Neil H. Baum, MD, presented “Advocating for Your Patient” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in January 2021.
How to cite: Baum, Neil H. “Advocating for Your Patient” January 2021. Accessed Dec 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/advocating-for-your-patient/
Summary:
In this six-minute commentary, Grand Rounds in Urology Contributing Editor Neil H. Baum, MD, Professor of Urology at Tulane Medical School, discusses how to and why one should advocate for patients following a denial of coverage by an insurance company. He explains why insurers deny coverage for mediations, services, durable medical goods, and treatments, noting that even if a rejection is successfully appealed, the process adds weeks or months to the reimbursement. Dr. Baum shares a success story of going the extra mile for a patient and the lessons he learned from that experience. He highlights the value of pursuing these cases, particularly the most egregious rejections. While appealing a rejection will not always be successful, he contends that nothing provides as much satisfaction as advocating for one’s patient.
For more commentary from Dr. Baum, visit his Improving Your Urology Practice page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil H. Baum, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Urology at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a retired urologic surgeon. Additionally, Dr. Baum serves as the Medical Advisor to Vanguard Communications Group. Dr. Baum is the author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice - Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which is in its 4th edition, has sold over 175,000 copies, and has been translated into Spanish. He also wrote The Complete Business Guide to a Successful Medical Practice, which was published in 2015. Dr. Baum was the columnist for American Medical News for more than 25 years. Dr. Baum also wrote the popular column, “The Bottom Line,” for Urology Times for more than 20 years. He is a requested speaker each year to the Practice Management Seminar for the American Urological Association (AUA), where he discusses techniques for making urology practices more efficient and more productive. He has written more than 9 books on practice management and over 250 peer-reviewed articles on various urologic topics. Dr. Baum is also the medical advisor to Vanguard Communications Group.
