Dr. Phillips is an Assistant Professor at the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH) in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program at the University of Utah (U of U), which includes its residency program.
His current academic responsibilities include education and training of Occupational Medicine residents, graduate students, medical students, and other health professionals. He is responsible for teaching Clinical and Behavioral Aspects of Occupational Injuries and Disease (OEHS 6703-001). His teaching and training not only involves residents in a classroom, but also extends to his work within the Occupational Medicine Clinics, and WCF Insurance (the state of Utah’s largest Worker’s Compensation insurer) where he is a physician reviewer. In the clinical setting, Dr. Phillips oversees residents as they perform care for injured workers, pre-employment exams, fitness-for-duty and return-to-work evaluations; during these processes he provides guidance to help with appropriate decision making, as well as establishing effective bedside manners. At WCF Insurance, Dr. Phillips helps coordinate highly innovative rotational opportunities for the residents and medical students in which they have the opportunity to learn how to better serve patients (e.g., by providing information in medical records to facilitate rapid claims payments; participation in and development of injury prevention activities) within the processes of a robust, highly-respected worker’s compensation insurer. Additionally, he provides residents with training and experience in performing physician reviews addressing the utilization of resources, as well as determining the work relatedness of specific injuries or illnesses.
Dr. Phillips’s research focuses on utilizing the vast databases of WCF Insurance, which include complete medical records, payment records (medical, indemnity), pharmaceutical records and an opioids database and program.