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As seen on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Dr. Scharmaine Lawson-Baker is a nationally recognized and award-winning nurse practitioner in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), and winner of the 2013 Healthcare Hero award (New Orleans City Business magazine) and 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year award (ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioner magazine). Dr. Baker, NP has received numerous honors and awards for her contributions to healthcare in New Orleans since she became a family nurse practitioner in 2000. Dr. Lawson-Baker was inspired to make house calls while caring for her grandmother, who was ill and needed an in-home doctor. She serves a large geriatric population in the comfort of their private homes, group homes, or assisted living facilities. After Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Baker was instrumental in caring for the sick and disabled in New Orleans, where hospitals had closed and doctors had evacuated but never returned. Her patient load went from 100 to 500 in only three months. Her passion and unwavering dedication to caring for homebound patients in her home town which is what prompted the interview with Katie Couric.
Reviewed by Java Davis for Readers' Favorite
When I first decided to read/review this book, House Calls 101: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Start Your Housecall Practice by Dr. Scharmaine Lawson-Baker NP, I thought that I would be reading about medical professionals who decide to go "off-grid" and deliver medical care outside the bounds of insurance companies and Medicare. I was surprised to find this to be a book directed at Nurse Practitioners who want to develop house call businesses within "the system."
In House Calls 101, Dr. Baker has gathered all the information one could possibly need to decide whether or not to consider such a launch. She explains the process of gathering a support team since it is impossible to achieve this goal alone. One needs to find a person to trade hours with for vacations and emergencies, a physician who will agree to sign off on any paperwork that requires a physician's signature, a cooperative pharmacist, an extraordinary bookkeeper or bookkeeping company, and possibly an office manager depending on how large the business is allowed to grow.
Complying with government regulations is paramount for the process of reimbursements. The regulations are quite strict and clearly defined, and the paperwork must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this patient required a home visit. One chapter of this book is devoted to descriptions of the requirements. There is a special discussion of the month of January, when clients must begin paying their insurance deductibles, and what to do when working with a poor population that will have trouble paying.
Dr. Baker doesn't just cover paperwork. She also discusses more work-a-day issues, like personal safety and dressing properly for clients. Dr. Baker is a cheerleader for House Calls. Her passion is evident when she talks about the rewards for both caregiver and care receiver. The Nurse Practitioner has the opportunity to really get to know clients on a more individual basis by seeing them in their home environments rather than in an office.
This book is short and well-organized, with some chapters only one paragraph in length. The information is current, but I don't know how often regulations are updated, or if the author will keep this guide up to date. If a Nurse Practitioner is deciding whether or not to start up a House Call business, he or she should read this book NOW.
