Message from AMM’s Medical Director
Spotlight:
Dr. Bernard Bettencourt, Jr., D.O., MPH, FACEP, CPE
Dr. Bettencourt is the new medical director of Alicare Medical Management. Prior to joining AMM, he was a physician advisor at Unicare Life and Health Insurance Company in Andover, Massachusetts while concurrently employed as a senior emergency medical attending at Lahey Clinic and Medical Center.
Dr. Bettencourt is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and Preventive Medicine-Occupational Medicine and is a Certified Physician Executive in Medical Management. He earned a Doctor of Osteopathy with Honors at Southeastern University of the Health Sciences in 1992 and was subsequently Chief Resident at Darnall Army Hospital in Fort Hood, Texas. In 1998 he earned his Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, where he participated in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Program. His clinical appointments have included Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the National Security Agency’s Office of Occupational Health, Environmental and Safety Services, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.
Dr. Bettencourt’s teaching appointments have included Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine; Clinical Instructor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Medical College of Georgia Medical School.
When a patient arrives to the emergency room, often minutes can make the difference between life and death. As an emergency room physician, I am part of a larger team of professionals that intercede to bring life-saving treatment to critically ill or injured individuals. Our success is tied to the ability of the hospital staff to work in a coordinated manner utilizing clinical workflows to bring the right care at the right moment. If well executed, we can literally save a life in any given situation.
In a similar fashion, as the new Medical Director at Alicare Medical Management (AMM), I am part of a dynamic team of clinical and administrative professionals that support chronically ill individuals and others who need support. Although my new job may not have the same “star power” as many of the medical TV sitcoms on air, my role at AMM is as important as any experience that I have had as a physician.
Although you might not be aware of the wide array of care management services that AMM provides on a daily basis, the AMM team supports tens of thousands of individuals annually. The AMM clinical team through case management, triage, wellness, and other programs is often the most helpful resource that an individual or caregiver might have to support a patient’s needs over a period of time. Simply put, AMM becomes the safety net to make sure someone is not falling through the cracks in the healthcare system.
For example, a patient might call AMM’s triage help line in the middle of the night due to an emerging medical condition such as a high fever or chest pains. Frequently, the AMM nurse provides life-saving guidance over the phone, which might include highlighting immediate steps that can be taken which could include calling 911 or directing the individual to an urgent care center. In other situations, AMM might save an unnecessary trip to the ER and/or simply provide advice that reduces the individual’s anxiety level greatly.
As AMM’s Medical Director, I also oversee a panel of over 250 independent physicians who support patients and health plan sponsors by providing guidance and support for medical necessity appeals and other situations where an independent review is required by a certified physician specialist. This often requires a detailed analysis of the current evidence-based medical criteria to make sure that the right care is being delivered at the right time – just like when I am working as an emergency room physician.
Whether I am working the weekend ER shift in my local hospital or coordinating AMM’s clinical activities during the week, in both situations, the clinical teams are driven by the same mission -- which is to serve the patient in the best manner possible given the situation.
