Pathways

LifeGuard has developed a 6-month program to assist emergency medicine physicians with a pathway to return to board eligibility with the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM). The program has been approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. The assessment phase will provide LifeGuard team members with an understanding of any medical knowledge deficits and/or gaps through use of several assessment tools.

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A Gallup Clifton Strengths Assessment will be administered with follow-up sessions throughout the 6-month period to facilitate the identification of the physician's strengths using their talents most effectively to achieve their exam goals. Individual learning activities conducted through the program are focused on current emergency medicine topics as well as activities relevant to information gathered about the physician during the assessment phase. 

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Finally, the clinical practice phase entails the oversight of the physician during their clinical practice by a board-certified emergency medicine physician at the physician's practice location. A final report regarding the physician's performance related to established goals is provided to the physician and ABEM.

LifeGuard's ATM Program combines Assessment, Training and Monitoring to evaluate a provider's knowledge of prescribing opioids/controlled substances and buprenorphine, as well as appropriate treatment decisions and documentation. Infection control practices are also included in the ATM program suite of services.

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• The assessment is conducted utilizing several tools, including but not limited to knowledge testing, practice policy/procedure review, and record review/recall.

• Training is provided based on any deficits discovered during the evaluation of the provider's performance in the assessment portion. Training modules can include additional literature review provided LifeGuard®; recommended revisions to, clarifications of, or further developing the provider's practice policies and procedures; and one-on-one education.

• Following the assessment and training phases, monitoring is conducted of the provider's practice related to opioids and controlled substance prescribing, and the care and treatment of patients with chronic pain. Monitoring is completed using established criteria based on current state guidelines and other regulatory/statutory requirements, as well as the provider's practice policies. The monitoring focuses on the provider's ability to demonstrate compliance with their own policies and procedures, state and federal guidelines/regulations, as well as best practices regarding care, treatment and documentation.

The primary areas of focus for our practice monitoring program included assessment of the physician's adherence to standards of care and treatment generally related to prescribing of opioids for acute and chronic pain management, buprenorphine for addiction medicine, other controlled substances and infection control protocol and practices. Key components include: a comprehensive evaluation of current clinical and medical record documentation practices, detailed recommendations for improvement, and ongoing monitoring to ensure successful implementation of recommended changes or adherence to quality-of-care standards.

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Each member of the monitoring team is carefully selected to ensure alignment of their expertise with the needs of the physician being monitored. In preparation for practice monitoring, our team of evaluators will request documentation and conduct on-site observations at the practice when appropriate. LifeGuard team members will review all documentation provided and assess care and treatment based not only on the physician's policies and procedures, but also alignment with recognized standards of care and treatment.

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Assessments and plans for remediation are completed in person or virtual remote reviews, followed by supportive clinical strategies, protocols and practices that can be integrated moving forward. Specific recommendations can include enhancement in medical record processes, participation in tailored medical education (CME) and mentoring.