A Literature Analysis Project is a Key Component of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Family Medicine Residency Program PGY-3 Practice Management Curriculum. The Program Stresses ACGME “Outcomes” over “Content” in Resident Assessments and Evaluations. INTRODUCTION During the PGY-3 Block Rotation in Practice Management, Residents were Required to Read the Selected Article on Medicolegal Recommendations for Sports Medicine Physicians: Practical and Critical Legal Concerns for Sports Medicine Physicians and Athletic Trainers. Chen S, Esposito EN. The Sport Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, supplement/vol12no2/LegalConcerns.asp KEY MEDICOLEGAL AREAS EXPLORED IN THE ASSIGNED REVIEW ARTICLE: 1.GOOD PHYSICIAN-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP 2.INFORMED CONSENT & WRITTEN CONSENT 3.PATIENT EDUCATION ISSUES 4.PRE-PARTICIPATION CLEARANCE 5.PROPER DOCUMENTATION OF HAZARDS THE RESIDENTS WERE REQUIRED TO WRITE A SAMPLE OFFICE POLICY THAT WILL IMPLEMENT THE CASE LAW RECOMMENDATIONS IN THESE FIVE KEY MEDICOLEGAL AREAS. LEARNING OBJECTIVES : LEARN TO TRANSLATE LEGALLY-COMPLEX RECOMMENDATIONS INTO CLEAR STANDARDS OF CARE TEACH RESIDENTS THE PROPER METHOD OF CREATING GOOD MEDICAL OFFICE POLICY STATEMENTS STIMULATE THOUGHTS OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR FUTURE PRIVATE SPORTS MEDICINE PRACTICES RESULTS OF “BRAINSTORMING” and “EDITING” PROCESS: After Verbal ‘Problem-Solving’ Discussions, Each Resident Produced 1 Page of Suggested Policy Statements for EACH of the Above Key Medicolegal Areas: *SAMPLE PAGES BELOW* EXAMPLES OF FINISHED POLICY STATEMENTS: AREA 1. “Open access” scheduling will be used for 50% of the daily office schedule. During July and August, this percentage will increase to 75% of the daily office schedule. All patient phone calls to the office will be addressed that day. On a quarterly basis, the office manager will mail a practice satisfaction survey to a randomly chosen group of patients for Continuous Quality Improvement activities. AREA 2. Athletes (and guardians) must sign a release stating they understand that participation in athletic events predisposes to unforeseen risk of injury, disability, and death. For those patients who wish to participate despite being informed of the risks of declining our treatment for their injury, an “assumption of risk” form must be completed and retained in the record. AREA 3. Patient education materials will be posted on the practice’s website for downloading for home use. Telephone requests for condition-specific information will be recorded in the patients record. All examination rooms will be stocked with physician-approved handout sheets. AREA 4. All patients will have the following vital signs obtained and recorded in the record: height, weight,BMI, blood pressure in both arms, pulse, temperature, and vision screen. Patients will be instructed to bring any, and all necessary forms from organizations for completion during the pre-participation examination. AREA 5. Records will be stored electronically in a secure off-site computer file storage facility. All athletes will have a traveling medical record that will be securely transported to events for field-side coverage. Prior to competition, the covering physician will review all traveling charts for pertinent hazards and document the contingency plan for these specific hazards. TEACHING MEDICOLEGAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN SPORTS MEDICINE TO FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENTS: WRITING SAMPLE OFFICE POLICY David Kolva, M.D. Jason Matuszak, M.D. & Todd Lorenc, M.D. St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Family Medicine Residency Program SUNY Upstate Medical University Department of Family Medicine Syracuse, New York GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF “POLICY STATEMENTS” Must Be Clear and Concise Easily Understandable by ALL Office Staff Based on Average Literacy “User-Friendly” Print or Electronic Format with Searchable Index Anticipate Common Contingencies Promote Patient Safety and Improved Quality of Care Address Staff Behaviors that MUST Conform to ‘Written Policy’ instead of ‘Usual Practice’ Behaviors