Referral & Patient Assignment

LifeCare requires a medical referral/order for therapy services.  Referrals can come via phone/fax/email from physicians, day care centers, insurance companies, word of mouth, etc.  The patient is called the same day, and the office reviews their information and verifies insurance coverage.  

Assignments are completed at the time of referral to both the supervisor and the assistant so the PT/OT knows whom to contact for the evaluation, assignments are timely, and the patient, as the customer, knows who will be following up on treatment.  We make exceptions to this when a therapist has a pending discharge and we expect the therapist to be available once the evaluation is done.  We will notify you in the patient's HUCU channel once the assignment is made.

Assignments are created in the EMR's Task feature, and the assignment is sent to the Evaluator and the Assistant (as needed) simultaneously. Assistants must wait to hear that the evaluation is done before setting up treatment. 

Please....

Check the EMR Tasks daily for new patient assignments. Pay attention to any specific notes or requests for scheduling (i.e., "call daughter to schedule") and insurance restrictions.

PT/OT/SLP | Contact patient within 24 hours of receipt of assignment to schedule an Evaluation and review Rx/medical records (Attachments Tab of EMR) prior to evaluation.

PTA/COTA | Contact the patient within 24 hours of receipt of the Initial Evaluation to schedule therapy.

Coordinate specific therapy appointment date(s) and time(s) for patients - we are not "drop in" as patients are not homebound.

Enter the appointments in the EMR Schedule.

Changes to Assignments

Under most circumstances, Assignment of Patients is completed by the LifeCare Admissions Coordinator and is based on factors such as the location of service and therapist availability.  There are situations in which it may be appropriate to request that a case be reassigned to meet patient preference and/or needs.  Examples of when this may occur include language preferences, male/female therapist, or specialized skills or knowledge (such as certification in lymphedema or vestibular rehabilitation).   If this happens, please request a Change of Assignment to LifeCare’s Admission Coordinator in HUCU.

How Many Patients Do You Want?

You will receive a weekly text with a link to our Airtable assignment, which lets us know you are available for patients. This way, when you know you have availability or a pending discharge, you can keep your caseload full.  If you are unable to accept any new patients for the upcoming week, enter a "0".