Health Care Partnerships Soaring to New Heights

Bob Cogburn, a Landmark Education Team Management Leadership Program participant, Team 2, 3rd quarter, is president of TARPPS, an organization making a difference around the mounting concern around the subject of health care. Public opinion polls show that people are losing faith as the rising cost of medical expenses continues to adversely affect the quality of health care.

In the midst of all of this medical uncertainty rises an organization that is making a difference. The organization is called TARPPS. (Texas Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and Providers of Services.) TARPPS is an association that exclusively represents the interests of rehabilitation professionals.

Its’ membership is composed of case managers, vocational counselors, insurance nurses, professional counselors, job placement specialists, vocational evaluators, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, rehabilitation educators, and disability management specialists.

Cogburn is a VRC (Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor), and President of TARPPS. Mr. Cogburn saw an opportunity to bridge what was missing between rehabilitation professionals and the patients. His vision of what will make a difference in one segment of the health care industry for Texas has the potential to catch fire nationwide.

If you have never experienced a catastrophic injury or long term disability, you may not be aware of what is necessary to restore a person to good health or compensate them for the loss of mobility. As Mr. Cogburn listed all who were involved in rehabilitation restoration, I was amazed at the number of professionals necessary to meet the needs of the patients.

Below is a brief list of the most active professionals in TARPPS:

• Certified Life Care Planners (evaluating catastrophic injuries and long term healthcare costs)

• Medical Case Managers typically a nurse, evaluating the work capabilities and restrictions based on physical ability. They collaborate with the doctor making sure patient is getting proper treatment and report to insurance companies to verify payment has been authorized.

• Vocational Experts CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselors); These professionals assist courts and advocators in determining the occupational skills of the disabled.

• Case Managers working in free standing clinics like spinal clinics. As a result of improved therapy over time the case manager has the ability to have the patient evaluated by Medical and or Vocational Case Manager.

What’s missing in the United States is a source for effective evaluators to input accurate data so insurance companies can make prompt, effective, and equitable payouts. TARPPS will be instrumental in facilitating that the correct information is met with financial decisions being made on the patient’s behalf. The goal is to have an adequate and equitable payout matching each patient’s evolving circumstances.

Many times insurance companies need someone to gather medical records, meet with medical teams, and meet with the patient so that fair and equitable decisions can be made in a timely manner. This is where TARPPS members are instrumental in facilitating that the correct information is met with financial decisions being made on the patient’s behalf standing for an adequate payout matching each patient’s evolving circumstances.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is developing a new Occupational Information System (OIS) designed to provide SSA with a long-term replacement for the information that it currently obtains from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and companion
volumes, including the Selected Characteristics of Occupations (SCO) and Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs (RHAJ).

If someone becomes disabled, then the SSA and the Rehabilitation Professional will work together in finding modifications suitable for the client. This way, people with disabilities can resume meaningful employment instead of remaining idle. We are on the verge of a breakthrough because there are a variety of patient evaluation systems including government programs that occasionally render unreliable cost assessments.

SSA needs a new database that is optimized for its disability assessment and adjudication purposes. By enlarge, Insurance Companies, Hospitals, and Doctors rely on Rehabilitation Professionals that are employees assigned to the various cases. Many case managers work for other companies or hospitals conforming to rigid guidelines regardless of patient circumstances.

Organizations such as TARPPS will be instrumental in bringing certainty, manageability and integrity, to this area of the health care industry. TARPPS is providing the space for case management professionals to operate independently, as a free enterprise. They serve their referral sources with consistency, fairness, while keeping pace with the latest technology.

TARPPS is an organization for professionals who are called to make a difference in the lives of patients; an advocate as well as a rehabilitation provider.

Many health care professionals started out with a burning desire to make a difference, only to have that flame die down in the face of bureaucracy. “Following treatment guidelines and managing paperwork can be wearing. But seeing TARPPS evolve has personally made me proud to be a Rehabilitation Professional. Now the paperwork is a necessary part of the fulfillment to a bigger dream”, says Cogburn.

Mr. Cogburn said, “The Team Management and Leadership Program has been instrumental in the development of this organization. TARPPS is the possibility of inspiration, hope and restoration of well being. I can clearly see TARPPS as the Nationally Recognized Universal Trusted Source designed to ethically and responsibly meet the rehabilitation needs of people and the standard by which all healthcare provider professionals aspire to operate. There is no doubt TMLP has made all the difference for me.”

June 2010, Chicago, Action Quarter
TMLPTIMES
Team Member: Bob Cogbum
Game: Healthcare Partnerships
Soaring to New Heights
Written by: Sharole Beckman
Edited by: Steve Schapiro