Physician Assistants

Physician Assistants are licensed health care professionals trained in the same format as physicians. The training is roughly two-thirds the length of medical school with over 100 weeks of general primary care education. The average physician assistant has a bachelor’s degree and four and a half years of health care experience prior to entering a PA program. A job description for physician assistants in orthopaedics includes but is not limited to:

• • Performing comprehensive and problem-focused histories and physical examinations, interpret laboratory and diagnostic tests. Interpret and correlate subjective and objective data to formulate a differential diagnosis and establish a working diagnosis. Formulate a treatment plan for orthopaedic conditions within their scope of practice. Implement therapeutic intervention for specific conditions when appropriate. Exercise judgement on conditions requiring consultation, referral or evaluation by the supervising orthopaedic surgeon or other health care professionals.
  • Order, collect and perform appropriate laboratory and diagnostic studies, such as routine laboratory tests, EMG, electrocardiogram and radiologic examinations including arthrogram, ultrasound, CT, MRI and bone scan studies.
  • Performing digital blocks and regional anesthesia. Performing minor outpatient surgical procedures such as tendon repair, wound closure and management, incision and drainage, needle biopsy percutaneous pinning of fractures K-wire and hardware removal.
  • Perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as aspirations and injections of joints, bursas and cysts. Perform closed reductions of fractures and dislocations. Apply braces, casts, splints and other orthopaedic appliances.
  • Assist in the surgical suite including 1st assist, deep and superficial wound closure, application of internal devices and any other procedures delegated by the supervising orthopaedic surgeon. Conduct hospital rounds, write orders, take calls and see patients in the ED for the orthopaedic surgeon. Evaluate and clarify clinical conditions, formulate and implement treatment or therapeutic plan for hospitalized.

Downloads
The Physician – Physician Assistant Team
Physician Assistants in Orthopedic Surgery

X-Rays

The Louisville Orthopaedic Clinic employs radiography technicians certified through The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (AART). Our technicians are certified by ARRT after completing educational preparation standards, complying with the ethical and character standards, and passing a certification exam. They meet all the continuing education requirements to ensure the highest quality images to assist our physicians in diagnosing and treating our patients.

Billing

The Louisville Orthopaedic Clinic Billing Department follows all federal and local billing guidelines to ensure prompt and accurate claims processing. Our staff consists of a team of certified coding professionals, as well as, a Business Manager with extensive coding and HIPAA Compliance experience. A certified coder has expertise in physician-based settings such as physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, or specialty centers. This coder reviews patients’ records and assigns numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure. To perform this task, the individual must possess in-depth knowledge of the CPT coding system and familiarity with the ICD-9-CM and HCPCS Level II coding systems. The certified coder is also expert in health information documentation, data integrity, and quality. Because patients’ coded data is submitted to insurance companies or the government for expense reimbursement, the certified coder plays a critical role in the health provider’s business operation.