Thursday, July 2, 2009
August Conference Planned for Hospital Rehab Units
The Ohio Association of Rehab Facilities (OARF) is hosting a conference, Compliance & Recovery Audits: Keeping More of Your Cash in Hard Economic Times, on Aug. 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mount Carmel East, Columbus. The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits will affect all Ohio hospitals. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will present on expectations and updates for Ohio RAC audits via onsite teleconference. Also, a National Government Services presentation will feature a question and answer session on rules and treatment, as well as transition from fiscal intermediaries.

The seminar is aimed at compliance departments and upper management as well as physical and occupational therapy staff. Registration and more information are available online. Individuals with additional questions can e-mail Julie Keil at OARF.

Thursday, July 2, 2009
Online RN License Renewal System Repaired
The State of Ohio Board of Nursing online renewal system has been repaired. More information is available at  www.nursing.ohio.gov.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Late Fee Waived for RN License Renewal Application
Due to problems with the online renewal system, the State of Ohio Board of Nursing will waive late fees usually imposed in July for registered nurse (RN) licensure renewal. Paper renewal applications are being prepared and the board will automatically mail applications to all nurses who have not completed the renewal process. The license or certificate expiration date is still Aug. 31 and the renewal application must be postmarked by then. Please do not contact the board to request a renewal application. Updates will be posted on the State of Ohio Board of Nursing’s Web site. (Rosalie Weakland)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
New Bill Creates Standardized Form for Patient End-of-Life Wishes
Legislation was introduced in Ohio last week that would create a Medical Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form that would help provide standardized documentation of patients’ wishes for treatment toward the end of their lives. The form incorporate do-not-resuscitate wishes with other treatment preferences such as comfort care, limited additional interventions or the use of antibiotics or artificially administered nutrition.  

The MOLST form would be standardized, brightly-colored and completed by a patient’s physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner after discussion with the patient or his or her representative. It also would be portable throughout the health care delivery system. Similar legislation has been adopted in other states (see www.polst.org for more
information).

OHA will continue to provide updates on House Bill 241, introduced by Rep. Nancy Garland (D-Gahanna), as it progresses through the state legislature. View more information on end of life care and advance directives on OHA’s Web site. (Rick Sites)

Monday, June 29, 2009
CMS Announces Dates for Submitting Quality Measures
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced hospitals participating in the Medicare pay-for-reporting program will have from July 1 to Aug. 15 to report whether they participated in a systematic database for cardiac surgery.

This is one of 13 new quality measures hospitals participating in the pay-for-reporting program must submit to receive their annual payment update for fiscal year 2010. CMS plans to post instructions to My QualityNet on July 1 for hospitals and vendors submitting data on the measure. Hospitals will be able to indicate on their data submission if they do not perform cardiac surgeries. In the near future, information on 30-day readmission rates for Medicare patients experiencing heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia will be publicly available for the first time on the public-private Web site, Hospital Compare. (Rosalie Weakland)

Friday, June 26, 2009
Ohio Hospitals’ Benefit to Communities: $2.2 Billion
Full report released with hospital-specific stories of caring
Ohio hospitals provided a record amount of charity care and other benefits to their local communities, extending $2.2 billion in free or discounted services to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, according the 2009 Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) community benefit report, Good Neighbors. The report showcases the many compelling contributions hospitals make within and outside their walls. The report, which includes stories of how caregivers go beyond expectations, is available online at www.ohanet.org/benefit/.

The figure marks the first time in Ohio history that the hospitals’ annual community benefits exceeded $2 billion and includes:

• $893.5 million in charity care
• $835.7 million in Medicaid subsidization
• $1.04 billion in community benefit activities

Ohio hospitals are creating a healthy tomorrow for Ohio’s fragile economy as well:

• Hospitals pumped $65.7 billion into Ohio’s economy.
• Hospitals collectively provided jobs for 558,079 Ohioans either directly or indirectly in 2007.

Not included in the official total of $2.2 billion, but a vital part of the total picture, are the financial contributions hospitals make to subsidize bad debt – a $665.7 million total – and Medicare losses – a $730.2 million shortfall. These elements are noted in the report but not as part of the community benefit total in accordance with Catholic Health Association guidelines, the nationally recognized standard on community benefit reporting. Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital reimbursement and Hospital Care Assurance reimbursement were subtracted from the $2.8 billion combined total to equal the $2.2 billion in total net community benefit. View an OHA news release sent today for more information.