Fort Wayne’s careful financial planning has put it in a position for growth and success, according to its chief executive.Doctors can now register with the health department to comply with Allen County’s new patient safety law that takes effect next week.
The Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health released the official registration form Tuesday and asked doctors to complete and return it along with a $250 check as soon as possible. The health department also released a list of 14 area medical facilities that doctors must provide with their emergency contact information in order to comply with the new ordinance.
Doctors who do not live in Allen County or in surrounding counties and do not have admitting privileges at hospitals in Allen County or surrounding counties must provide their phone numbers to those hospitals and urgent-care facilities and tell patients where to go for emergency care after surgeries or medical procedures. They can designate alternative doctors to contact.
The Allen County commissioners approved the ordinance in April as a way to provide patients experiencing surgical complications with better follow-up care by giving local doctors an easy way to contact physicians who leave town after providing that care.
The health department doesn’t know how many doctors currently working in the county don’t maintain a regular practice here and must register, department administrator Mindy Waldron said.
“The burden is on those itinerant medical providers to contact the health department,” department spokesman John Silcox said.
Still, the department is trying to get the word out, asking doctors to come to them. If the department learns of any doctors or facilities that must register, officials will mail a registration packet, Waldron said.
Waldron doesn’t expect doctors to register before the ordinance takes effect Tuesday but said doctors should return the completed form and fee as soon as possible.
As of last week, according to Waldron, the health department had received two calls from doctors wondering when the forms would be available.
Copies of the forms are available at www.allencountyhealth.com or by visiting the department’s administrative office on the fifth floor of the City-County Building. Doctors can also call 449-7561 to request a form.
After the department receives a completed form, it will issue a certificate that doctors can post in their office along with a notice of patients’ rights, which is required under the new ordinance.
The department will check every year to make sure the contact information is current.
Staff will also investigate any complaints of doctors not complying with the ordinance, Waldron said.
Anyone who violates the ordinance is subject to a maximum fine of $1,000 for each violation and will be reported to the Indiana State Medical Licensing Board.
Allen County’s ordinance is a reincarnation of a similar law first urged in 2008 that focused solely on abortion-related procedures. Allen County Right to Life helped draft that version, saying it was needed to help women suffering from botched abortions.
The passed ordinance applies to a range of doctors and procedures and is not limited to surgeries or abortions. Doctors with the board of health and the Fort Wayne Medical Society helped the county commissioners draft the final version.
