I am on both sides of this Specialist vs PCP issues. I am a PCP by board certification. I am Family Practice. I am also Sports Medicine and I really am only a specialist in this area...there are a couple random exceptions where people who don't have docs and see me for sports injuries or ortho stuff, come to me for random blood tests and such.
So from the point of view of the specialist, I would like to see a note from the PCP on what they did for the patient already and their thoughts. It is funny. I am the specialist now and I always hated when specialists didn't send me notes or communicate when i was in FP residency but now it is the opposite, i don't get a response from the PCP. I don't get notes, i just get a patient showing up saying so and so sent me here.
From my point of view on notes, I only send the first note (initial visit) and the discharge note on each patient's problem. So if they showed up a month later with an arm injury and i already saw them for a leg thing but the PCP didn't send them, I still send a note so the PCP knows that there was an arm injury now and I am treating them for it and then when I am done.
thoughts?
and leslie..the specialists increased value is going to be taken away once everyone jumps on medicare ship of not allowing us to charge consults...right now BCBS of michigan already doesn't allow us to charge consults.
