Resources
Plain-English guides for the work you already do.
Short reads on consult models, billing, clinical decision-making, and building a specialist program — written like a journal, not a brochure.
The 3 types of specialist consults: curbside, eConsult, and tele-consult
Curbside, eConsult, and tele-consult all connect you with a specialist — but each one is documented, billed, and used differently. Here's how to tell them apart.
Read articleCurbside consult vs eConsult: what's the difference?
Both connect you with a specialist. Only one is documented, billable, and reliable enough to keep the patient with you.
Read articleWhat is an outpatient tele-specialty clinic?
A tele-specialty clinic brings a board-certified specialist into your clinic by video — so the patient stays with you instead of driving 3 hours to a referral.
Read articleCPT 99451 & 99452: eConsult billing, in plain English
Who bills what, what each code pays, and how an interprofessional eConsult actually gets reimbursed.
Read articleHow an eConsult actually gets billed (step by step)
From the moment you decide to ask a specialist, through documentation, consent, and the two CPT codes that close the loop.
Read articleMedical decision-making in a curbside consult
A curbside answer can still shape your plan. Here's how to think about MDM, documentation, and when the question stops being a curbside.
Read articleHow to build a specialist consult program in your clinic
What to staff, what to document, and how to layer curbside, eConsult, and tele-specialty access so it actually gets used.
Read articleHow to use SHIP grants for Rural Health Clinics
How Rural Health Clinics can use Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) funds to stand up a specialist curbside and eConsult program.
Read articleWhat is an eConsult? A plain-English guide
An eConsult is a written specialist opinion delivered through the chart — same clinical input as a referral, without sending the patient away.
Read articleHow to document a curbside consult
A curbside is informal — but you still need a note. Here's what to include, what to leave out, and when to switch to a formal eConsult.
Read articleNurse practitioner collaborating physician: a 2026 guide
Who needs one, how to find one, what to put in the agreement, and where specialist eConsults fit alongside.
Read articleCPT 99451: the specialist's eConsult code, in depth
What 99451 covers, who can bill it, the time threshold, documentation rules, and what it actually pays.
Read articleCPT 99452: the treating provider's eConsult code, in depth
What 99452 covers, the 16-minute threshold, payer coverage, and why this code is the economic anchor of an eConsult program.
Read articleWhat is the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)?
A plain-English overview of RHTP — what it funds, how states use it, and where specialist access fits.
Read articleeConsult ROI for clinics: the math that actually matters
Per-consult code revenue, platform fees, referral avoidance, and the three numbers worth tracking.
Read articleSpecialist coverage for community hospitals: the modular model
Why community hospitals can't recruit a full bench — and how a 1–4 escalation model keeps most cases in-house.
Read articleCan a curbside consult raise your billing level?
A curbside isn't billable on its own. But the reasoning it informs is part of your MDM — and that can (not will) support a higher E/M level.
Read articleTele-hospitalist vs locum tenens: cost, continuity, and fit
Locum tenens fills a shift. A tele-hospitalist program fills the schedule — usually at 40–60% lower all-in cost with better continuity.
Read articleWhat is Direct Primary Care? A plain-English guide
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a flat monthly fee for primary care with no insurance in the middle. Here's how it works and where it fits.
Read articleSpecialist referrals in Direct Primary Care: keep more care in-house
Full referrals push DPC patients back into the fee-for-service system they left. Here's how DPC doctors use curbside and eConsult access instead.
Read articleSpecialist access for Rural Health Clinics: closing the referral gap
Rural Health Clinics are built for primary care access. Specialty access is the missing piece — here's how same-day curbside and eConsult fills it.
Read articleeConsults for Rural Health Clinics: how CPT 99451/99452 work under the RHC AIR
eConsults work in RHCs — but the all-inclusive rate changes how the treating-provider side flows through billing. Here's the plain-English breakdown.
Read articlePACE explained: what the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly actually is
PACE keeps frail, nursing-home-eligible older adults living at home by wrapping medical, social, and long-term care into one team paid a single monthly rate.
Read articleSpecialist access for PACE organizations: fewer trips, faster answers
PACE participants are frail. Every outside specialty trip is a risk and a cost. Same-day specialist input inside the PACE center keeps care in-house and protects the capitated rate.
Read articlePACE IDT workflows: how the interdisciplinary team actually runs
Daily huddle, weekly care-plan meeting, semi-annual reassessment — and where specialist input actually enters the IDT.
Read articleRural PACE: making the model work outside metro areas
Longer van legs, thinner IDT bench, and specialty access 60–120 miles away. Here's how rural PACE programs stay operationally sound.
Read articleHow to start a Direct Primary Care practice: a 90-day launch guide
The legal, operational, and clinical decisions to make before you see your first DPC member — with break-even math and the specialist pathway most launches skip.
Read articleDPC vs concierge medicine: what's the difference?
Both charge a monthly fee. Only one gets you out of the insurance-claims cycle. Here's the side-by-side.
Read articleSpecialist support for rural nurse practitioners
Rural NPs see specialty problems every week with specialists 60–120 miles away. Same-day curbside and eConsult access closes the gap without disrupting the CP relationship.
Read articleSpecialist support for rural physician associates
Rural PAs cover a wide clinical spectrum with limited specialty backup. Same-day curbside and eConsult access sit on top of the SP relationship — not in place of it.
Read articleRural primary care and specialist access: closing the gap without losing patients
Rural patients see specialists half as often as urban patients — not by choice, but by geography. Same-day specialist input keeps care with the primary care provider they trust.
Read articleCurbside consults for nurse practitioners: when to use one, when to switch to eConsult
A curbside is a fast verbal sanity check with a specialist. Here's how NPs use it without over-attributing the opinion in the chart.
Read articleCurbside consults for physician associates: what counts, what to document
A curbside is a fast verbal sanity check. Here's how PAs use one appropriately — and when to convert it into a documented eConsult.
Read articleCollaborating physician vs specialist consult: they aren't the same thing
One is a legal relationship your state may require. The other is a clinical pathway to specialty reasoning. Here's how they layer.
Read articleWhat is a critical access hospital? A plain-English guide
What CAH status means, the 25-bed and 96-hour rules, how cost-based Medicare payment works, and why some CAHs sit in metropolitan counties.
Read articleHow critical access hospitals get paid
Cost-based Medicare reimbursement explained: the 101% rule, the cost report, why CAH margins stay thin, and where added service lines change the math.
Read articleWhat is utilization management? A hospital guide
Prior authorization, medical necessity, InterQual and MCG, the denial and appeal workflow, and who actually staffs utilization review in a hospital.
Read articleWhat does a hospital case manager do?
A day in the life of hospital case management — admission review, discharge planning, transitions of care, and how case managers protect both the patient and the margin.
Read articleThe two-midnight rule and observation status, in plain English
What the Medicare two-midnight rule says, how observation differs from inpatient, and why daily case management reviews protect your revenue.
Read articleThe hospital telehealth guide: design the program, build the case, pick the partner
A plain-English guide for hospital executives, clinical leaders, and admin teams. Start with program design, then the business case, then the partner.
Read articleHow PACE organizations manage specialty care, in plain English
Where outside specialist visits come from, what they cost a PACE program, and which ones can be handled at the center.
Read articleWant to talk through how this fits your setting?
We're happy to walk through the model with no pitch — just straight answers.