Tip of the week: Require minimum ED call days

One approach to providing adequate emergency department (ED) call coverage is to require each medical staff member to work a minimum number of days of call. Reimburse for additional days a medical staff member provides ED call coverage.

The benefit of this approach is that specialties in short supply of coverage would have minimum required coverage without compensation, with the extra coverage through a reimbursement formula. In addition, medical staff members would demonstrate their commitment to ED coverage for the community.

However, there are also disadvantages. This approach does not address the severity or frequency of patients while on call. Therefore, developing the exact reimbursement formula that is fair and equitable among the specialties is challenging. Once a stipend program is started to compensate for excess days of coverage, it might stop escalating.

This week’s tip is an excerpt from Emergency Department On-Call Strategies, Second Edition by Jonathan H. Burroughs, MD, MBA, FACPE, CMSL; Martin B. Buser, MPH, FACHE; Roger A, Heroux, MHA, PhD, FACHE; and Richard A. Sheff, MD, CMSL.