A Conversation With ... Jim Blaine, MD

The clinic is intended for full-time employees of OTC along with their dependents. We are open Mondays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no cost at all for routine service such as unlimited office visits, office surgeries and most routine laboratory (work). If we get into more complicated (services), such as pathology specimens or lab tests, we would bill the insurance.

What kind of services does the clinic provide?

We’re pretty much a full-service family practice. We, of course, don’t hospitalize and don’t deliver babies. We do office surgeries, minor ones like lacerations, little skin cancers, cysts and things of that nature – therapeutic and minor cosmetic. We also take care of chronic illnesses. I’m strongly interested in prevention, so we’ll be diagnosing high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes at an early stage and helping to control those. There are some things that I won’t manage solely, such as insulin-dependent diabetes, (or) things that require surgery or specialist care. We (also) would refer fractures to another clinic (because) we don’t do X-rays. United Healthcare is the health insurance company (for) OTC, and their health system is CoxHealth. If a patient needed critical care from a specialist, we would send them to Cox. Of course, the patient always has the option to go out-of-network, but they will have additional fees. I’ve promised the employees if they’re sick that day, then we will see them. That being said, we like to have appointments and not drop-ins.

What made you decide to run the clinic?

When I interviewed and asked why (OTC) wanted to have the (free clinic) program, the first reason (OTC) gave was to provide a valued benefit for the employees. That’s what sold me on the job. There’s no question that it’s going to save money for the institution. As we identify diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, et cetera early on it’s going to become savings for the patient and insurance company. But it was nice to hear that the first reason was to do something nice for employees.

Tell us about your practice prior to OTC.

I’ve spent approximately half of my career in emergency trauma and half of it in family practice in the area. I’ve worked with both CoxHealth and St. John’s. I’ve had a clinic over at Paul Mueller Co. for the past four years. I considered keeping a portion of that (clinic) going, however, I’m not at Paul Mueller anymore. I debated quitting because it’s obviously a cut in income, but I’m glad I did, because I’m working about 60 hours a week.

Are employee-sponsored, on-site corporate clinics becoming more popular?

It’s something that’s becoming increasingly popular for a couple of reasons: One, to keep employees as healthy and disease-free as possible. The other (reason) is preventative convenience for a valued benefit. It’s far more convenient for (employees) and thereby they’ll use it more. Approximately one-third of large corporations on the eastern seaboard have on-site clinics.

Do you still consider the OTC clinic private practice?

This is private practice, as a matter of fact. If you think about it, it’s almost a dedicated private practice. I’m contracted with the college and not within a particular health care system or insurance plan. I’m completely separate – this is about as private as you can get.

Tell us about your family.

My wife, Barbara Blaine, is my receptionist (at OTC’s clinic). I have three children at home. One is 21. She’s a senior at Missouri State (University), studying anthropology and Japanese. I have a 15-year-old son at Hillcrest who plays soccer, so I’m the team physician and go to the games. I have another daughter who is 13. She is an ice skater and won a national competition recently. I also have a 29-year-old son, and he has three children. That pretty well fills us up.

Interview by Bethany Shatswell. E-mail mhoover@sbj.net with suggestions for future istallments of this feature.