​Hospital Contracts with EmCare  Emergency Physician Services

 

 Raymond T. Hino, Chief Executive Officer of Bear Valley Community Healthcare District announced Monday June 30, 2014, that the District has reached an agreement with EmCare, one of the largest contract providers of emergency physician services in the United States, to begin providing emergency physician contract services beginning on July 15, 2014.  With over 920 hospital contracts in the United States, including many of the Nation’s Top 100 Hospitals, EmCare is the Country’s largest provider of emergency medicine services with over 40 years of experience and has an impeccable reputation for high quality emergency physician services. 

Southern California Hospitals currently with EmCare for:

·         Barstow Community Hospital

·         Citrus Valley Medical Center – Intercommunity

·         Citrus Valley Medical Center – Queen of the Valley

·         Lakewood Regional Medical Center

·         Lompoc Valley Medical Center

·         Marina Del Rey Hospital

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·         Palmdale Regional Medical Center

·         Sierra View District Hospital

We at Bear Valley Community Healthcare District were impressed by EmCare’s dedication to high quality medical care and high quality customer service. 

 

Here are some of the programs that EmCare will be bringing to BVCHD:

*         Nursing support provided by EmCare’s Director of Clinical Services, who provides in-service training on EMTALA, compliance, risk management and documentation, conducts operational assessments, recommends and implements initiatives to improve efficiency, supports the implementation of new services, and provides consultative services to the hospital’s ED nursing staff from the triage process to the Joint Commission.

*          Quality Management Resources for operational efficiency and superior customer service including LEAN, Studer Group and Fail-Safe

*           Qualitick Bedside patient experience data collection system using tablet computers

*          CompleteCare, a program by which a full time combined emergency department and hospitalist physician practice management service are combined into one, resulting in improved physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction, clinical quality and continuity of care.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about the switch to EmCare: 

*            Did BVCHD terminate the contract with previous emergency room physician group, Team Health?

No.  Team Health, gave 90-day notice of its right to terminate the ER group contract on April 14, 2014.  Team Health will conclude its service to BVCHD on July 15, 2014. 

*          Was EmCare the only group that BVCHD considered?

 No.  BVCHD received proposals from 4 emergency group physician companies.  They were Team Health, EmCare, Valley Emergency Physicians and HealthSource Partners. 

*           Will EmCare be providing both the emergency physician group coverage and the hospitalist physician coverage? 

Yes.  The proposal from EmCare is to provide both emergency physician coverage and hospitalist coverage.  However, on July 15 only the emergency room physician coverage will begin.  Hospitalist coverage through EmCare will not start until a mutually agreed upon time later in 2014. 

*           Will EmCare physicians be good doctors?

Yes.  EmCare uses many of the same doctors that Team Health uses.  5 current ER doctors have signed up to continue to provide services under EmCare when the new contract starts on July 15. 

All physicians must be approved by the BVCHD Medical Staff Executive Committee and the Board of Directors prior to working here. 

The Medical Executive Committee and Board of Directors require verification of training, recent hospital experience in the relevant area and Board certification (or Board eligibility) for all physicians that apply for privileges at BVCHD. 

Additionally, the MEC and Board of Directors will be evaluating track record, including any malpractice experience. 

*          Will all EmCare emergency room physicians be Board Certified in emergency medicine?

 No.   EmCare has the same practice that Team Health is currently using.  That is that all emergency room physicians must be Board certified in a relevant specialty field (emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine) and must demonstrate recent experience working in a hospital emergency room department.  Therefore, currently not all Team Health doctors are Board certified in emergency medicine and EmCare will follow the same policy that Team Health followed.