conditions that require frequent medical appointments rely heavily on NEMT businesses to get their medical needs met.
The recent economic hardships have resulted in lower revenues for taxi and limousine and other companies. An NEMT business provides a solid and steady base of revenue for these businesses. However the success of any NEMT business is highly dependent on the establishing effective policies and procedures, education and training programs for staff, quality improvement programs and practices and most important an effective marketing strategy.The Non Emergency Medical Transportation start-up guide by Precision Management provides direct and detailed answers to the daunting questions that confront businesses during the start up process. The start up guides goes further to address policies and procedures requirements, success proven marketing strategies, risk management. Ultimately, the goal of the guide is to help NEMT businesses achieve a higher customer satisfaction and the success of new businesses in the NEMT service industry.

All About Family, School And Medical Social Workers

Social work is a growing area and profession, and the main purpose is to improve the quality of life for other people in whatever way possible. This area is further divided into many different sub areas or specialties so there can be many different types of professionals in the field.

One of the most popular types of social workers is family or school social workers. The main responsibility of these workers is to help families cope with situations that can be stressful, such as a death in the family or divorce. If there is any situation in a family which is less than ideal, it can have far-reaching impact on the members, especially children. Therefore, it is important to have social workers who can help families adapt to the new circumstances.

There are many different family cases where workers are needed such as in families with single parents, foster families, and children who are adopted or even abused. Workers who are specialized to deal with children are known as child protective workers. In school, these people can help raise awareness about different important issues such as drugs and safety, and can also provide counseling to children.

There are also many social workers who work with the mentally unstable, and help them have a chance at a normal life. People who have mental illnesses may need guidance and help to get through, and this is what the workers provide. Specialists in this area of the field can help such people through therapy, intervention and even rehabilitation programs. Not just that, the family members of such patients, also need help to cope with the patient and to understand how to handle difficult situations, and workers can help them learn more about this. People who have addictions and substance abuse problems can also get help. Substance abuse workers are usually available in clinics and hospitals.

Last but not least are the medial social workers who work with patients with different kinds of diseases and conditions. These workers help extend care to the patients and help them cope with the disease which can be anything ranging from AIDS to Alzheimer’s. If a patient needs home care, this can also be arranged by the workers. Social professionals who deal with patients needing organ transplants, are also known as clinical workers. These are some common types of social workers, and there are other categories that you can work in as well.

Make right choice to travel abroad for medical treatment

In February, Jonathan Reeder had never heard of medical tourism. But today, he sings praises to one such medical tourism company WorldMedAssist.com for finding him an affordable option for the prostate surgery he needed.

Reeder knew when he left his dental practice in Houston to do dental contract work, hed either need to self-insure or find an affordable private pay policy. While researching his options, he got alarming news from his doctor: his PSA test results had soared from an alert-level 5 to alarm-level 8. This put him into the dreaded category of “pre-existing condition,” and therefore uninsurable.

When his biopsy came back positive for prostate cancer in February, he had three alternatives: watch and wait, radiation, or surgery. Wanting to get this behind him as quickly as possible, he chose surgery. Then came more bad news: The surgeons fee alone would cost $36,000. “Who knows what the total would have been by the time you add in hospital fees, anesthesiologist, tests, but probably around $50,000.” Reeder said.

His wife remembered an article theyd both read in AARP Magazine about medical tourism a few years earlier. Searching online under medical tourism, he found several companies offering to coordinate all details of his radical prostatectomy.

“Some websites were clumsy, some people I contacted were too aggressive, some had such broken English I couldnt understand them,” Reeder recalled. “I finally landed on www.WorldMedAssist.com. I got in touch with Wouter Hoeberechts, the CEO, who did a lot of research on my options, hoping we could find a place that would do laparoscopic surgery using a robotic arm. Turns out, this was not an option for me.”

WorldMed Assist hunted for the best doctor and the best hospital for Reeders open surgery. Ultimately, WorldMed Assist was able to offer the best cost with the best doctor at the best hospital in Hyderabad, India. When WorldMed Assist told Reeder his trip to India would cost $7,500, including all his medical expenses, travel and hotel, the deal was sealed in Reeders mind. But Hoeberechts urged him first to have his own physicians weigh in on the choice.

“Both my family physician and urologist checked out WorldMed Assists recommendation, and both agreed this was a good choice,” Reeder said. “The doctor is UK board certified, had a stellar reputation. I have a lot of friends and relatives whose U.S. physicians are from India, so I wasnt at all nervous about my decision I knew India had a reputation for high quality medicine, and I learned that Apollo Hospital was affiliated with Johns Hopkins.”

The surgery was scheduled for May 9. “All I had to do was make the payment, book my travel and get on the plane. WorldMed Assists travel agency partner, Carson Wagonlit, got me a great fare, with good connections,” Reeder said. “WorldMed Assist set up phone consultations with my doctor in India and transferred my medical records. All I had to do was show up.”

When he arrived at Indias Hyderabad airport, he was met by an executive team, who shuttled him directly to Apollo, showed him to his room, and told him to rest up for a two-day battery of pre-op tests that would begin the next morning. “I didnt have any medical procedures that first night, and they didnt even charge me for the room!” he said.

The thoroughness of the pre-op work amazed Reeder. “Besides the typical tests, they did an MRI and a bone scan, plus put me on the treadmill to make sure my heart would take the surgery. This was all included in my $7500 bill. Imagine how many lines of additional charges would have been on my bill if I were doing this in the U.S.”

His surgery lasted two hours and forty minutes, then off to spend the night in the trauma intensive care unit. “Since my wife wasnt able to go to India with me, Wouter called her at least four times during the 24 hours following my surgery,” he said. “He stayed on top of all the details, and relayed progress reports so shed know whether I was coming home or if she could collect on my life insurance,” he said with a grin.

Reeder was discharged after three days. “Looking into the big brown eyes of nurses with such beautiful skin must be why I recovered so fast,” he smirked.

After his discharge, Reeder had a week to tour Hyderabad before returning to Apollo to have his staples removed. The one thing he wanted most to see was a sacred cow. He didnt have to look far. “Cows walked down the middle of the road, creating chaotic traffic. No one wanted to hit a cow, so traffic would come to a complete stop, waiting for the cows to determine their course.”

Reeders experience in India turned him into a devoted fan of medical tourism. “As a dentist, I have more familiarity with the medical system than the average American. Given my situation of no insurance, I made the right choice going to India. WorldMed Assist made it all so easy. Everything was turnkey and flawless, and the medical care was excellent.” he said.

The Importance of Hospital Billing in the Medical Community

The medical industry is comprised of many divisions and sections which all work together to offer patients a positive experience. This is true whether services are provided through an emergency care center, doctor’s office or any of the many types of medical help offices available. While many will focus on procedures performed at various hospitals and treatment centers, medical service administrative functions are equally as important, including hospital billing.

Hospital billing brings together charges based upon patient stays or procedures performed at a hospital. By coordinating with doctors’ offices throughout the community, this financial department can ensure a smooth relationship between doctors and patients. Because the medical billing process can be complicated, it is important for all entities involved to check information and avoid any discrepancies the patient might find.

While many hospitals employ their own accounting departments, the practice of outsourcing accounting services has risen over the years. This practice can save money while offering a more streamlined process to keep errors to a minimum. Outside sources work hard to provide state-of-the-art technology that can keep transaction costs down while eliminating problems such as fraud. Finding a service that can balance the complexity of a medical network can be a cost saving option that is valuable in economic down times.

In order to maintain a smooth accounting process, doctors should be willing to coordinate their own billing practices with the medical community. If they choose not to participate, errors might occur due to inconsistencies between accounting sources. Doctors should consider being on the same system as community hospitals in order to experience the best value for money invested.

Many healthcare practice management companies exist to provide integrated accounts receivable services for medical communities. Offering professional services with highly experienced staff and management, they often provide a group package at considerable savings that can encompass the entire community’s needs for consistent accounting and collections. Through proven success with the companies they represent, healthcare billing services enable doctors and medical services to focus on their patients’ needs and provide excellent health care.

Medical accounts receivable services will cover all aspects of hospital billing. This includes insurance transactions and follow-up as well as self-pay with follow-up and third-party payments. All aspects of the process will be scrutinized and followed through so that patients can enjoy a more relaxed experience at potentially trying times. Allowing for a more personal patient/doctor relationship, the right hospital billing service can work with the medical community to put an end to financial headaches while making doctors’ practices and hospitals’ procedures more profitable.

Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is the process of traveling abroad in order to receive medical care, be it cosmetic surgery, heart surgery, breast implants, a hip replacement, or dental work.

Rising health care costs and longer waiting times in the western countries like United States, Canada, and UK etc. are inducing patients to seek treatment overseas. While U.S. consumers are concerned mainly with the exorbitant cost of health care, Canadians are more troubled by wait-times for certain treatments. Indeed, approximately 1 million Canadians claim to be experiencing difficulties in access to care. As for UK, it is believed that more than 50,000 people from the UK travel for treatment abroad because of high medical care costs in UK.

Medical Tourism in South Korea South Korea has been growing as a tourist destination of choice for health and vacation because of their world class physicians, modern technology, and unique caring and compassion at great values for money at a fraction of the cost in the west. The country is home to some of the best hospitals and stand alone Specialty clinics in the world, offering world-class expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and the warmth of hospitality. Also, some of the world’s best spa retreat resorts and tour destinations can be found in this part of the earth. Additionally, it’s not unusual to find plus accommodations, foreign language translators, and other amenities at some of the major facilities.

South Korea has made its initial foray into the lucrative market of medical tourism by launching the Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion. Funded by the Government and 28 private hospitals, this organization will market medical packages to foreign patients seeking affordable health care. The Council has initiated a set of measures to promote the medical vacation industry by aiding hospitals in their marketing strategies. In this way, South Korea can generate greater overseas awareness of the country’s medical and tourism offerings. According to a Council official:

The average charge for an in-patient visit in a US hospital is dollar3,762, which is 13 times higher than in South Korea.

The average charge for outpatients in the US is dollar13,000 which is 9 times higher than in South Korea. South Korea’s affordable health care system has seen the number of foreign patients rise from 10,000 to 13,000 in just 2 years. With all these added measures in place, South Korea is on its way to claim its share in the prosperous medical vacation business

Benefits of Medical Tourism Health care costs are constantly on the rise in countless Western countries. In the US alone, it is already a multi-billion dollar industry that shows no sign of stopping (worldwide it is over dollar3 trillion US). But why pay exorbitant prices at home when you can travel abroad and receive the same treatment (if not better) from a fully certified medical facility for a fraction of the price?