Disability Consulting for Physicians

August 14-15, 2008
Falmouth, MA

Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort

Executive Summary

Disability consulting is a growing and lucrative medical-legal field which offers opportunities for physicians beyond the traditional medical-legal work of IMEs and expert witnessing. These opportunities are for physicians of wide ranging specialties for full time, part time, and work at home employment/consulting assignments. It is a perfect field for physicians who dislike testifying, travel, and confrontation and who wish to apply their expertise in a way different from IMEs and testifying. Disability Consulting For Physicians prepares physicians to excel in the niche of disability consulting. This unique course is taught by a highly-qualified faculty and attendees will be provided with information unavailable elsewhere.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this two-day interactive workshop you will be able to:

• Determine the specific career opportunities available to you in Disability Consulting
• Understand what a high quality file review consists of
• Learn the key medical-legal disability issues
• Understand the differing disability standards and contractual terms
• Efficiently write concise file reviews with supportable opinions
• Understand how to deal with issues such as:
        • Functional ability
        • Diagnostic tests
        • Impacts of medications on ability to work
• Market yourself directly and confidently to disability insurers
• Understand the effects of inactivity
• Appreciate the pros and cons of developing an independent consulting practice

Distinguished Faculty

Robert N. Anfield, MD, JD, FAAFP is Lead Medical Director of Cigna Group Insurance and is a former Regional Medical Director for Aetna. He has 20 years of experience managing disability. His experience began at Ameritech, a regional telecommunications company headquartered in Chicago, IL, where, as a Manager, Corporate Occupational Medicine he was responsible for the integrated management of the STD, LTD and workers’ compensation experience of Ameritech’s 70,000 employees. Subsequently, Dr. Anfield was employed by UnumProvident Corporation as a Medical Director and also served as the Corporate Medical Director of GENEX. Dr. Anfield has had extensive experience in the disability consulting field including: defining role, authority and accountability of physicians within the claim process, developing and implementing processes for claim referrals to medical professionals, developing and implementing recommendations for organization and staffing of physicians within claims, recruiting and hiring physicians, developing and implementing metrics and reporting methodology to track physician productivity, developing and implementing policies and process for on-going credentialing of physicians, budgeting for and managing and organization of 100+ physicians at 4 U.S. sites. Dr. Anfield has testified regarding private sector disability programs and recommendations to improve the Social Security Administration’s disability claim process before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Social Security (2002) and before the Social Security Advisory Board (2005). Dr. Anfield’s area of practice is Occupational and Environmental Medicine; he is board certified in Family Medicine and holds degrees from Indiana University School of Medicine and the UCLA School of Law. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Steven Babitsky, Esq., is the President of SEAK, Inc. He was a personal injury trial attorney for twenty years and is the former managing partner of the firm Kistin, Babitsky, Latimer & Beitman. Mr. Babitsky is a prolific writer on expert witness issues and is the co-author of the texts Cross-Examination: The Comprehensive Guide for Experts, Writing and Defending Your Expert Report: The Step-by-Step Guide with Models, How to Excel During Cross-Examination: Techniques for Experts That Work, The Comprehensive Forensic Services Manual: The Essential Resources for All Experts, 2004 National Guide To Expert Witness Fees and Billing Procedures and How to Excel During Depositions: Techniques for Experts That Work.

Alan Neuren, MD is a disability consultant in Brunswick, Maine. He received his B.A. from Bowdoin College and his M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Neuren is Board Certified in psychiatry and neurology. After 19 years of owning and managing his own private neurology practice and performing a significant number of independent medical evaluations, Dr. Neuron made a career change into disability consulting. Dr. Neuren is a former Vice-President Medical Director UnumProvident and currently is an independent consultant for PDA, DRMS, and UNUM. Dr. Neuren has completed thousands of disability consulting assignments over the past 10 years.

Tuition

Tuition is $1,195. Tuition includes continental breakfast, lunch with faculty each day and a detailed conference manual.

Click here for registration information.

Continuing Education Information

Click here for Continuing Education Information.

Schedule

Thursday, August 14, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008

Thursday, August 14, 2008

7:30-8:00Continental Breakfast

8:00-8:15Introduction
The faculty introduces themselves, explains the goals of the course and the interactive teaching methodology that will be utilized.

8:15-9:00Disability Medical-Legal Issues
In this segment the faculty will begin with a review and discussion of the key medical-legal issues facing disability consultants including: diagnosis, impairment, disability, and ability to work. Questions and Answers

9:00-9:30File Reviews Overview
Faculty will explain and demonstrate what a high quality file review consists of and what is outside the scope of the file review. A discussion of medical records, what is and what is not in the file, and the crucial importance of credibility and consistency of the medical findings and complaints will follow. Questions and Answers

9:30-10:15Functional Ability
Faculty will review what the latest clinical data tells physicians about functional ability. Discussion will include: physical examination, functional damage, constellations of symptoms and connecting the dots and the medical contraindications to work. Questions and Answers

10:15-10:30BREAK AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY

10:30-11:30Reasonable and Appropriate Care
Faculty will review the applicable standards and best practices with regard to reasonable and appropriate care. The effectiveness of treatments; what does and does not work and how to support findings will be presented. The practical implications for disability consultants will be explored with the attendees. Questions and Answers

11:30-12:00Disability Contracts
Faculty will explain and demonstrate with examples the language in standardized disability policies (contracts), the old occupation versus any occupation definition and the changes in definitions and their implication for file reviews and disability consultants. Questions and Answers

12:00-12:45LUNCH PROVIDED WITH FACULTY

12:45-1:45Red Flags for Disability/Impairment
In this session, concrete examples of indications of disability/impairment, paper trails and their significance, indicia of ability, and the impact of secondary gain will be presented. Questions and Answers

1:45-2:45Medications
Faculty will discuss and provide specific examples of the impact of medications on the ability to work. The discussion will include: dosing, side effects, and cognitive impairments. Questions and Answers

2:45-3:00BREAK AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY

3:00-3:45Diagnostic Testing
The faculty will present the most commonly used/abused diagnostic tests and the relationship of findings to functional ability. A discussion of the over reliance on test results will take place with the attendees. Questions and Answers

3:45-4:15Disability Challenges
A discussion of the practical disability evaluation challenges faced by physicians will be presented with proposed solutions. Included in the discussion will be time constraints, missing records/information, and the expectations of insurers. Questions and Answers

4:15-4:45Ethics
The faculty will identify and lead a frank discussion of the ethical challenges faced by physician disability consultants including: maintaining your credibility and effectiveness, always being able to defend your findings and never having to say you are sorry. Questions and Answers

4:45-5:00Concluding Remarks
Concluding remarks will be followed with an open and frank give and take between the faculty and the attendees.

Friday, August 15, 2008

6:30-7:00Continental Breakfast

7:00-8:30Writing File Reviews
The faculty will explain and demonstrate a protocol and style physicians can utilize to write high quality file reviews. Included will be a discussion of efficiency, conciseness, and how to express your opinions properly dealing with: the weight of the evidence, collateral evidence, support with objective facts/data and opining on the ability to do past, light, or other work. Questions & Answers

8:30-9:00Effects of Inactivity
A discussion of the latest medical and scientific research of the data on the effects of inactivity and the beneficial effects of work will be presented. Questions & Answers

9:00-9:15BREAK & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY

9:15-10:00Marketing
A practical discussion of how to obtain high quality work, what the disability companies are really looking for, and making yourself desirable will be led by the faculty. Questions & Answers

10:00-10:15BREAK & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY

10:15-12:00Disability Case Studies
The faculty will present disability case studies from differing specialties and work through them with the attendees. Attention will be paid to disability consulting; advanced techniques and strategies to bring to life many of the disability concepts covered in the workshop. Questions & Answers

12:00-12:45LUNCH PROVIDED WITH FACULTY

12:45-1:45Practice Setting for Physicians
A frank and lively discussion of the type of disability consulting practices available to physicians (in-house vs. independent) will be presented and the advantages and disadvantages of each will be explained. The faculty will discuss how to start and run a disability consulting practice, working as an employee, and how to find and maintain high quality work. Questions & Answers

1:45-2:30Takeaways, Conclusion and Evaluation
The faculty will answer any and all outstanding questions. The faculty and attendees will then work together to develop a “bulletpoint” list of the most important concepts, techniques and action steps learned in this workshop. Questions and Answers.