OCR Text |
Show Sen. Hatch Task Force' visit here on August 13 Wednesdoy, August 7, 1985 Vemflt ExpfeSS 3 Unfair.. Local government officials throughout Utah have joined 14 task forces, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch, to broaden the lines of communication com-munication between Washington and Utah. "I'm anxious to meet with some 100 mayors, 65 county commissioners and 45 other selected leaders who will participate par-ticipate on the Task Forces," said Hatch. "It is a non-partisan; active-working active-working body aimed at providing an essential medium for the discussion and resolution of federal and state issues. "The Task Forces establishes a statewide network whereby local leaders are organized to share their concerns with me, in addition to reciev-ing reciev-ing information applicable to their constituents. I'm extremely optimistic about the prospective results of this program and even more impressed with the high quality of the members," Hatch continued. Senator Hatch will be traveling through nearly every county in the state to meet with each Task Force. The Senator will be in Vernal August . 13 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon at the Uintah Uin-tah County Courthouse chambers, 152 East 100 North to discuss the concerns of Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties. "I look forward to hearing from Utah's local leaders who are closer to the people than perhaps any other public official. These meetings will help refresh my understanding of how federal legislation burdens or aids each citizen of the state of Utah," Hatch concluded. Tips for better health Choosing a physician by Kathie Brendemuhl, AVMC Community Relations Last week this column discussed the various types of physicians and specialists to help you understand the types of doctors available for health care. This week, the types of practice a physician may choose to operate under and how you can detect poor medical care will be discussed. By combining the right doctor with your medical and financial needs, you have a better chance of obtaining quality health care. The different kinds of doctors discussed last week, provide their services ser-vices under various arrangements. Sometimes they practice alone, sometimes in groups, often under different dif-ferent financial conditions. You should be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each type of practice. THE SOLO PRACTICE The solo practitioner is just that, a physician without partners or organizational affiliation. The solo practitioner may be a family doctor, a specialist or a subspecialist in any of the medical disciplines. The solo practitioner generally works from an office which may or may not be near a hospital. With a solo practitioner, each time you are sick you will be seen by the same doctor. In 6mall rural communities, such as ours, a solo practitioner is often the only source of medical care. Stories often portray the solo doctor as always available. One doubts that was ever true; at any rate, it Is not true now. The typical physician spends several weeks of the year on vacation or attending medical seminars. The doctor goes to concerts and parties like everybody else. A weekend may be spent at a cabin in the mountains. Obviously, Ob-viously, such diversions are important for the mental health of the physician. On the other hand, these factors mean that you will not always see the same physician, even If your doctor is a solo practitioner. THE CROUP PRACTICE The medical group or "group practice" prac-tice" came Into being some years sgo as an answer to some of the problems of solo practice. The sharing of night and weekend coverage, the lowering of office costs by shared expense, the availability of consultation and a more medically stimulating environment for the physician aU contributed to the Increase In group practice. Croup practices come in all sizes end varieties. The smallest group practice being a partnership of two Of more. The partners may be incorporated Into In-to a "medical corporation." The larger groups Include hundmla of physicians. The group practice may Include only general practitioners of enly specialists In a particular area of medicine, Other group include I variety of medical specialist. Group practice hat a number of advantage, You may be able to obtain a variety of medical lervicel at a single location; the physicians will frequently have an organized education program which ii) awUl in keeping thetn uplHiafe; and there is likely to I a reliable entail en-tail system. On the other hand, a medical group' is frequently mnr espensive than Vn Solo practice, tww tnemrwfs nf ih group lend la frfrf you Id ethef S Sort mm fjeqiJri'Jy , You may of may not a the wrtie physician in the medical grwip' at each viaiL -perSfi4 on, the deign tsf the practice. Alwi, tnm patient bate felt that relationship relation-ship m? mon imrt mat in lb targnf medical practices urn lot? (.riven the: tfv?c trf many ftitvl c4 physioitfMi tt4 tnfirsl fk, mtiirh iti.- f-.! fnf yew? M'iksl-tjrt M'iksl-tjrt r?fig different ffkian vt jr Jim ttij o ?!( grA ! -ptj $3 jMir.jj jh game pf!Ttclart tttsijt?eif-b, tttsijt?eif-b, if the fnMit at t ') is cf tjijaiitjr Bf if h jrr!rr!S at am an-1 fcel tfcrw.c , tTe iy p- finnfj giwj j-j-.veif iifru fee) JKaf 5'.?y if frequent doctor changes are made. Usually, the type of physician is not as important as the individual doctor. You can go to a general practitioner, family specialist, a pediatrician, an internist, in-ternist, or a subspecialty internist for your primary care. Sometimes women may use a gynecologist as their primary physician. If you have a defined special problem, pro-blem, then a subspecialist in that area of medicine may be the best physician for you. The majority of your care can be provided and referral elsewhere arranged ar-ranged when needed. You may prefer to have everyone in your family see the same physician. This avoids the inconvenience of having hav-ing to see several different doctors. More important, the physician who sees the entire family is better able to understand individual and family, problems. Continued from page 1 Trucking to pay $282 per week commencing com-mencing Oct. 6, 1984. Judge Sumsion said the main issue "at the - initial .hearing was whether or not Dufford was an independent in-dependent contractor. Following the original hearing, Dufford indicated that he was in dire financial need and to accommodate this need as much as possible Sumsion Sum-sion agreed to enter an Interim Order. The judge awarded Dufford $4,230 from the Default Indemnity Fund on the basis that Peterson had shown no inclination to comply with the commission com-mission order.' , Two years ago the Default Indemnity Indem-nity Fund was nonexistent and applicants ap-plicants in Dufford's situation would have been left with nothing. Sumsion said. Sumsion charges that despite this payment, Dufford embarked upon a process of threats and political intimidation in-timidation through the Governor's office, of-fice, the Lieutenant Governor's office, of-fice, the Director of Finance, the Industrial In-dustrial Commission and the Default Indemnity Fund to secure additional compensation, "any way he could." "He has also resorted to the media as a means "of applying additional pressure to obtain payment of com pensation and medical expenses," Sumsion charges in his latest ruling. "There is no way we could live on $4,000 for nine months," Dufford said. "We have sold some of our personnel per-sonnel property to pay the bills." Sumsion said that during his 15 years as an Administrative Court Judge, only three other cases have been as difficult as Dufford's. The struggle facing the judge, was the possibility he might have been "duped", in releasing the funds prematurely. The judge's suspicions were supported sup-ported by a charge filed by Peterson's Peter-son's attorney based on a statement by Patrick Green of Roosevelt, who conveyed con-veyed a conversation between he and Dufford where Dufford stated that "he had a bad knee and when it popped on him he was going to cash in on it." Sumsion halted a $4,000 payment to Dufford and granted the rehearing. Dufford objected to the stop of payment pay-ment because there was not substantial substan-tial proof that he said or did what Green alleged. Sumsion granted the rehearing, because the initial hearing did not nail down Dufford's testimony on whether he had seen a doctor after the first injury. Last week Green's testimony was heard by Judge Sumsion who ruled that his testimony was totally credible, credi-ble, but did not find his testimony to be the same as alleged in the defendant's defen-dant's request. The judge reaffirmed his previous ruling that the applicant is entitled to Workmen's Compensation. Dufford refuted Green's testimony saying that he never had such a conversation. con-versation. One of the problems, as exemplified ex-emplified by the Dufford case, is the apparent inability of the Industrial Commissioner to prosecute employers who do not have Workmen's Compensation Insurance. In-surance. Prosecution is left to the county attorney at-torney where the offense occurring, and they refuse to prosecute them, Sumsion said. Another "monster" as Dufford's attorney Virginius Dabney describes it, is the Default and Indemnity Fund. Dufford's case is one of the few that has received an award from the fund which has a director coming online this month. "Part of her job will be to actively pursue those that don't have Workmen's Compensation," Sumsion Sum-sion said. The fund was established by the Utah Legislature without specific policies for administrating the fund. Another shadow on the Dufford case is a clerical error which deleted Peterson's attorney from the mailing list of judge Sumsion's recent order on the Dufford case. Sumsion amended amend-ed his order three different times on request of Dufford's attorney. Most of the problems apparent in the Dufford case are facing a Gover nor's Industrial Code Revision Blue-Ribbon Blue-Ribbon Committee. The committee is composed of a defense attorney and members of the industrial commission. "Our goal is to have something for the next legislative session," said Dabney, who is also the chairman of the committee. The 20-member committee was established by the governor in late June to revise the state's outdated Workmen's Compensation Bill enacted in 1917. The vague wording of the acts, as well as rising medical and administrative ad-ministrative cost, means compensation compensa-tion does not do justice to actual cost, said Lt. Gov. Val Oveson. The committee is holding a number of public hearings on Workmen's Compensation, however, Dabney said the committee will be open to comments on any subject. The Uintah Basin hearing will be Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Moon Lake Electric meeting room in Roosevelt. . Dufford said he is relieved that has received some compensation. "From the very start, all I have wanted is what the Utah State Law provides for me and nothing more," Dufford said. Dufford describes himself "as a very desperate person who feels he has been getting cheated, stepped on and run over." Those concerns will be expressed at the Roosevelt hearing. When choosing a doctor, do not pay attention to the social status of his or her office. Also don't worry particularly particular-ly about the length of the wait. The practice of medicine requires that the physician's working day be busy, that some problems require more time than others, ,and that emergencies may arise in the middle of the day. Hence,, delays occur in the best organized practices. Take something useful to do in the doctor's office. The . central question is this: Is this physician physi-cian acting in the best Interests of each patient he or she Is seeing? You may need this special attention at a late date. HOW TO DETECT POOR MEDICAL SERVICE There are some tip-offs to poor imlcal amice. If you are taking three or more medicines of different types daily, dai-ly, you are usually getting poor advice unless you have a serious chronic medical problem. If nearly every visit to the doctor results In an injection, be a little suspicious. Be wary w hen any service costing significant amount of money is promoted enthusiastically even though you were not aware of the need, If your questions go unanswered or if the physician fails to perform any physical examination at all, it's time to worry. In the United States, free choice of physicians Is available. Kor the "free market" to work effectively, you must be willing to "vote with your feel," In other word, if yea cannot communicate com-municate effectively with your phyM-clan. phyM-clan. Seek another dodof , If the practice prac-tice does not live up to your expectations, expecta-tions, select another physician who will. But rcmrmhef, your physician ts human too, The physician ti fated with 1 Continual parade 6f diseaMf which cannot be changed by treatment, residing in the bmliei &f patients ha demand treatment and cur, tkml um the doctor for trivial problems, Ifen'l warl la ty etffk mdic al eU.w i by fpji-i(i for misleading Insurant claim, exaggerated diiabtlity (tUijtmwita and reprf'4 pfewmm for pain medic atiort, The hih ethical standards of th frtJical ttfpfpN tontinup to ImprrM u; U51, hwman U human, and metimes pfobicmi tr0fliih wicwxiflui fhsniputaUflW tif patients, SufVfl fndr al pf arlif e?sM twwft 8 cwnmiiiet tnetal tm-nuffiff. tm-nuffiff. If y-miftant piykiar U "will "wi-ll in yoaf $ "Erafhira area, fatrnn! 0 pfcy5cvn cfcweM tn jn borne tf Cl S irrfIan! la t J, -nn- frfc?i fhrp. tt)euf beaUJt to irfcpnr larvt In j nnj. tair J fateot j r adi mi tan?, Ymi ar in pttrt!'p i?h ytwr ddnr. Only the l f J- -niiir Jngclhef rail f c ntt!'.tr. bfai'-H tar. Tr jtfv?fcn tm Lb lfalkw M ptftM4? fmt it.h err;'h Jr-tra-f: i f-t H r s pHif-i ttwtirf v y-oyf f4l!f tsr fW'isi-,. '-4 hStf ti i g(irj I ff4im 1 k tW Tm flT VH f -f 0e a healthy i'rr"wj.fcr. U i , , ' V(J L ,x : !ly siiipy . lifting a finget ,, . - i lift a linger t iw tmr KciKll-Act'tn KciKll-Act'tn ii'lmur automatic teller and yuu'll biii aihtk! at rttHWf Jr C ItildfCIt McUital (TtHtf. t fir cur tfiftsiutiHi jtni rtukc m any f 'r 1 1 Iwmr u Ik r mjvliitti HjnVi U itmtfitnitt; uU'ninjry CJiiUlrvrt Mtiliiai t tnnrt up tiattj nf itUtUNSKIinniKU AujjuM SI. IVtf2Vimlttiini-fliuni IVtf2Vimlttiini-fliuni ttmt(ibtHn pMranli'cJ). giillKl the fftlil' m hi ruic; ikpii uululraHaW pi en fit t'W tranvftf fiirtt! ('" wx aummt lf mt?uf at am f Mrrt c ,r 1 1 All you nccJ h ttnc uf iIich: Mms Uni. i afiK,.. MasterCard -Vim jrd-ViNj Itanking Card r HedJiAetc Card betlur uiilt your Sevtet Numln-r. tf jiu diui'i liac mc. tuntJei any nc f the Ci A iiift lUnk ttlhu , MjstcfCard and Rcddl Atec tanN upvratc M Kit M R nuehirtc and Vw Card ojraic VIV M:TVURK rnattiiiH itt ttwjor tiiic ftiriHiKtittut tle viwntry and in jxttw lurtign unintiU'. ' ' ' 1 v.';.A.t,4ir:.r ZIONS FIRST NATIONAL BANK: : |