Welcome! 

If this is the first time you have visited our site, you have come to the  "RIGHT PLACE" for information on the growing field of "Interdisciplinary Medicine".

ANY  combination of licenses or specialties in one practice constitutes an interdisciplinary or as more commonly referred to, a "Multidisciplinary Practice".

The Multi-Disciplinary Academy of Affiliated Medical Arts represents an active membership of  professionals dedicated to the advancement of integrated healthcare through mutual support of those arts, their affiliated sciences, related technologies and professions. The  M.A.A.M.A.  unites professionals in all areas of medicine with those of  law, compliance, science  and technology in an academy that addresses the complex problems facing today’s healthcare industry through the collective voice of its membership.

The MAAMA is not JUST FOR multidisciplinary practices. 

Our compliance consultants work with hundreds of practices where only one discipline is represented.  Medical Doctors, Chiropractors, Audiologist, Podiatrists, OPT, Vestibular Testing facilities, Physical and Occupational Therapy Centers, and even equipment suppliers all need the advice and information that this Academy provides to insure their compliance with the ever changing issues in regulations and billing and documentation requirements..  The M.A.A.M.A. and our MedCorp Compliance Network monitor these issues closely and provide our members with prompt direction on changes that enable them to pro-actively modify their policies and procedures and "avoid" problems rather than attempt to correct them "after" they have their claims denied.

FACT: MedCorp has performed thousands of comprehensive compliance audits. 94% of those practices were found to be "At Risk".  Only 6% were found to be in compliance with current regulatory standards.

Whatever your current or desired scope might be, we are here to help you achieve your goals and financial success while maintaining legitimate compliance with State and Federal regulations. Our consultants will happy to evaluate your individual needs  and help you develop a strategy that makes sense and has a good potential for success.

Many existing multi-disciplinary practices were established under the direction of various "consultants" that maintained a certain concept as a model to which this Academy DOES NOT SUBSCRIBE. 

As a member of MAAMA and our Compliance Network, you will become free to practice your art and build your practice rather than devoting your precious hours to pouring through hundreds of pages of regulatory changes. 

That's our job and we would be happy to do it for you. _________________________________________________________________________

THE CORRECT CONCEPT:

Most physician's are searching for new income sources and ways to make their practices more attractive to the patient.  Many are turning to the "one stop" approach to health care where a patient can receive the combined benefits of several medical disciplines that work in synergy to provide a total care approach to their health problems.  Many such practices are built around the "pain management concept" that employs the skills of a medical doctor or Osteopath with those of a Chiropractic physician and a Physical Therapist.

Unfortunately, most "models" are configured to have the Medical Doctor's role reduced to evaluating all new and existing patients then prescribing minimal medical intervention, Chiropractic manipulation and physical therapy.   Nothing could be more counter productive to the multidisciplinary practice.

If the role of the medical doctor is merely to "OK" therapy then the "medical necessity" of the medical doctor's involvement becomes suspect both with carriers and the patient!  How are we to explain to an established Chiropractic patient that has been successfully treated before using only chiropractic manipulation and physical modalities, that now they MUST see the M.D.?

Other "models" have you hire a therapist but continue to use the D.C., Athletic trainers, massage therapists or "aides" to administer the therapy. Still others load you up with "special equipment" or "cash cow diagnostic procedures", suggest "stealth or best fit" coding scenarios or have some "technical component" billing scenario where they "handle everything" and you just rake in the money.  Most of these are improper if not illegal and when the "cash cow" gets slaughtered by regulators, so does the doctor. The "consultant" or advisor gets off scott free since they all add disclaimers that the ultimate responsibility for coding and compliance rests with the physician and they only offer examples of possible coding situations that others have used for reimbursement. 

The true  multi-disciplinary practice, based in the pain management arena, fully utilizes the talents and special training of Medical Doctors and/or Osteopathic Physicians in combination with those of the Chiropractic physician and the Physical and / or Occupational Therapists and in many cases,  professionals who specialize in the “psychological” components of pain. 

The International Association for the Study of Pain currently recognizes four types of pain centers.   

• Multi-disciplinary Pain Center:  This is the most comprehensive form of the pain treatment facilities and  normally co-exists with a teaching hospital, medical school or trauma center type hospital.  The center would employ a wide range of health care professionals including medical physicians, chiropractic physicians, psychologists, nurses, physical and occupational therapist, research specialists, scientists and others who represent allied health services.  Specialties normally represented are pain management and rehabilitation, sports medicine, neurology, anesthesiology, orthopedics and psychiatry. Some may even include dentists, homeopathic and naturopaths to add adjunctive scope to their already diverse practice skills. The center is operated on the team approach and inter-disciplinary communication is regularly provided.

• Multi-disciplinary Pain Clinic:  This is normally similar in scope and staffing to the center but does not include research or teaching activities.  Staffing may not be as extensive and many of the specialties would not be on staff but would be available for referral and consultation.

• The Pain Clinic:  A pain clinic focuses on the diagnosis and management of chronic pain. The clinic may be broad based or specialized in certain pain syndromes and usually exist in a healthcare facility or institution that has appropriate consultative services available.  The inability to provide interdisciplinary assessment and management distinguishes it from the pain center.

• Modality-Oriented Clinic:  These clinics offer only specific types of pain treatment and are normally based in a particular modality such as acupuncture, nerve blocks or biofeedback. They do not provide for comprehensive assessment or multi-disciplinary management.

Our Academy Consultants can guide you through "any of these" even if your desire is only to expand from Chiropractic or Medical by adding one other discipline to your services.   We want you to succeed in the multidisciplinary arena and be more profitable. We also want you to be able to confidently look to the future rather than consistently looking over your shoulder in fear of the inevitable audit that could end your career in medicine.

Please visit our "services" section before leaving our web-site and then call for your free consultation  702-838-0054.