Discover Your SDCMS FAQ Database

Whenever I, your SDCMS physician advocate, or Lauren Wendler, your SDCMS office manager advocate, answer a question posed by a member physician or his or her office manager, we log both the question and the answer into an FAQ database that is now available as a members-only benefit at SDCMS.org.

To access SDCMS' FAQ database, simply go to SDCMS.org, hover your cursor over the blue "Physicians and Office Staff" tab in the upper left, scroll down the menu options until you get to "FAQ," and click. Once there you can search by keyword categories that encompass economic advocacy questions, employment questions, legal advocacy questions, licensure questions, member benefit questions, and more. In order to access the answers though, you must be logged in as an SDCMS member physician or the office manager of a member physician. Lauren and I are here to help if you have trouble logging in. Some examples of what you'll find in our online FAQ database include:

Economic Advocacy

QUESTION: I no longer want to take TRICARE patients. What do I need to do to terminate my contract?
ANSWER: Physicians who wish to terminate their contract with TRICARE should send a 90-day termination letter to Blue Shield TRICARE, Attn.: Provider Relations, P.O. Box 629017, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-9017.

QUESTION: I treat patients from my home state, and I have a patient stuck paying for medical bills because the out-of-state insurance company will not pay for it. The patient verbally consented to pay for the bills, but is mad at me. What can I do?
ANSWER: Best practice is always to have the patient sign a release of financial responsibility so that the patient is very clear that they will be responsible for services that are not covered by their insurance plan. The physician should also inform the patient at the time of service that in the event the service is not covered by the patient's plan, the patient will be financially responsible. CMA ON-CALL document #0110 ("Billing Patients") has sample release forms. If the physician is not contracted with the insurance company, then the physician can and should bill the patient.

Legal Advocacy

QUESTION: If a receptionist is trained by the physician they work for, and the physician's medical assistant is not present, but the physician has the receptionist (who is trained) continue the duties of the medical assistant, is there anything wrong with this from a professional liability standpoint?
ANSWER: According to The Doctors Company, as long as the physician has documented the hours spent in training and the physician has this covered in his or her professional liability coverage policy, then this is fine. The Medical Board of California has posted the hours required for medical assistant training on its website at medbd.ca.gov.

QUESTION: I received a subpoena from a public defender for one of my patients. My patient does not want me to release their records. What do I do?
ANSWER: Most subpoenas that physicians receive arise out of civil lawsuits during the discovery process prior to trial and ask for the production of medical records only. This type of request is called a "Deposition Subpoena for Production of Business Records." Because patients have a right of privacy with respect to medical information, special requirements apply to subpoenas for medical records. Physicians should refer to CMA ON-CALL document #1180, "Subpoenas: Guides for Responding," for further clarification.

Member Benefits

QUESTION: How can I take advantage of the free assessment of network and hardware member benefit?
ANSWER: SOUNDOFF Computing Corporation (soundoffcomputing.com) is SDCMS' endorsed information technology (IT) partner. SDCMS member physicians receive free site inspections and subsequent infrastructure recommendations; free inventory and assessment of network and hardware computing assets; free analysis of Internet/Telco/data activity, and subsequent ROI recommendations. Contact Ofer Shimrat at (858) 569-0300.

QUESTION: Does SDCMS or CMA have a discounted auto insurance benefit?
ANSWER: Along with your spouse, you as an SDCMS-CMA member can receive a 4.5-14 percent discount on all lines of coverage from the Automobile Club of Southern California. Contact AAA at (800) 924-6141.