Court-Appointed Roles - Patient Care Ombudsman

 

The Patient Care Ombudsman is a professional role applicable in healthcare bankruptcies filed under Chapters 7, 9 or 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Ombudsman position, awarded no later than 30 days after the commencement of a case, is responsible for monitoring the quality of patient care, representing patient interests and addressing cross-disciplinary financial, operational and clinical concerns within a distressed healthcare organization.

 

Focus healthcare professionals possess the following characteristics, making them uniquely qualified to serve as a Patient Care Ombudsman:

 

• Familiarity with standards to insure the highest quality of care – Focus has experience working with healthcare staff and can assess whether they meet Joint Commission on Accreditation standards, state regulatory standards and national regulatory requirements.

• Experience with patients and patient issues – Focus Professionals have extensive experience dealing with patients on satisfaction and quality of service.

• Familiarity with HIPAA requirements – Focus Professionals are well versed in all aspects of HIPAA and other confidentiality requirements required in directing healthcare operations.

• Experience with professional medical liability issues – Focus has experience with professional medical liability, general liability and special liability challenges that face healthcare delivery organizations.

• Extensive Reorganization and Business Consulting Skills – Focus has worked directly on the operations and management of distressed or insolvent facilities on a daily basis.

• Bankruptcy Experience – Focus understands the divergent needs of the groups participating in bankruptcies and works to arrive at solutions that satisfy the interests of all groups.