Services We Provide
Regional Size and Scope
UPMC Emergency Medicine focuses on keeping operational and overhead costs low, which allows more resources to be devoted to physicians and patient care.
Unlike larger national “mega-groups," UPMC Emergency Medicine is based within the region, which allows for easy, frequent communication and convenient proximity with our partner hospitals.
UPMC Emergency Medicine is an essential component of UPMC's internationally renowned, integrated health care system.
Our management strategies allow for high quality patient care, lower costs, and optimization of revenue. The UPMC Emergency Medicine philosophy sets the tone for a successful hospital system, leading to increased market share.
Recruiting and Staffing
Recruiting a stable group of high-quality physicians is an ongoing challenge for community hospitals. UPMC Emergency Medicine has a comprehensive physician recruiting and retention program that has led to dramatic improvements in staffing at our partner hospitals.
Resources and tactics
We direct a significant portion of our resources to recruiting, including:
- Regular advertising in national and regional journals
- Updated, easily accessible internet presence
- Displays at national emergency medicine meetings and conferences
- Substantial database of regional physicians assembled over the last decade
Floater physicians
In addition to a stable group of expert physicians dedicated to each hospital, our model provides the additional resource of versatile “floater physicians,” skilled individuals who are available on short notice to fill unexpected staff openings.
These floaters are experienced, full-time UPMC Emergency Medicine physicians who are familiar with UPMC Emergency Medicine’s philosophy and provide a consistent, effective solution to temporary staffing shortages due to:
- Physician disabilities
- Military deployments
- Relocations
- Retirements
UPMC Emergency Medicine places a strong emphasis on balancing physician workloads and maintaining a low patient-to-physician ratio.
Medical and Legal Services
To understand, prevent, and stay abreast of legal issues, UPMC Emergency Medicine has a comprehensive risk management program that covers all aspects of emergency and hospital medicine.
We provide all our physicians with high-quality, occurrence-based (tail coverage) malpractice insurance. Our size and performance allows us to have lower malpractice insurance costs, which frees more resources for patient care.
UPMC Emergency Medicine also has expertise in compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, and other areas pertinent to ensuring the best possible care for our patients.
Documentation, Coding, and Billing
UPMC Emergency Medicine has a comprehensive program that allows for optimal documentation and compliance. Our physicians receive routine feedback on documentation performance, and individual performance metrics are included in our physician incentive plan.
UPMC Emergency Medicine works closely with our partner hospitals to ensure appropriate documentation in coding and billing for a smooth collection process. Our economy of scale enables us to manage coding and billing at a lower cost, leaving more resources dedicated to patient care.
Facility Planning
UPMC Emergency Medicine has assisted numerous hospitals with the design and renovation of existing emergency departments, using our expertise to help each department achieve improved patient flow, ergonomic efficiency, and patient care.