Body
Unit Procedure
Title
Department of Family Medicine: Procedure for Clinic Coverage for an Extended Leave of Absence
Introduction
Purpose
Family Medicine Center Faculty Providers need to ensure adequate message and clinical care coverage of their patients while they are on extended leave, and staff need to be aware of their leave. This procedure should be followed to ensure that all the appropriate individuals are notified prior to faculty providers going on an extended leave of absence.
Scope
Faculty with clinic responsibilities.
Procedure
- Meet with HR Consultant to discuss various faculty leave options, gather the necessary leave request paperwork, and discuss accrued leave entry into the Time Information Management (TIM) system.
- Discuss extended leave (maternity, paternity, FMLA, personal health, etc.) with the Department Chair to secure approval and signature on the leave request paperwork prior to sending to leave@unc.edu.
- Contact Scheduling Coordinator to schedule dates of leave in EPIC.
- Email the Vice Chair for Clinical Excellence to ensure Grid update to reflect leave.
- Find a colleague to cover EPIC messages and patient forms during the absence. This should be outlined and broken down by date if multiple providers will cover.
- Email the Family Medicine Center (FMC) Leadership team with dates of leave. The leadership team consists of the Medical Director and Clinic Manager for the FMC where the faculty member practices (see Contact Information).
- Attach the covering individual(s) to your EPIC inbox.
- Update your Epic away message to reflect the following:
- Coverage message stating extended leave
- Covering provider name(s)
- Date period of covering provider(s)
- When leave starts, send email notification to Scheduling Coordinator.
- (If applicable) Change pager status to covered by [name] and turn pager off.
- The Scheduling Coordinator will email “Fammed Cancellation” distribution list to notify staff.
- Practice Manager of each clinic will notify Unit Clerk for the provider to place a note on the provider’s mailbox stating leave dates and covering providers.
Definitions
- EPIC - Epic@UNC, UNC Health’s enterprise system for patient scheduling, billing, clinical documentation, and communication.
- Lightning Bolt - The online scheduling application utilized by the Department of Family Medicine clinical faculty and Scheduling Coordinator.
- Grid - The department’s faculty time management spreadsheet, which details each faculty member’s responsibilities and corresponding FTE.
- Productivity Report - the department’s tracking spreadsheet showing actual versus contracted (budgeted/gridded/expected) sessions for the year, as shown on the Grid.
Related Requirements
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Karen Halpert, MD – Vice Chair of Clinical Excellence, FMC – Durham Medical Director
Telephone: 984-974-4675
Email: Karen_Halpert@med.unc.edu
Other Contacts
Name: Tiffany Harper – HR Consultant
Telephone: 919-843-8753
Email: Tiffany_Harper@med.unc.edu
Name: Jaime Adams – HR Consultant
Telephone: 984-974-4889
Email: Jaime_Adams@med.unc.edu
Name: Karen Peoples – Scheduling Coordinator
Telephone: 984-974-4521
Email: Jaime_Adams@med.unc.edu
Name: Jennifer Koenig, MBA-HM – FMC-Chapel Hill Clinic Manager
Telephone: 984-974-7903
Email: Keith_Compson@med.unc.edu
Name: Rita Lahlou, MD – FMC-Chapel Hill Medical Director
Telephone: 984-974-4889
Email: Rita_Lahlou@med.unc.edu
Name: Ashley Rietz, MD – FMC-Chapel Hill Associate Medical Director
Email: Ashley_Rietz@med.unc.edu
Name: Liza Straub, MD – FMC-Carraway Village Medical Director
Telephone: 984-974-4888
Email: Liza_Straub@med.unc.edu
Name: Yvette McMiller – FMC-Durham and FMC-Carraway Village Clinic Manager
Email: Yvette_McMiller@med.unc.edu
Name: Michele Gibson – interim FMC-South Durham Clinic Manager
Telephone: 984-974-4756
Email: mlgibson@email.unc.edu
Name: Jon Mitchell, MD – FMC-South Durham Medical Director
Email: jmitche@email.unc.edu