The integration of primary care sports medicine into an academic emergency medicine practice: academic and revenue enhancement.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether integrating primary care sports medicine into academic emergency medicine (EM) can enhance both revenue and the academic program.


METHODS
A retrospective descriptive review of all patients seen in a primary care sports medicine practice at a university hospital sports medicine clinic was done over a 24-month period. All patients seen initially in the ED for a sports injury either by the author or by another EM faculty member with follow-up by the author in the sports medicine clinic were included in the study group. The study group was analyzed for diagnoses, payor mix, and revenue generated by the ED follow-up sports medicine clinic visits.


RESULTS
There were 199 patients who met the inclusion criteria. This resulted in 483 ED follow-up sports medicine clinic visits. The author practiced 13 hours/week in the ED and 16 hours/week in the primary care sports medicine practice, which resulted in 1,536 sports medicine clinic hours. The study group accounted for 20% of the total patient volume in the author's primary care sports medicine practice. There were 111 lower-extremity injuries (knee 52%, foot/ankle 40%, hip/pelvis 8%), 81 upper-extremity injuries (hand/wrist 48%, shoulder 43%, elbow 9%), and seven spine injuries. Payor mix was 47% traditional indemnity, 45% HMO, 4% self-pay, and 4% Medicare/Medicaid. Total charges for the ED follow-up sports medicine clinic visits were $44,767 ($92.68/visit) and net receipts were $30,276 ($62.68/visit). This represented 20% of the total charges and 16% of the net receipts in the author's sports medicine practice during this period. Revenue generated by the ED follow-up sports medicine clinic visits could have supported 12% of the equivalent cost of the base pay for a full-time EM faculty position.


CONCLUSIONS
The integration of primary care sports medicine into an academic EM faculty practice can enhance revenue through the establishment of an ED follow-up sports medicine clinic while also providing an opportunity to expand resident learning experiences.
Veenema
K R
KR
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.
D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006123:Group Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006759:Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000458:organization & administration; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload