Volunteers

Rockie

We are thinking of using volunteers in our medical practice to do non-clinical things (file, call no-shows, health fairs (non-clinical duties), greeting patients and their families and keeping them advised of procedures and wait times, etc.

Do any of you have any issues using volunteers. I know they can't do any hands on patient care and I wouldn't use them as couriers, etc. But...what are implications such as Workers Comp, etc. that I may need to look out for?

I think they could be a useful addition and we have had some patients ask for volunteering their services.

Any advise would be appreciated!

Down_the_Middle

We use volunteers extensively in our medical center and they are asked to perform a variety of non-clinical support type of activities. They are covered for work related injuries the same as other employees (our decision vs state law)-- & they are provided a minimum wage rate for purposes of "lost time". Be sure to check your state for any requirements that apply to vol's, but I can't remember the last volunteer injury that we've had and we have a vol pool of over 300 individuals. The real key is to avoid giving them duties that may expose them to lifting. Sorry I can't offer more help. We've been lucky with minimal volunteer injuries.

sonny

Are you accredited ie JCAHO or CARF? I seem to remember from a previous life that they wanted job descriptions, evaluations, training etc...all of which I agree with in terms of running a quality volunteer program. We felt that to do it right, we would almost need a full time volunteer coordinator to cover our bases. we were a non profit and all already wearing way too many hats, so opted out. It sounds like it has worked great for DTM so don't want to discourage you just throwing out foggy thoughts from my past!

Rockie

No..thank God we don't have to go through JCAHO or CARF. I have been down that road before at two hospitals and don't want to travel it again. Being a private cardiology practice, we don't have to go through this. But...we feel because of our size and diversity, we could probably utilize volunteers.

Thanks for all the info. I think we will give it a shot.

Gillian

Best check your state laws. In mine, there is a very narrow definition of allowable volunteer (unpaid) work. The prevailing view in my state is that if work is being done to benefit the organization and it is work that an employee would traditionally do, it is an employee.